Illuminated Manuscript Production in Medieval Iceland
Manuscripta Publications in Manuscript Research A subsidiary publication series of the journal Manuscripta, comprising monographs or miscellany volumes.
Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library Saint Louis University
General Editor
Gregory Pass, Vatican Film Library
Illuminated Manuscript Production in Medieval Iceland Literary and Artistic Activities of the Monastery at Helgafell in the Fourteenth Century by Stefan Drechsler
F
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
© 2021, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium. This is an open access publication made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, for commercial purposes, without the prior permission of the publisher, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. D/2021/0095/10 ISBN: 978-2-503-58902-2 e-ISBN: 978-2-503-59485-9 ISSN: 2565-8735 DOI: 10.1484/M.MSSP-EB.5.123671 Printed in the EU on acid-free paper.
This book is dedicated to
Helene and Björn
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
9
Notes on Terminology, Abbreviations, and Images
23
Acknowledgements
24
Introduction The Helgafell Manuscripts
25
Chapter 1 An Analysis of Medieval Icelandic Manuscript Cultures
35
Chapter 2 Helgafell: An Augustinian House of Canons Regular in Western Iceland
41
Chapter 3 The Scriptorium
51
Chapter 4 European Artworks
169
Chapter 5 Back at Western Icelandic Scribal Desks
223
Conclusion Helgafell and the Wider North-Atlantic World
233
Bibliography
239
General Index
261
Index of Manuscripts and Archival Sources
263
Index of Personal Names and Titles
267
Index of Place Names
269
Index of Scriptoria, Manuscript Groups, Scribes, and Illuminators
271
Index of Texts
273
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Figure 2. ‘Romanesque ornamentation’, Copenhagen, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, AM 233 a fol., f. 20vb20–23. 1370. Picture from http://handrit.org.
primarily by the apocryphal Descensus ad inferos by Nicodemus and which is otherwise transmitted in two older, thirteenth-century codices and one fifteenth-century Heilagra manna sögur manuscript.19 AM 233 a fol. follows an older, thirteenth-century redaction of the saga, although no close relationships to other manuscripts can be detected.20 Finally, on ff. 28vb46–29vb, parts of the Inventio crucis (also known as Kross saga) are featured. Similarly to Niðrstigningar saga, Kross saga in AM 233 a fol. displays a loosely related recension of a number of medieval Icelandic manuscripts, but none can be classified as a model.21 In conclusion, the text of AM 233 a fol. includes two independent textual works: the first section on ff. 1–12 includes two sagas that concern the birth and family of Christ, while the second section tells of Christ’s decent into hell and the discovery of the Holy Cross. Both parts refer to the life of Christ and, despite their defective state, might once have belonged together. 19 Magnús Már Lárusson, ‘Um Niðurstigningarsögu’, pp. 159–60. For the manuscripts, see Niðrstigninga saga, ed. and trans. by Bullitta, pp. 21–37. 20 Haugen, ‘The Evaluation of Stemmatic Evidence’, p. 437. 21 Gyðinga saga, ed. by Wolf, p. 83.
Figure 3. ‘Romanesque ornamentation’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), f. 58va18–20. 1363. Picture from https://handrit.is. Unless otherwise indicated, all photography from the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum is by Jóhanna Ólafsdóttir, and reproduced with permission.
The historiated initials of the two production units of AM 233 a fol. differ in content and style. The condition of the painting varies across the different leaves, and not all sections of AM 233 a fol. are equally well preserved. Nevertheless, a consistent pattern in the ornamentation of small initials is found in both sections of AM 233 a fol., exemplified in uniformly red-painted foliage and pen-flourishing, œufs-de-grenouille (that is, trumpet-formed volute tendrils and palmette flowers), and lobed acanthus leaves with rounded shoots and jagged outlines (Figures 1–2).22 In comparison with previously assumed similarities to the minor initials in the law codex SÁM, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók) from Helgafell, the ornamentation of Skarðsbók shows a more elaborate foliage with a large variety of trefoil leaves and evenly rounded spirals.23 But an overall similarity in the selection of ornamental models and 22 Liepe, Studies, p. 50. 23 Liepe, Studies, p. 40.
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Figure 4. ‘John the Baptist, Elizabeth, and Zacharias’, Copenhagen, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, AM 233 a fol., f. 1r. 1360. Picture from http://handrit.org.
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diverse content, the group has an extended range of dating, as most of the manuscripts were written in c. 1325–75 by two main scribes with various associated illuminators.32 Apart from the image in Íslenska Teiknibókin, there is no detectable relationship between the Þingeyrar manuscripts and the Helgafell codices (Diagram 1). Furthermore, in comparison with the Helgafell manuscripts, it is unlikely that the Íslenska Teiknibókin image was painted by the same illuminator. The general facial traits of Christ in the manu script from Þingeyrar suggest that the miniature in the Helgafell manuscript DAM, AM 233 a fol. was instead illuminated by the book painter A Hel 3 who was trained outside of Helgafell. This seems plausible since the figures in the following initials in AM 233 a fol. are much more closely related to the book painting of other manuscripts written by H Hel 1, such as the previously mentioned Skarðsbók. It is likely that the figure in the lower margin on f. 1r in AM 233 a fol. depicts the painter of the image, or an unknown client.33 This is indicated by the fact that the figures above and below are of different size, a known way of differentiating between holy and secular people. Furthermore, it is likely that the icono graphic model used for this figure was taken from the iconographic model of Jacob’s Ladder.34 The figure on f. 1r may, therefore, depict its single illuminator (A Hel 3). The book painter might have wanted to present a vision to the reader in the same way as what is described in I Gen 10–22.35 This would also explain the unusual grouping and iconography of the holy people in the miniature. Finally, the pointing hand of the illuminator was possibly intended to underline the difference between the earthly kingdom below — to which the illuminator belongs — and the heavenly one above.
32 For the dating of the Þingeyrar manuscripts, see Jakob Benediktsson, ‘Some Observations on Stjórn’, pp. 16–23, with further references. Guðbjörg Kristjánsdóttir, ‘Handritalýsingar’, pp. 298–301, counts nine illuminators who were responsible for the pen-flourishing of most of the manuscripts listed above, as well as the following manuscripts: SÁM, AM 649 a 4to and DAM, AM 54 fol. Finally, Liepe, ‘The Knight and the Dragon Slayer’, pp. 181–83, suggested that the Njáls saga codex SÁM, AM 133 fol. (Kálfalækjarbók) should also be considered part of the wider Þingeyrar workshop due to its book painting. For establishing different styles of pen-flourishing, see the concept of ‘l’ornemaniste’ by Patricia Stirnemann in ‘Fils de la Vierge’, p. 59. 33 Icelandic Illuminated Manuscripts, ed. by Halldór Hermannsson, p. 20. 34 Drechsler, ‘Zur Ikonographie der AM 350 fol.’, p. 77. 35 Drechsler, ‘Zur Ikonographie der AM 350 fol.’, p. 77.
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Figure 5. ‘Head of Christ’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 673 a III 4to (Íslenska Teiknibókin), f. 1r. 1360.
Figure 6. ‘John the Baptist’, Copenhagen, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, AM 233 a fol., f. 1va10–17. 1360. Picture from http://handrit.org.
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Figure 21. ‘Christ in Majesty with additional figure’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, GKS 3269 b 4to, f. 1va7–12. 1340. Figure 23. ‘Calvary group’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnús sonar í íslenskum fræðum, GKS 3270 4to, f. 23vb1–10. 1350.
graphy of Christ in Majesty is shown.138 Still, apart from Skarðsbók, it is the only initial known from medieval Iceland that depicts an additional figure as part of a main initial. In comparison to the image from Helgafell, one can conclude that a similar icono graphy was indeed known at Þingeyrar at around the same time, but that no direct exchange of icono graphic models took place. In Skarðsbók, the Christological unity ends with the third initial on f. 5vb4–9, which starts Kristindómsbálkr (Figure 22). The image is related to the introduced text as it depicts the Calvary group, a common variation of the iconography of the Crucifixion. A related depiction of the Calvary group is found in a miniature in SÁM, GKS 3270 4to (Figure 23). In comparison to the image from GKS 3270 4to, the initial in Skarðsbók contains a number of iconographic features such as Adam’s skull in the lower section (the black mark on the hill) or the missing nimbus of Christ, neither of which are depicted in the example in GKS 3270 4to. Several stylistic differences are found. Most noticeable in
Figure 22. ‘Calvary group’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), f. 5vb4–9. 1363. Picture from https://handrit.is.
138 Elsa E. Guðjónsson argued in ‘Man ledte … og fandt omsider en særpræget fremstilling af Treenigheden’ that the two raised hands of God in several depictions of the Trinity such as in Figures 19–20 are an Icelandic invention. This can be extended to several depictions of Christ in Majesty, which is known from several manuscripts connected to the Helgafell network (see Figure 21, above, and Figure 55, Figures 95–96, and Figure 171, below).
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Figure 24. ‘Measurement of vaðmál’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), f. 9ra. 1363. Picture from https://handrit.is.
Figure 25. ‘Measurement of vaðmál’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, GKS 3269 b 4to, f. 6va. 1340.
Skarðsbók is the elaborated High Gothic style of the voluminous drapery of Mary and John the Evangelist, which is less present in GKS 3270 4to.139 This is most likely due to a temporal delay of more than ten years between the two manuscripts. The subsequent historiated initials in Skarðsbók follow the individually introduced sections of textual content with greater detail than the previous Christo logical unity. The first of these initials is found on f. 9ra at the beginning of Konungs þegnskylda; a section of Jónsbók which regulates the obligations of the king’s men in Iceland (Figure 24). The initial is entirely painted in the left margin. As is commonplace for the shape of the initial in medieval manuscripts, here it is shown considerably enlarged, spanning the whole of the left margin. In the lower section, a historiated scene with two figures is depicted. It could be suggested that the whole scene shows the measurement of vaðmál, which was, according to the text a form of commodity tax that could be paid to the Norwegian king.140 The action of these two figures is also known from a bas-de-page found in SÁM, GKS 3269 b 4to (Figure 25). Despite the different style in the two paintings, their general iconographic content is clearly related. The next historiated initial in Skarðsbók is found on f. 9vb22–27 and depicts a manslaughter (Figure 26). It introduces the section about personal rights and the maintenance of peace in Jónsbók, the Mannhelgisbálkr. Considering the overall structure of the initial, the gesture of the kneeling victim with his hand pointing towards the ground might indicate the very topic of 139 Liepe, Studies, pp. 67–70. 140 See Jónsbók, ed. by Már Jónsson, p. 97.
Figure 26. ‘Killing scene’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), f. 9vb22–27. 1363. Picture from https://handrit.is.
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Figure 79. ‘Rebecca praying’, Copenhagen, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, AM 225 fol., f. 23ra26–36. 1400. Picture from http://handrit.org.
Figure 80. ‘Ornamentation’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 239 fol., f. 45v. 1370.
Figure 82. ‘Minor initial’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 239 fol., f. 41v9–10. 1370.
Figure 81. ‘Foliage pattern’, Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, MS Isl. Perg. fol. 5, f. 48r. 1370. Photo: Kungliga Biblioteket, reproduced with permission.
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Diagram 4. Network of AM 239 fol. Iconographic or minor scribal (dotted), scribal, textual, and artistic (black) relations between manuscripts and fragments linked to scribes (H) and illuminators (A) of the Helgafell (Hel), and MS Isl. Perg. fol. 5 (Isl) groups.
225 fol. (Figure 79), depicting Rebecca praying.291 took place, thus leading to the illumination of these In comparison to the initial in AM 239 fol., the gestwo initials. The figures appear less related on stylisture and bulky appearance of the kneeling woman, tic terms, since AM 239 fol. displays a much bulkier and especially the similarly depicted divine figure form, and this is infrequent in the slender, elegant above, appear to be related. It seems likely, therefigures known from Skarðsbók. At the same time, fore, that the initial in AM 225 fol. draws on a similar the figural style appears to be particularly close to model to that used to create the initial in AM 239 fol. the figures in the major initials in AM 233 a fol. It Due to the rather bulky versions of Mary and God, thus is highly likely that apart from the Gabriel figin contrast to the skinny figure of Gabriel, the iniure of f. 2v1–8, the illuminator A Hel 2 was respontial in AM 239 fol. suggests that it is a combination sible for both manuscripts, 239 fol. (ff. 1v–35) and of two images. This is supported by the fact that AM 233 a fol.293 this unusual depiction of the three divine figures is The following production unit (Part II) in AM 239 fol., written by H Hel 7, is more colourful and otherwise unknown in both medieval Iceland and Continental Europe. The style in which Gabriel is is of a different artistic quality.294 It was certainly painted appears to be strongly related to the figunot illuminated by the scribe himself.295 Rather, ral style of the works of A Hel 8, the book painter it is likely that A Hel 6, the sole illuminator of KB, of the first production unit of a law codex from the MS Isl. Perg. fol. 5, was responsible for the book Helgafell network, SÁM, AM 347 fol. (Belgsdalsbók). painting of this section, as both the ornamentaThis is indicated in the skinny appearance of the figtion and selection of colours are particularly close ure and its rounded face with ‘peppercorn eyes’ (see with respect to their artistic quality. For example, a Figure 98, below). As is discussed below, Belgsdalsbók model for floral ornamentation painted in the marwas produced in three distinctive stages: The first gins in AM 239 fol. closely mirrors parts of a simstage, most likely finished around c. 1350, includes ilar ornamentation on one of the major initials of all historiated book painting, and it may be that the MS Isl. Perg. fol. 5 (Figures 80–81). Furthermore, contribution made by A Hel 8 to the initial in AM the white-yellowish fillings and overall ornamen239 fol. some ten years later could be due to the writtation of a small initial in AM 239 fol. suggest the ing of the second section of Belgsdalsbók at just that same use of similar colours, and potentially a simipoint in time. By the end of the 1360s, the Helgafell lar illuminator (Figure 82). scribe H Hel 1 contributed a number of folios to the In conclusion and as indicated in Diagram 4, still unfinished manuscript, which made up the final both the different use of colours in the minor iniproduction unit of this law codex. tials and the close text–image references suggest that The fleur-de-lis-patterned background and the AM 239 fol. and Skarðsbók were illuminated by three general appearance of the figures in AM 239 fol. book painters in total, each of whom followed the generally seem to relate to other Helgafell manu scripts. A further connection may be visible in the background of f. 2v1–8 in AM 239 fol., with the red 293 It is less likely that all three manuscripts were illuminated by a single book painter, as proposed by Liepe, Studies, pp. 167–68. outlines and the arched eyebrows of the figures in Rather, the painting was executed by the illuminator A Hel 2 in the same initial, and the ornamentation of the major both parts of AM 233 a fol. and in the first production unit of AM 292 initials in Skarðsbók (see Figure 35, above). As for 239 fol. The advanced ornamentation of AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), the foliage patterns, an exchange of models clearly on the other hand, has been painted exclusively by A Hel 1 (the 291 Liepe, Studies, p. 104. 292 Liepe, Studies, p. 163.
‘Helgafell Master’). 294 Liepe, Studies, p. 165. 295 Sögur úr Skarðsbók, ed. by Ólafur Halldórsson, p. 149; Liepe, Studies, pp. 165 and 172.
12 1
e u ro pe an artworks 2 13
Figure 203. ‘Marginalia’, London, British Library, MS Add. 49622 (Gorleston Psalter), f. 191v. 1325. Photo: British Library, reproduced with permission.
Figure 204. ‘Marginalia’, London, British Library, MS Add. 42130 (Lutrell Psalter), f. 70v. 1340. Photo: British Library, reproduced with permission.
is found in the Gorleston Psalter, but was originally imported into East Anglia from an earlier Italian/ Bolognese source (Figures 205 and 207).188 Both the similar action of the naked man, blowing into a horn, and the fact that the two images are not text-related suggest a loosely related artistic influence from East Anglia to Iceland. 188 Liepe, Studies, p. 181; Pächt, ‘A Giottesque Episode’.
It is worth also mentioning that the foliage style, which Magnús uses in the margins of f. 5v in Flateyjarbók, is unusual for medieval book painting in Iceland.189 He might have known comparable foliage styles from the Norwich Hours, since in one instance the East Anglian manuscript displays a similar form of ornamentation (see Figure 73 and Figure 199, above). Thus, a related use of rolled acanthus leaves, a similar interplay between a bird sitting on the bush and a four-legged animal on the right, as 189 Drechsler, ‘Ikonographie und Text-Bild-Beziehungen’, pp. 240–41.
Literary and Artistic Activities of the Monastery at Helgafell in the Fourteenth Century This book examines a cultural revolution that took place in the Scandinavian artistic landscape during the medieval period. Within just one generation (c. 1340–1400), the Augustinian monastery of Helgafell became the most important centre of illuminated manuscript production in western Iceland. By conducting interdisciplinary research that combines methodologies and sources from the fields of Art History, Old Norse-Icelandic manuscript studies, codicology, and Scandinavian history, this book explores both the illuminated manuscripts produced at Helgafell and the cultural and historical setting of the manuscript production. Equally, the book explores the broader European contexts of manuscript production at Helgafell, comparing the similar domestic artistic monuments and relevant historical evidence of Norwich and surrounding East Anglia in England, northern France, and the region between Bergen and Trondheim in western Norway. The book proposes that most of these workshops are related to ecclesiastical networks, as well as secular trade in the North Sea, which became an important economic factor to western Icelandic society in the fourteenth century. The book thereby contributes to a new and multidisciplinary area of research that studies not only one but several European cultures in relation to similar domestic artistic monuments and relevant historical evidence. It offers a detailed account of this cultural site in relation to its scribal and artistic connections with other ecclesiastical and secular scriptoria in the broader North Atlantic region.
Illuminated Manuscript Production in Medieval Iceland
Illuminated Manuscript Production in Medieval Iceland
Drechsler
Cover image: ‘Prosecution and execution’, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum, AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), f. 67 v. 1363. Picture from handrit.is. Photo: Jóhanna Ólafsdóttir. Reproduced with permission from Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum.
Illuminated Manuscript Production in Medieval Iceland
Literary and Artistic Activities of the Monastery at Helgafell in the Fourteenth Century Stefan Drechsler