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Flatey BookThe Flatey Book, (in Icelandic the Flateyjarbk 'Flat-island book') is one of the most important medieval Icelandic manuscripts. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and Codex Flatiensis. Sometimes Anglicized as Flateyjarbok. Description The Flatey Book is the largest and certainly one of the most beautiful of medieval Icelandic manuscripts, comprising 235 velum leaves, carefully written and illustrated. It contains mostly sagas of the Norse kings as found in the Heimskringla, specifically the sagas about Olaf Tryggvason's, St. Olaf, Sverre, Hakon the Old, Magnus the Good, and Harald Hardrada. But they appear here expanded with additional material not found elsewhere (some material being very old) and with other unique differences. Most, but not all, of the additional material is placed within the royal sagas, sometimes interlaced. Also in the manuscript is the only copy of the eddic poem Hyndluljd, a unique set of annals from creation to 1394, and many short tales not otherwise preserved such as Nornagests ttr ('Tale of Norna Gest'). Especially important is the Grœnlendinga ttr ('Tale of the Greenlanders') giving the only full account of the Vinland colony. Related to this is a short tale of Eirk the Red with some differences from the Eiriks saga rau ('Saga of Eirk the Red'). Here also is preserved the only Icelandic version of the Orkneyinga saga ('Saga of the Orkney Islanders') and Freyinga saga ('Saga of the Faroe Islanders'). History From internal evidence the book was being written in 1387 and was completed in 1394 or very soon after. The first page states that its owner is "Jonn Hakonar son" and that the book was scribed by two priests. One of them, "Jon prestr ordar son", inscribed the contents from the tale of Eirk the Traveller down to the end of the two Olaf sags and the other, "Magnus prestr Thorhallz sun", inscribed the earlier and later material and also drew the illustrations. Further material was inserted towards the end of the 15th century. The manuscript first received special attention by the learned in 1651 when Bishop Brynjulf Sveinsson of Skalholt, with permission of King Frederick III of Denmark requested that all folk of Iceland who owned old manuscripts to turn them over to the Danish king, either providing the original or a copy, either as a gift or for a price. Jon Torfason, son of Rev. Torfi Finsson, who resided on Flatey ('Flat Island') in Breidafjrd on the west coast of Iceland, was then the owner of book which was already known as the Flateyjarbk. At first Jon refused to release his precious heirloom, the biggest and best book in all of Iceland, and Jon continued to refuse even when Bishop Brynjulf paid him a personal visit and offered him five hundreds of land. But Jon only changed his mind and bestowed it on the Bishop just as the Bishop was leaving the region and in return Jon was exempted from all future ecclesiastical taxes. The manuscript was given into the keeping of Thormod Torfus, in 1662, as a present from Bishop Brynjulf to King Frederick III and placed in the Royal Museum of Copenhagen. (The rest of Bishop Brynjulf's collection was dispersed by his heirs who had no interest in a collection of old mansucripts and most disappeared for ever, though fortunately transcipts to paper had been made from many of them.) In 1971 the Flatey Book and the Codex Regius were repatriated to Iceland as Icelandic national treasures. Bibliography and External links
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