The Codex Regius Manuscript of the Poetic Edda

07.10.14 23:03

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This manuscript dates from the 12th century and is of immense historical value.

Codex Regius no. 2365

The Primary Manuscript of the Poetic Edda
Finnur Jnsson's facsimile edition, 1891
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A Complete Reproduction of

Codex Regius [R] or Konungsbk, The King's Book [K]

Click on Image to View Manuscript Page

1
Vlusp
1-15

2
Vlusp
15-31

3
Vlusp
31-45

4
Vlusp
45-61

5
Vlusp 61Hvaml 15

8
Hvaml
50-69

9
Hvaml
69-88

10
Hvaml
88-104

11
Hvaml
104-123

12
Hvaml
124-141

13
Hvaml
142-161

14
15
16
17
Hvaml 161- Vafrnisml Vafrnisml Grmnisml
Vafrnisml
15-37
38Prose Intro14
Grmnisml
v.4
Prose Intro

18
Grmnisml
4-24

19
Grmnisml
24-37

20
Grmnisml
37-53

21
Grmnisml 53
-Skrnisml
Prose after v. 10

22
Skrnisml
after v. 10
-v. 28

23
24
Skrnisml 28- Harbarslj
Harbarslj 1
1-18

28
Hymiskvia
22-38

29
Hymiskvia
38Lokasenna 10

30
Lokasenna
10-27

31
Lokasenna
27-45

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32
Lokasenna
45-62

6
Hvaml
15-31

33
Lokasenna 63
rymskvia 12

7
Hvaml
31-50

25
Harbarslj
18-40

26
27
Harbarslj Hymiskvia
403-21
Hymiskvia 3

34
rymskvia
13-31

35
36
rymskvia Vlundarkvia
317-22
Vlundarkvia
7
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The Codex Regius Manuscript of the Poetic Edda

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37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Vlundarkvia Vlundarkvia Alvsml 18Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
22-37
38
Helgakvia
Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hjrvardsson Hjrvardsson
-Alvsml 18 Hundingsbana
I, 7-24
I, 24-41
I
I, 55Prose after v.
15-30
I, 7
41-55
Helgakvia
5
Hjrvardsson
- v. 15
Prose after v.
5

46
Helgakvia
Hjrvardsson
30-38

55
Grpissp
23-39

47
48
49
50
51
52
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Helgakvia
Hjrvardsson Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hundingsbana Hundingsbana
38II, 4-14
II v. 14- Prose II, v. 19-24,
II, 36II, Prose after
Helgakviaa
after v. 18Prose after v. Prose after v.
v. 46- Fr
Hundingsbana
Prose after v.
29- v. 36
46
Dau
II, 4
24- v. 29
Sinfjtla

56
Grpissp 39Reginsml
Prose Intro

57
Reginsml
Prose Introv. 9

58
Reginsml
9-18

53
Fr Dau
SinfjtlaGrpissp 7

54
Grpissp
8-23

59
60
61
62
63
Reginsml 18- Fafnisml 5Fafnisml
Fafnisml 36- Sigrdrifuml
Fafnisml 5 Prose after 22 Prose after 22- Sigrdrifuml 1
1-13
-v. 36

64
65 65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
Sigrdrifuml
Brot af
Brot af
Gudrnarkvida Gudrnarkvida Sigurdarkvia Sigurdarkvia Sigurdarkvia
Helrei
13-29
Sigurdarkviu Sigurdarkviu
I, 12- Prose
Prose
III, 17,
III, v. 39,
III, 55Brynhildar 2(* Lacuna of
1-19
19Conclusion
Conclusion35-39
36-38, 40-55
Helrei
Drap Niflunga
perhaps 15
Gudrnarkvida
Sigurdarkvia
Brynhildar 1
pages missing
I, 12
III, 17
here))

73
74
75
76
77
78
Drap Niflunga- Gudrnarkvida Gudrnarkvidaa Gudrnarkvida Oddrnargrtr Oddrnargrtr
Gudrnarkvida
II, 16-31
II, 31-III, 514-15, 16/5-8, 31- Atlakvia
II, 16
Gudrnarkvida Oddrungratr 11-12, 17-20,
v. 9
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79
Atlakvia
10-25

80
Atlakvia
25-40

81
Atlakvia 40Atlaml 12
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The Codex Regius Manuscript of the Poetic Edda

II, 16

82
Atlaml
12-32

83
Atlaml
32-51

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Gudrnarkvida
III, 55

Oddrungratr
10, 13-14

11-12, 17-20,
16/1-4, 21-31

84
Atlaml
51-68

85
Atlaml
68-85

86
Atlaml
85-75

v. 9

87
88
Atlaml 75- Gurunarhvt
Gurunarhvt
8
8
-Hamdisml
14

89
Hamdisml
5-21

90
Hamdisml
21-Prose
Conclusion

Gammel kongelig samling 2365 4to

in the rni Magnsson Institute

From Eddic Poetry by Terry Gunnell in A Companion to Old-Icelandic Literature and Culture, Edited by
Rory McTurk, (2005):
"It must always be remembered that when scholars refer to eddic poetry, or the Poetic Edda, they usually mean the
contents of a single, fairly insignificant-looking, medieval manuscript known as the Codex Regius of the Elder Edda,
rather than a genre defined on the basis of a particular school of authorship or literary style. The manuscript in
question, written c.1270, contains a body of 29 poetic works in Old Norse-Icelandic, 10 of them dealing with
mythological material, and 19 with Scandinavian and Germanic heroes of ancient times. Indeed, several features
indicate that the Codex Regius is first and foremost a thematic collection of material from differing backgrounds,
similar to other well-known medieval manuscripts, such as the German Carmina Burana (which includes, among other
things, both drinking songs and a liturgical drama) and the Icelandic personal collection known as Hauksbk.
"For logical reasons, the Codex Regius (Gammel kongelig samling 2365 4to) is today regarded as one of the national
treasures of Iceland. Significantly, it was one of the first two manuscripts to be returned to Iceland from Denmark in
1971. Its central importance is that it contains a (slightly rusty) key to the pagan religious world not only of the
settlers of Iceland, but also of the people of Scandinavia as a whole, displaying the kind of raw poetic material that
Snorri Sturluson utilized when assembling his prose Edda c.1220, and of which Saxo Grammaticus was clearly aware
when writing his Gesta Danorum c.1200. It must never be forgotten, however, that the manuscript in question was
written nearly 300 years after the official acceptance of Christianity in Iceland (in 999/750). The manuscript's
contents may well have ancient, pagan roots, but researchers seeking to make use of this material should remember
that it is likely to have existed in oral tradition long before it came to be recorded; and that while it now exists in
textual form, it was originally meant to be received orally and visually in performance rather than read privately.
... To judge from the small size of these manuscripts and the economical use they make of space, neither was judged by
the people of the time as being as important as, for example, the Mruvallabk and Flateyjarbk manuscripts of the
sagas, or the Stjrn manuscript of part of the Bible."

Einar G. Petursson, Medieval Scandinavia, (1988):

"Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda is an Icelandic manuscript of ninety small quarto pages, but the fifth gathering,
probably 16 pages, is now lost. The manuscript was written by one hand not known elsewhere, and is dated
palaeographically to about 1270-1280. Codex Regius is the most important manuscript of eddic poetry. It now
contains 29 poems in systemic order; the first 10 lays are about the ancient Norse gods, but the remaining part is about
ancient heroes. Codex Regius is a copy of an older manuscript now lost. The fragmentary AM 748 I 4to contains, in no
particular order, seven eddic lays, and one of them, Baldrs draumr, is not preserved elsewhere. This manuscript is
dated to about 1300 or a little later. The textual relationship between the two manuscripts points to a common written
original. In the 1220s, Snorri Sturlusson wrote a textbook on poetry, called Snorra Edda or the Prose Edda. It is
almost certain that he used the text of the mythical poems Vafrnisml and Grmnisml from the common written
source underlying the Poetic Edda.
"...It is not known whether Codex Regius had a name originally. In 1623, Jn Gumundsson lri ('the learned')
mentioned for the first time an Edda Smundr Sigfsson fri ('the wise'; 1056-1133), older than Snorra Edda. In
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The Codex Regius Manuscript of the Poetic Edda

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mentioned for the first time an Edda Smundr Sigfsson fri ('the wise'; 1056-1133), older than Snorra Edda. In
1643, when Bishop Brynjlfur Sveinsson in Skholt obtained Codex Regius (we do not know from where), he believed
it was the Edda by Smundar, although it is now thought that Smundar played no role in collecting or writing
Codex Regius. A name and note in the manuscript indicate that it had been in Skagafjrur (in the north) or on the
Reykjanes peninsula (southwest) during the previous years.
The last poem before the lacuna is Sigrdrifuml, with the last part of it missing. This poem is preserved complete in
paper copies from the 17th century. The lay is found in Vlsungasaga as well, but in 1641 Brynjlfur Sveinsson
received the only parchment manuscript of this saga, and at least two commentaries on Sigurdrifuml were written for
him. It seems certian that there is a direct connection between the copying of the complete text of Sigrdrifuml and
the activities in connection with Vlsungasaga after 1641. The lacuna in Codex Regius accordingly occurred after
1641, but before 1643. Brynjlfur Sveinsson presented the manuscript to the King of Denmark in 1662, hence the
name Codex Regius ('King's Book'). In the Royal Library, it was given number GkS 2365 4to. It was brought back to
Iceland on April 21, 1971, and is now in the rni Magnsson Institute in Iceland."

Gudbrand Vigfsson, Corpus Poeticum Boreale, 1883:

"Chief of all Icelandic manuscripts, the treasure of the Royal Library at Copenhagen is Codex Regius (R), no. 2365,
the history of whose appearance in the learned world we have already spoken of; a narrow octavo, now in an 18th
century binding, with the royal arms of Christian VII (c. 1780). What its former binding in Bishop's Brynjlf's days
was, is not known; the second binder did the vellum some harm by plowing its edges. We should have liked to have
had its original cover, but that was probably lost before the worthy, but misguided, librarian ordered it a new coat. It
consists of five complete sheets and one final sheet, from which three blank leaves have been cut; but between the
fourth and the fifth sheets a sheet at least is missing (the sheet of the Lacuna). This Lacuna existed when Bishop
Byrnjlf got the manuscript for he has noted at the top of the fifth sheet, ' ' ['A speech or tale without
beginning']. But for this the manuscript is perfect. The first page, dark and grimy, is yet perfectly preserved, signed by
the good Bishop's monogram. There is no superscription (Edda or otherwise) in the old hand." [etc.]
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