Two Short Essays by Árni Magnússon on the Origins of the Icelandic Language

Abstract

This article presents two essays by the renowned Icelandic manuscript collector Árni Magnússon (1663 ‒ 1730): De gothicæ lingvæ nomine [On the expression ‘the Gothic language’] and Annotationes aliqvot de lingvis et migrationibus gentium septentrionalium [Some notes on the languages and migrations of the northern peoples]. The two essays are here edited and published in their original language, Latin. Moreover, an English translation is also presented for ease of access. After a short introduction (§ 1), a historical overview of the academic strife between Denmark and Sweden is given (§ 2). Subsequently (§ 3), Árni Magnússon’s life and work are presented. In the following section (§ 4), the manuscript containing the two essays, AM 436 4to, is described. The two essays are then edited and translated in section 5. In the last section (§ 6), the two works are commented and Árni Magnússon’s scholarly thought evaluated.