Manuscript

761aˣ, 761bˣ:      AM 761 a-b 4°ˣ (c. 1687-89, mostly by Árni Magnússon).

Despite its less than complete preservation, this is a very large anthology of skaldic poetry, totalling 662 leaves transcribed mainly by Árni Magnússon c. 1687-89, with parts also by Ásgeir Jónsson and another unidentified scribe.

The greatest number of stanzas is from the texts of ÓT and ÓH in 61 and from the kings’ sagas covering the period 1035-1177 in ms. H of H-Hr, but also used are Flat, FskAˣ, Mork, Kˣ, Jˣ and more occasionally F and Tóm, as well as a codex known as Membrana regia deperdita (Loth 1960a), mss of sagas of Icelanders and Orkn; there is also material from SnE and the Grammatical Treatises. Árni Magnússon does not indicate his sources, but these are provisionally listed by Kjartan G. Ottósson (2006, 751-5), though he emphasises that they are based on a comparison with the variants in Skj A, which does not necessarily cover all the potential sources; that some exemplars are now lost; and that Árni may have used multiple exemplars (as Ásgeir is known to have done; Loth 1960a, xv) or have improved texts, for instance for metrical reasons (Kjartan G. Ottósson 2006, 755). Similar cautions apply to the marginal variants given alongside many of the verse texts. For editing purposes, therefore, the chief value of the anthology is more as a very early edition of skaldic poetry than as a ms. witness, but it is occasionally useful where its main text or marginal variants are drawn from mss that are no longer extant, or are extant but damaged or difficult to read.

In addition, 761aˣ contains one of the two extant texts of Skáldatal, copied by Árni Magnússon from Kringla. The U ms. of SnE has the other one; they are printed in SnE 1848-87, III, 205-286 (introduction, 761aˣ text, U text, and combined text); see also LH 1894-1901, II, 789; Guðrún Nordal (1997, 205-12).

Poetry

The anthology contains a large number of stanzas and poems covering the years to 1035 and edited in this volume. Although, as noted above, few of these have independent value, being copied from extant mss, there are cases of textually valuable copies, such as that of Þjóð Yt from the lost K (Jørgensen 2000, 232). On the use of 761bˣ in SkP II, see SkP II, lxxix.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. LH 1894-1901 = Finnur Jónsson. 1894-1901. Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Gad.
5. Jørgensen, Jon Gunnar. 2000a. Det tapte handskrift Kringla. Series of Dissertations submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Oslo, 80. Oslo: Unipub forlag.
6. Kjartan G. Ottósson. 2006. ‘Árni Magnússons samling av skaldedikt i AM 761 a-b 4to: Ein førebels rapport’. In McKinnell et al. 2006, II, 749-58.
7. SkP II = Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Ed. Kari Ellen Gade. 2009.
8. Loth, Agnete, ed. 1960a. Membrana regia deperdita. EA A 5. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
9. Guðrún Nordal. 1997. ‘Skáldatal and its Manuscript Context in Kringla and Uppsalaedda’. In Sagas and the Norwegian Experience / Sagaene og Noreg. Preprints, 10th International Saga Conference. Trondheim: NTNU Noregs teknisk-naturvitskaplege universitet. Senter for Middelalderstudien, Trondheim, 205-12.
10. Internal references
11. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Orkneyinga saga’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=47> (accessed 7 April 2025)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 7 April 2025)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 7 April 2025)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=84> (accessed 7 April 2025)
16. Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2012, ‘ Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 3. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1440> (accessed 7 April 2025)
17. Not published: do not cite ()