Latin in situ Fragments Connected to Iceland

A Survey

Abstract

In this article, I provide a survey of the fragments of dismantled Latin books that are in situ in bookbindings in the major collections of Icelandic manuscripts in Den­mark, Iceland and Sweden as a supplement to the existing printed catalogues of the collec­tions, including additional information, updates and corrections.

In the survey, I found six Latin in situ fragments in the Arnamagnæan Collection in Copen­hagen, five in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, eight in the Árni Magnús­son Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík, two in the National Library of Ice­land in Reykjavík, 34 in the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm and two in Upp­sala University Library. These numbers demonstrate different approaches to the preser­vation of fragments in the respective collections. While the Arnamagnæan collec­tion once held the largest number of in situ fragments preserved in Icelandic manu­scripts, these fragments were systematically detached from their host volumes in the twentieth century. In contrast, the in situ fragments preserved in Icelandic manu­scripts in the National Library of Sweden were never systematically detached. As a result, the library holds today more than half of the remaining Latin in situ frag­ments connected to Iceland.

In the survey, I furthermore identify the content of several so far unidentified Latin liturgical, theological and homiletic fragments, including the sequence Alme con­crepent for the translation of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (R 717, end leaves), the pseudo-Bernardine prayer Ave maria ancilla trinitatis (Holm papp 2 8vo, reinserted frag­ment), Petrus Lombardus’ Sententiae in IV libris distinctae (Holm perg 25 4to, cover), Fulgentius Ruspensis’ sermon De sancto Stephano (NKS 11 fol., end leaf) and Guillelmus Peraldus’ Sermons on the Epistles with interpolations of his Summa de virtutibus et vitiis (Holm papp 10 4to, lid). Moreover, I discovered a previously unknown fragment of a Latin musical liturgical book preserved as an inlay in the bind­ing of AM 623 4to.