Arnamagnæanske Institut, University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
Description
"The Arnamagnæan Institute (Det Arnamagnæanske Institut) is a teaching and research institute within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen whose function is to further the study of the manuscripts in the Arnamagnæan collection, in keeping with the terms of the Arnamagnæan Foundation, established in 1760. The manuscript collection, apart from those items that have been transferred to Iceland, is housed at the Institute, and there is also a reading room and a reference library containing some 17,000 volumes, principally on subjects relating to the languages and cultures of medieval and early-modern Scandinavia. The academic staff of the Institute are responsible for research and instruction in Old West Norse, Modern Icelandic and Faroese language and literature, and, to a lesser extent, Old Danish and Old Swedish.
"The Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection (in Danish Den Arnamagnæanske Håndskriftsamling, Handritasafn Ãrna Magnåssonar in Icelandic) derives its name from the Icelandic scholar and antiquarian Árni Magnåsson (1663-1730) Arnas Magnæus in Latinised form. Even before the completion of his studies at the University of Copenhagen, Árni began as secretary to the royal antiquarian, Professor Thomas Bartholin, and following Bartholin's death became secretary of the Royal Archives, a position he retained for the rest of his life, while being in 1701 also appointed to the new chair of Danish Antiquities at the University (a position later held by the scholar and playwright Ludvig Holberg). In addition to the duties of these various positions, much of Árni Magnåsson's energy throughout of his life was spent building up the collection of manuscripts that now bears his name. ... Árni also carefully recorded everything that could throw light on a manuscript's history, its previous owners, etc., and these observations are often invaluable to present-day researchers. ... When Árni Magnåsson died in 1730 he bequeathed his collection to the University of Copenhagen, whereupon it became part of the University Library." - institute web site
Last update November 6, 2023