Stjórn
Encyclopedia
Stjórn is the name given to a collection of Old Norse
translations of Old Testament
historical material dating from the 14th century, which together cover Jewish history
from Genesis through to II Kings
. Despite the collective title, Stjórn is not a homogenous work. Rather, it consists of three separate works which vary in date and context, labelled Stjórn I, II and III by Kirby.
Stjórn I covers Genesis to Exodus 18 with much additional material from Peter Comestor
and Vincent Beauvais. Stjórn II completes the Pentateuch; it is based closely on the text of the Vulgate
but is significantly abbreviated. Stjórn III treats Joshua
to the Exile
with some abbreviation and expansion and uses both the Vulgate and Comestor’s Historia scholastica as the source of its translation.
These texts were edited under the title Stjórn by Unger in 1848. This, as well as the existence of many manuscripts which contain the three works, contributed to the perception of Stjórn as a unitary work.
means 'guidance' or 'governance', was first recorded by Árni Magnússon
in 1670 in reference to AM folios 226 and 228. He reported that AM 228fol., which was at the farm Hliðarendi, was called Minnir Stiorn (the minor Stjórn) and AM 226 fol. was called Stærri Stiorn (the major Stjórn). A number of theories have been put forward as to why it should have come to be the title of these works.
Henderson (1818) considered that it referred to the Jewish theocracy
, whereas Unger thought that it referred to God’s guidance of the Jewish people. However, Astås argues that because Stjórn places very little emphasis on the fact the Jews were the people of God
, it is more likely that stjórn refers to “God’s moral upbringing of man.” This is based on the use of the verb stjórna in the preface which refers to God’s reign over the world, and that stjórna has moral connotations in 13th century religious texts.
Storm (1886) thought it was a translation of regnum, thus meaning royal history or reign. In a similar vein Jónsson (1923) considered it possible that it was a translation of liber regnum, and thus referring to the books of the Kings
in the Vulgate
.
Kirby thinks that the title stems from a misreading of uaar konungr. Sa sem stiornar….
The earliest of these manuscripts is AM 228 fol., which is traditionally dated to first quarter of the 14th century; it contains only Stjórn III. AM 227 fol. dated to c. 1350 contains Stjórn I and III. AM 226 fol . originally contained Stjórn I and III, as evidenced by AM 225 fol. which is a copy of AM 226 fol. dating from c. 1440. After AM 225 fol. was copied from it, the gathering in AM 226 fol. containing the end of Stjórn I and beginning of Stjórn III was cut and Stjórn II inserted, written in a much later hand.
AM 226 fol. and many later paper copies also contain, after Stjórn, Rómverja sögur, Alexanders saga and Gyðinga saga. As such these manuscripts "form a Bible
-based world history up to the time of Christ
".
Some Stjórn manuscripts are beautifully illustrated and AM 227 fol. has been called one of greatest achievements of medieval Icelandic
bookmaking.
of Norway
commissioned a compilation of Biblical
material to be read aloud for the benefit of those at his court who could not understand Latin
. The veracity of this is, however, uncertain. The compiler states that he makes use of extra-Biblical texts, such as Peter Comestor’s Historia scholastica and Vincent of Beauvais’s Speculum historiale. However, this can apply only to Stjórn I, as the others do not display the wide ranging compilation of sources evidenced in Stjórn I.
Nothing certain is known of the history of the Stjórn translations before 1670. However, a “biblia j norænu’’ is mentioned as belonging to the cathedral
of Hólar
in 1525, which some have argued to be a Stjórn work. A similar, possible sighting of ‘Stjórn’ comes from c. 1580 when Peter Claussøn Friis, vicar
of Audnedal
in Norway
reports in his Om Iisland that a “well-born Norwegian man, named Erik Brockenhus” had seen an illuminated manuscript containing the Bible
in Icelandic, in “around 1567”.
an public of Stjórn was Danish
bishop
Ludvig Harboe in his 1746 Kurze Nachricht von der Isländischen Bibel-Historie.
In 1818 Ebenezer Henderson
, a Scottish
minister, pointed to the similarities between Stjórn and Konungs Skuggsjá (the King’s Mirror), which has been an important aspect in the discussion of Stjórn since.
The first edited publication was by Unger in 1862 as Stjorn: Gammelnorsk Bibelhistorie, who attempted to do provide a text as close to that used by the original compiler.
In 1866 Keyser questioned the authenticity of a note in AM 226 fol. which suggested that the Icelandic abbot
Brandr Jónsson was the author of Stjórn. This paved the way for arguments for a Norwegian
providence of the work: a topic which was hotly debated.
texts, but rather a compilation based on the Bible
which is augmented with information from various sources, principally from Vincent of Beauvis and Comestor’s Historica scholastica. The additional material is either in the form of commentaries on the Biblical text or as discrete information. The latter is mainly derived from Vincent of Beavis, including a treatise on geography, tales of the legendary love affairs of Joseph
and Moses
. Additionally there are also two homilies
on Lent
.
There are a number of similarities of vocabulary and style between Stjórn I and Stjórn III. Kirby accounts for this by stating that the author of Stjórn I translated from the above mentioned sources, but made reference to the text of Stjórn III while doing so.
with very little additional material. Although it closely follows the text of the Vulgate, it omits significant sections, many of which concern information mentioned earlier in the text.
The text of Stjórn II in AM 226 fol. is a copy of an earlier version, as can be seen from a number of scribal features. Seip (1952) argues that the AM 226 fol text is a copy of a Norwegian
text dating to the late 14th century. Kirby, believes that the scribe was copying an Iceland
ic exemplar dating to no later than the first quarter of the 13th century.
text from Joshua
to the end of II Kings
, although it uses information from the books of Chronicles
to augment the text. Kirby thinks it likely that this text was composed by Brandr Jónsson, the translator of Gyðinga saga.
The text closely follows the Vulgate
text with omission and summary like Stjórn II, but unlike that section makes considerable use of extra-Biblical material, though not to the same extent as Stjórn I.
The relationship between Stjórn III and Konungs Skuggsjá has been noted since 1818. It has traditionally been assumed that Konungs Skuggsjá borrowed from Stjórn III. That the opposite was true has been argued by Hofmann (1973) and Bagge (1979); Kirby (1986) argues in favour of the traditional view in his study Bible Translation in Old Norse.
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
translations of Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
historical material dating from the 14th century, which together cover Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
from Genesis through to II Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
. Despite the collective title, Stjórn is not a homogenous work. Rather, it consists of three separate works which vary in date and context, labelled Stjórn I, II and III by Kirby.
Stjórn I covers Genesis to Exodus 18 with much additional material from Peter Comestor
Petrus Comestor
-Biography:Born in Troyes, he was first attached to the Church of Notre-Dame in that city and habitually signed himself as "Presbyter Trecensis". Before 1148 he became dean of the chapter and received a benefice in 1148. About 1160 he formed one of the Chapter of Notre-Dame at Paris, and about the...
and Vincent Beauvais. Stjórn II completes the Pentateuch; it is based closely on the text of the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
but is significantly abbreviated. Stjórn III treats Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
to the Exile
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
with some abbreviation and expansion and uses both the Vulgate and Comestor’s Historia scholastica as the source of its translation.
These texts were edited under the title Stjórn by Unger in 1848. This, as well as the existence of many manuscripts which contain the three works, contributed to the perception of Stjórn as a unitary work.
Title
The name Stjórn, which in Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
means 'guidance' or 'governance', was first recorded by Árni Magnússon
Árni Magnússon
Árni Magnússon was an Icelandic scholar and collector of manuscripts. He assembled the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection.-Life:...
in 1670 in reference to AM folios 226 and 228. He reported that AM 228fol., which was at the farm Hliðarendi, was called Minnir Stiorn (the minor Stjórn) and AM 226 fol. was called Stærri Stiorn (the major Stjórn). A number of theories have been put forward as to why it should have come to be the title of these works.
Henderson (1818) considered that it referred to the Jewish theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
, whereas Unger thought that it referred to God’s guidance of the Jewish people. However, Astås argues that because Stjórn places very little emphasis on the fact the Jews were the people of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, it is more likely that stjórn refers to “God’s moral upbringing of man.” This is based on the use of the verb stjórna in the preface which refers to God’s reign over the world, and that stjórna has moral connotations in 13th century religious texts.
Storm (1886) thought it was a translation of regnum, thus meaning royal history or reign. In a similar vein Jónsson (1923) considered it possible that it was a translation of liber regnum, and thus referring to the books of the Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
in the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
.
Kirby thinks that the title stems from a misreading of uaar konungr. Sa sem stiornar….
Manuscripts
The Stjórn texts are preserved in many manuscripts but only three early manuscripts are considered to have independent value: AM folios 226, 227 and 228. Of these only AM 226 fol. contains Stjórn I, II, and III.The earliest of these manuscripts is AM 228 fol., which is traditionally dated to first quarter of the 14th century; it contains only Stjórn III. AM 227 fol. dated to c. 1350 contains Stjórn I and III. AM 226 fol . originally contained Stjórn I and III, as evidenced by AM 225 fol. which is a copy of AM 226 fol. dating from c. 1440. After AM 225 fol. was copied from it, the gathering in AM 226 fol. containing the end of Stjórn I and beginning of Stjórn III was cut and Stjórn II inserted, written in a much later hand.
AM 226 fol. and many later paper copies also contain, after Stjórn, Rómverja sögur, Alexanders saga and Gyðinga saga. As such these manuscripts "form a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
-based world history up to the time of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
".
Some Stjórn manuscripts are beautifully illustrated and AM 227 fol. has been called one of greatest achievements of medieval Icelandic
Icelanders
Icelanders are a Scandinavian ethnic group and a nation, native to Iceland.On 17 June 1944, when an Icelandic republic was founded the Icelanders became independent from the Danish monarchy. The language spoken is Icelandic, a North Germanic language, and Lutheranism is the predominant religion...
bookmaking.
History
The preface to Stjórn records that king Hákon MagnússonHaakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
commissioned a compilation of Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
material to be read aloud for the benefit of those at his court who could not understand Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. The veracity of this is, however, uncertain. The compiler states that he makes use of extra-Biblical texts, such as Peter Comestor’s Historia scholastica and Vincent of Beauvais’s Speculum historiale. However, this can apply only to Stjórn I, as the others do not display the wide ranging compilation of sources evidenced in Stjórn I.
Nothing certain is known of the history of the Stjórn translations before 1670. However, a “biblia j norænu’’ is mentioned as belonging to the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Hólar
Hólar
Hólar is a small community located in the Skagafjörður district and situated in northern Iceland.-Location:Hólar is located in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital at Reykjavík. Hólar has a population of around 100...
in 1525, which some have argued to be a Stjórn work. A similar, possible sighting of ‘Stjórn’ comes from c. 1580 when Peter Claussøn Friis, vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Audnedal
Audnedal
Audnedal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. The new municipality of Audnedal was created on 1 January 1964 after the merger of Grindheim and Konsmo....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
reports in his Om Iisland that a “well-born Norwegian man, named Erik Brockenhus” had seen an illuminated manuscript containing the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in Icelandic, in “around 1567”.
Early Critical Reception
The first person to inform the EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an public of Stjórn was Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Ludvig Harboe in his 1746 Kurze Nachricht von der Isländischen Bibel-Historie.
In 1818 Ebenezer Henderson
Ebenezer Henderson
Ebenezer Henderson , a Scottish divine, was born at the Linn near Dunfermline, and died at Mortlake.He was the youngest son of an agricultural labourer, and after three years schooling spent some time at watchmaking and as a shoemaker's apprentice. In 1803 he joined Robert Haldane's theological...
, a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
minister, pointed to the similarities between Stjórn and Konungs Skuggsjá (the King’s Mirror), which has been an important aspect in the discussion of Stjórn since.
The first edited publication was by Unger in 1862 as Stjorn: Gammelnorsk Bibelhistorie, who attempted to do provide a text as close to that used by the original compiler.
In 1866 Keyser questioned the authenticity of a note in AM 226 fol. which suggested that the Icelandic abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
Brandr Jónsson was the author of Stjórn. This paved the way for arguments for a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
providence of the work: a topic which was hotly debated.
Stjórn I
Stjórn I covers the Pentateuch material from Genesis to Exodus 18 and is considered by Kirby to be the youngest of the three sections. It is not a simple translation of the relevant BiblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
texts, but rather a compilation based on the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
which is augmented with information from various sources, principally from Vincent of Beauvis and Comestor’s Historica scholastica. The additional material is either in the form of commentaries on the Biblical text or as discrete information. The latter is mainly derived from Vincent of Beavis, including a treatise on geography, tales of the legendary love affairs of Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
and Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
. Additionally there are also two homilies
Homily
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
on Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
.
There are a number of similarities of vocabulary and style between Stjórn I and Stjórn III. Kirby accounts for this by stating that the author of Stjórn I translated from the above mentioned sources, but made reference to the text of Stjórn III while doing so.
Stjórn II
Stjórn II completes the Pentateuch and is considered by Kirby to be the earliest of the three sections. It is different in style from Stjórn I and III in that it is translated from the VulgateVulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
with very little additional material. Although it closely follows the text of the Vulgate, it omits significant sections, many of which concern information mentioned earlier in the text.
The text of Stjórn II in AM 226 fol. is a copy of an earlier version, as can be seen from a number of scribal features. Seip (1952) argues that the AM 226 fol text is a copy of a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
text dating to the late 14th century. Kirby, believes that the scribe was copying an Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic exemplar dating to no later than the first quarter of the 13th century.
Stjórn III
Stjórn III covers the BiblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
text from Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
to the end of II Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
, although it uses information from the books of Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
to augment the text. Kirby thinks it likely that this text was composed by Brandr Jónsson, the translator of Gyðinga saga.
The text closely follows the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
text with omission and summary like Stjórn II, but unlike that section makes considerable use of extra-Biblical material, though not to the same extent as Stjórn I.
The relationship between Stjórn III and Konungs Skuggsjá has been noted since 1818. It has traditionally been assumed that Konungs Skuggsjá borrowed from Stjórn III. That the opposite was true has been argued by Hofmann (1973) and Bagge (1979); Kirby (1986) argues in favour of the traditional view in his study Bible Translation in Old Norse.