AM 673a 4º, the Physiologus manuscript, is important, not only because it is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of Old Icelandic, but also because it indicates the kind of influence Iceland was undergoing in the formative years of its literary production, the mid-12th century. In fact, almost all of the earliest Icelandic manuscripts are devoted to Christian lore and “science” of the type contained in the Physiologus and in the homilies, and it 1s not until the mid-13th century that we begin to get secular writings of the kind we have come to associate with Old Norse literature. These early works are of great importance, for, as Siguréur Nordal wrote: “Even if the Icelanders had produced nothing else in this period, these translations would afford a remarkable witness to the literary interest and activity and are valuable sources for our knowledge of the old language. Now they are thrown into the shadow by the sagas, so that they are neglected by most scholars and their significance, and even their existence, is often almost forgotten.”! In the past decade or so, there has been a change in this attitude, and scholars have devoted increasing attention to the literature of Christian lore, as they have begun again to probe the Christian background of Old Norse literature. We know, with Saxo Grammaticus, that the Icelanders in the Middle Ages “account it a delight to learn and to consign to remembrance the history of all nations, deeming it as great a glory to set forth the excellences of others as to display their own.” and to the lore of Christianity they gave particular attention. - [Author]

The "two notes" are:

• A Gloss from Jerome’s Letter to the Goths in the Old Icelandic Physiologus?
• The Old Icelandic Allegory of the Rainbow

Language: English

ISBN: 3-87452-929-0