The Arni Magnusson Institute
Arnagardur
V/Sudurgata
IS-101 Reykjavik
Iceland

Tel. +354 525 4010
Fax + 354 525 4035

E-mail

The Arni Magnusson Institute is a research institute within the University of Iceland which preserves the Icelandic manuscripts that were delivered to the nation in the period 1971-1997 after having been kept in Danish museums for three centuries. Regaining possession of these literary treasures was a matter of great importance to the Icelandic people. In accordance with a special law passed by the Danish parliament and confirmed by the Supreme Court of Denmark in 1971, the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda and the compendium Flateyjarbók were handed over that same year, and nearly two thousand other manuscripts were delivered in the following years up to 1997. The Icelandic desire for the return of the manuscripts and their ultimate transfer are indicative both of the the generosity of the Danish people and the respect Icelanders have for their cultural heritage. The majority of the Icelandic manuscripts that Árni Magnússon (1663-1730) collected and bequeathed to the University of Copenhagen at the time of his death has now been returned home. The remainder are preserved in the Arnamagnćan Collection in Copenhagen.

The Arni Magnusson Institute concentrates its research on the language and culture of medieval Iceland with particular emphasis on the publication of scholarly editions of manuscript materials both from the Middle Ages and more recent times. The Institute also collects items of folklore and houses approximately two thousand hours of audio recordings in addition to written records of folklore.

The Institute regards its collections as vital cultural heritage, and it is dedicated to promoting them as a fertile basis for continuing scholarship and creative production as a part of both Icelandic national culture and world culture. Exhibitions and publications of different kinds, as well as other forms of information, introduce the cultural treasures kept by the institute and make them accessible for the general public.

The Manuscript exhibition in the Culture House is open daily from 11 - 5pm.
Admission fee ISK 300; no charge for admission on Wednesdays.
The Culture House
Hverfisgata 15,
101 Reykjavík
www.thjodmenning.is 

The Manuscript Exhibition
Many of the most important manuscripts in the care of the Arni Magnusson Institute are on display here. Among them are the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda, filled with stories of heathen gods and Germanic heroes, and Flateyjarbók, the largest and best-preserved of all Icelandic manuscripts, containing a wealth of information about the history of Scandinavia and the discovery and settlement of the North Atlantic. Also on display are Snorra Edda, the Grágás legal texts, the Möđruvallabók collection of medieval sagas of Icelanders, and Stjórn, a paraphrase of the Old Testament. Along with these are displayed important paper manuscripts that show the ongoing transmission of this literary heritage in more modern times.

The first exhibition hall is dedicated to the cultural and historic importance up to modern times of Icelandic medieval vellums and the materials they have preserved. These poems and sagas are among the richest sources of information about the spiritual life of the Scandinavian peoples prior to the introduction of Christianity. In their own day, they were wellsprings of learning and entertainment at both royal courts and common households. The culture of literacy introduced by the Church made it possible to record older knowledge alongside newer learning in an orderly fashion.

The stories of how land was settled and passed into the hands of specific families and individuals were put in writing, legal texts were recorded, and lore that had been passed on in ever-changing form in oral tradition became the basis for classic works of literature. This cultural inheritance had widespread influence throughout Scandinavia, Germany, and English-speaking countries. Another room gives insight into the world of bookmaking in medieval time and displays materials and tools as well as examples of handwriting from the latter part of the twelfth century through the middle of the nineteenth century.

Fighters. An initial at the beginning of King Sverrir´s Saga in Flateyjarbók. Written in Iceland ca 1387.


The Sacrifice of Abraham
From the Bible translation Stjórn, mid-14th century.