Aldur Hauksbókar

Abstract

1. Haukr Erlendsson is mentioned for the first time in the sources as lawman in Iceland in 1294, but about 1300 he moved to Norway, where he lived for most of the time until his death in 1334. Two letters and parts of two books in his hand are extant.

2. His autograph letters were written in Norway in 1302 and 1310, and two differences can be seen in their scribal habits, one concerned with a curve in the down-stroke of the letters /, p and }>, and the other with the ofe abbreviation.

3. The name Hauksbók is applied to the manuscripts AM 371 4to, 544 4to and 675 4to, of which the whole of 371 and parts of 544 are written in Haukr Erlendsson's own hand. On a single side of 544, f34r (Hbl), both the palæographic criteria mentioned above show agreement with the letter of 1302, while the whole of 371 and the greater part of Haukr's portion of 544 (Hb2) agree vvith the older letter on one point (the ok abbreviation) but with the younger on the other. ff60-68 of 544 (Hb3) are in agreement with the letter of 1310 on both points.

From this it may be concluded that Hbl was written about or before 1302, Hb2 in the period 1302—10 — probably at Ieast part of it in 1306—08, when H. E. was staying in Iceland; nearly all, if not all the material in Hb2 is Icelandic — and Hb3 about or after 1310. These dates are consistent with the compilation of the codex and with earlier dating based on internal evidence. Hb3 shows some examples of Norwegian-influenced word-forms which are not found in Hbl and 2, and its exemplar may have been Norwegian.

4. In Riksarkivet in Oslo there are some fragments of a Norwegian law-book in H. E.'s hand; these may be dated, on the basis of the same criteria, to the period 1302—10.