The Lion, the Horse, and the Dragon: A Study in the Illuminations of Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. and Its Origins

• Main Author: Ganzel, Sarah, 1993-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Víkinga- og miðaldafræði; Skreytilist; Handrit; Lýsingar handrita; Þingeyrar; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/32660

This thesis will explore the historiated initials in Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol., from an art-historical perspective. Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. is a fourteenth-century Icelandic manuscript containing Njáls saga, and a rare example of a saga-text manuscript containing decorative elements with representational components. The manuscript’s early history is unknown, though stylistic comparisons have been drawn between the initials in Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. and illuminations in a group of manuscripts associated with the Benedictine monastery Þingeyrar in northern Iceland from the first half and the middle of the fourteenth century. Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. contains four major illuminated initials: one purely ornamental initial at the beginning of the text on fol. 1 recto and three historiated initials. This thesis will primarily focus on the manuscript’s historiated initials, which are as follows: a dragon and lion engaging in combat in the shape of the letter “G” on fol. 14 recto; a male figure stabbing a sword through the belly of a dragon, its tail wound around the descender of the letter “N” on fol. 14 verso; and a mounted knight with a barrel helmet and shield, urging his horse forward through the letter “H” on fol. 59 verso. In addition to examining Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. in terms of its codicology and the history of scholarship on the manuscript, the current work will explore the three historiated initials it contains in depth. A description of the stylistic characteristics of the initials in Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. will be used to determine the affinity of these illuminations to those found in other illuminated manuscripts associated with the monastery at Þingeyrar. Specific comparisons will be drawn between the initials in Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. and illuminations in three manuscripts in the Þingeyrar group: GKS 3269 a 4to, AM 127 4to, and AM 595 a-b 4to. Currently, no paleographical evidence exists tying the hand of the scribe of Kálfalækjarbók, AM 133 fol. to manuscripts in the ...