Monasticism and textual communities in Iceland : Hauksbók and Þingeyrar

By examining the Hervararkviða and Völuspa within the Hauksbók, section AM 544 4to, and AM 98 8vo alongside similar Latin fragments, also containing the sequence Lux illuxit laetabunda from the Mass of St. Olaf, this work examines the textual culture, and transmission of material, and manuscript culture of these two examples. Hauksbók is a complex item. Named for its main organizer and compiler, Haukr Erlendsson, it is built up of separate pamphlets, bound into quires, and then into the extant manuscript. It contains a range of material from clerical considerations, theological ponderings, a map of Jerusalem, a version of the pagan poem Völuspa, christianized in its context, various sagas and poetry, notably the Heiðreks saga, and other tales from Britain (such as a version of Merlínusspa). Hauksbók was apparently redacted in several places, notably at the monastery Þingeyrar in the bishopric of Hólar. The individuals and the places who worked on this manuscript provide insight into Haukr's goals, as well as on the Icelandic hands that completed the Hauksbók following Haukr's death before it was acquired by the Haukr’s family. Lux illuxit laetabunda and the excerpts examined here provide an opportunity to study transmission within the sacred context, whereas Hauksbók demonstrates s secular-sacred-secular transmission. The objects examined and evaluated begin with several fragments from Norway and culminate with a version of the sequence within the manuscript AM 98 8vo from Iceland. Evaluating these side by side demonstrates the transmission and changes made from Norway to Iceland. The picture provided by examining Þingeyrar and the materials it influenced and produced is only a partial one, informed by extant textual sources. Understanding where these individuals were raised and trained, where and how they traveled, and what items they encountered demonstrates the unique position Icelandic monastic circles had in the development not only of the saga genre, but in the shaping of other textual materials as well.