Among its texts, especially worthy of note, are the fabella of Saint Alexis,
which is preserved here in codex unicus, and the passio of the Forty Armenian
Martyrs, which is otherwise transmitted only in AM 655 4to fragment XXIII
4to, dating from the middle of the thirteenth century. The text of Niðrstigningar
26 Niðrstigningar saga
saga is transmitted fragmentarily as the first item of the codex. The lost begin-
ning due to a lacuna in the manuscript corresponds to fifty lines in AM 645 4to
and amounts to around one-fifth of the entire text.16
AM 623 4to is a parchment manuscript consisting of thirty-one leaves
measuring approximately 16.8 by 12.4 centimetres, beginning and ending
defectively. There are thirty to thirty-five lines to the page. The text becomes
progressively more dense towards the end of the codex. The parchment is marred
with small holes (especially on ff. 10, 15, 23, and 30), possibly due to mildew.
The lower margin of folio 31 is trimmed. The initials are written with red ink.
The whole manuscript was written by a single scribe in a clear protogothic
script. Finnur Jónsson has recognized a different hand in five lines towards the
end of the manuscript, on folio 30r/26–30 (in correspondence to Sjau sofanda
saga), and Hreinn Benediktsson has noticed how in these lines the script seems
to display more distinct gothic features.17 AM 623 4to was dated to the thir-
teenth century by Kristian Kålund and Carl R. Unger.18 Finnur Jónsson held
AM 623 4to to be compiled after 1250 but also noticed how, on account of the
conservatism in the script, it should be a direct copy of a much older anti-
graph.19 Subsequently, Hreinn Benediktsson also shifted the date of composi-
tion to the middle of the thirteenth century.20 Today the widely accepted date of
composition is the one suggested by the register of the ONP, which, following
an oral communication of Ole Widding from 1984, dates the manuscript to
around the year 1325.21
AM 623 4to may have connections with one of the manuscripts available in
the impressive library of the cloister of Möðruvellir as recorded in the máldagi
(“inventory”) of 1461. Among the manuscripts written in the vernacular þessar
norrænu bækr (“these Norse books”), the inventory also mentions a codex
transmitting Niðrstigningar saga along with a translation the Septem dormien-
tes ( Sjau sofanda saga), whose text otherwise survives today only as item 6 of
AM 623 4to.22
þetta a einne bok. laurencius saga. teodorij saga. johanes oc pauli. mag(n)us.
halvardz. marie magdalene oc marte. gesta saluatoris. septem dormiencivm. jtera-
ta passio christi. barbare. luce. s(ancta) agnes. sancte juliane. sancte eusstake.23
(This in one book: Lárentíuss saga erkidjákns, Theódórs saga, Tveggja posto-
la saga Jóns ok Páls†, Magnúss saga Eyjajarls, Hallvarðs saga, Mǫrtu saga ok
Maríu Magðalenu, Gesta Salvatoris [ Niðrstigningar saga], Septem dormientes
[ Sjau sofanda saga], another [text] on the Passio Domini [possibly Flagellatio
Crucis, part of the so-called Kross saga], Barbǫru saga, Lúcíu saga, Agnesar
saga, Júlíǫnu saga†, and Plácíduss saga.)
† Refers to a text that has not survived.
The Manuscript Tradition of Niðrstigningar saga 27
The presence of this high variety of texts in a single manuscript is possibly
due to the great availability of religious writings at Möðruvellir scriptorium,
where new miscellanies were compiled from older manuscripts of different
provenance.
On the history of AM 623 4to, Árni Magnússon notes on folio 25 of his cata-
logue, AM 435 a 4to, that the manuscript was owned by Björn Þorleifsson
(†1710), the Bishop of Hólar, who received it from the Provost Ari Guðmunds-
son (†1707) of Mælifell in Skagafjörður:24 “4to minori. Codex pervetustus, sed
mutilus. Kominn til min fra Mag. Birne Þorleifssyne, enn til hans fra Sera Ara
Gudmundzsyne ä Mælefell” (“Very old but defective codex in 4to format. [The
codex] has arrived to me from Bishop Björn Þorleifsson, and to him from
Reverend Ari Guðmundsson of Mælifell”).
Content of AM 623 4to
1 1r–5v “til þin. Ec emc til þess settr at lita hvers manz hag … / …
Per omnia benedictus Deus. Amen.” Older (defective) redaction of
Niðrstigningar saga. [Present volume, 133–53 (variant readings in the
apparatus); Odd Einar Haugen, ed., Stamtre og tekstlandskap, vol. 2,
Tekster og tabellar, 29–36; Helgensagaer, 9–14; Heilagra manna sögur,
vol. 2, 9–14.]
2 6r–15r “Domitianus keisari framþi ena mesto styriolld nest eptir Neronem
… / … Nu varþveiti oss Guþ Almattigr sa er lifir oc rikir meþ feþr oc
helgom anda of alldir allda. Amen.” Third redaction of Jóns saga postola.
[ Helgensagaer, 9–25; Postola sögur, 455–65.]
3 15r–19r Rubric “Passio .xl. militum.” “Sa varþ atburþr at þvi ⟨er⟩ men
segia at tiþ Licinii konongs … / … Nicallus. Pricus. Sacerdón. Edicius.
Þeodulus. Mellitus. Gaius. Valerianus.” Oldest redaction of XL riddara
saga. [ Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 2, 211–19.]
4 19r–26r Rubric “Passio Blasii eposcopi.” “Licinius het konungr í Austrriki
sa var magr Constantinus ens mikla … / … þess er meþ Feþr oc Helgom
Anda lifir oc rikir of allar alldir allda. Amen.” Second redaction of
Blasíuss saga. [ Helgensagaer, 39–47; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1,
256–64/8 and 265/29–269.]
5 26r–29r Rubric “Febella Alexis confessoris.” “A dǫgom Arkadii oc
Honorii keisara var einn gǫfogr maþr … / … þeim se vęgr oc velldi lof
oc riki in secula seculorum. Amen.” Oldest and only redaction of Alexíss
saga. [ Helgensagaer, 47–53; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 23–7.]
6 29r–31v Rubric “VII dormiencium.” “A þeim dǫgom er Decius var keisari
þa for hann i margar borgir … / … Oc allir undraþosc oc kendi engi
hann. En þo treis.” Oldest (defective) redaction of Sjau sofanda saga.
[ Helgensagaer, 54–9; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 2, 236–40.]
28 Niðrstigningar saga
AM 233 a fol.
Along with the vitae of John the Baptist, Mary, and six female saints, AM 233
a fol., preserved at the Arnamagnæan Collection in Copenhagen, dating to the
third quarter of the fourteenth century, also transmits fragments of the older
redaction of Niðrstigningar saga alongside the legend known as Inventio
Crucis (also part of Kross saga), which relates the finding of the True Cross in
Jerusalem. Approximately one-quarter of the original text of Niðrstigningar
saga survives, corresponding to seventy-five lines in AM 645 4to.25
AM 233 a fol. consists of thirty-one double-column leaves measuring ap-
proximately 38.5 by 32.4 centimetres, with forty-seven lines per column, and
that is all that remains today of the original voluminous manuscript. Folios 4, 5,
6, 9, 10, 13, and 14 (mostly in correspondence to Maríu saga) are especially
damaged and torn. Folio 4 is composed today of several parchment strips; folios
5, 6, and 10 have been cut apart, and of the original folios 13 and 14, only the
upper and lower parts, resp
ectively, remain. There are two lacunae on folio 15
(in correspondence to the end of Fídesar saga, Spesar ok Karítasar and the
beginning of Katrínar saga, which are therefore missing), and another lacuna
on folios 27 and 28 (in correspondence to the beginning of Margrétar saga).
The manuscript is written in a gothic script, and initials are written either in red
or green ink. There are a total of six illuminations, including a great illustration
depicting either Christ or John the Baptist on folio 1r (at the beginning of Jóns
saga baptista) and five illuminated initials: A, depicting John the Baptist (f. 1v);
D, with Mary and the Child along with Saint Anne and Joachim (f. 5r); Þ, with
Fides, Spes, and Caritas and the Emperor Hadrian (f. 15v); A, with Mary of
Bethany, Martha, and Lazarus (f. 19v); and K, depicting Saint Agatha (f. 26).26
Three different hands have been recognized: the first scribe wrote folios
1va–12rb – that is, Jóns saga baptista and almost the entire Maríu saga – and
Niðrstigningar saga on folios 28ra–29vb. A second, lesser-trained scribe was
responsible for the transcription of folios 15–7, while folios 13 and 14, trans-
mitting Maríu jartegnir, derive from a separate manuscript, only subsequently
bound into AM 233 a fol.27 Stefán Karlsson dated the section compiled by the
first scribe to the middle of the fourteenth century; Ólafur Halldórsson dem-
onstrated that the first hand of AM 233 a fol. is identical with that of the so-
called Skarðsbók Jónsbókar (AM 350 fol.) from around 1363, while the
second hand is possibly the same as the first hand of Codex Scardensis (SÁM
1 fol.), dated to the years 1350–75.28 Both manuscripts were written in the
monastery of Helgafell (Snæfellsnes), and on account of these connections,
Halldórsson proposed the Augustinian monastery of Helgafell as the possible
place of composition.29
The Manuscript Tradition of Niðrstigningar saga 29
In terms of date and area of composition and in consideration of the typol-
ogy of the texts transmitted, AM 233 a fol. shows important similarities to a
manuscript transmitting Niðrstigningar saga mentioned in the máldagi of the
parish church of Garður (Suðrness), dating from 1318. A manuscript contain-
ing Maríu saga along with Niðrstigningar saga is recorded among the first
(and possibly most precious) possessions of the parish church. It is listed after
the livestock and the liturgical vestments, and before all other liturgical books:
þetta j kuikfie. viij kýr. xij. ær. hundradz hokull. messufot ein. oc hokull vm
framm. alltaris stein. mariu sogu ok nidurstigningar sogu. artijda riim. sequentiu
bok. oc vorbok ad song. lesturbok vm sumarid. kluckur. iiij. krossa. iiij. mariu
skript. thomas lýkneski.30
(“This [much] in cattle: eight cows; twelve ewes; a priest’s cope worth one hun-
dred [and twenty ells of wadmal]; one set of liturgical vestments and an additional
priest’s cope; an altar stone; Maríu saga and Niðrstigningar saga; a liturgical cal-
endar for the anniversary [of the dedication of the church]; a book with sequences;
a gradual for the spring; a lectionary for the summer; four bells; four crosses; a
painted image of Mary; a statue of [Saint] Thomas.)
Mary, along with the apostles Thomas and John, was the patron saint of the
Church of Garður, where she was consequently held in very high consideration.
Holy depictions of her were carefully preserved and contemplated, and her vita
and miracles were read aloud during public functions throughout the year, most
notably on the occasion of her festivity on 15 August.31 The manuscript trans-
mitting Maríu saga and Niðrstigningar saga mentioned in the máldagi may
represent one of the predecessors of AM 233 a fol. This association is plausible
because of the geographical proximity of the two manuscripts. AM 233 a fol.
was compiled in the area of Helgafell (some 200 kilometres away from Garður)
between the years 1350 and 1375, roughly fifty years after the recording of the
Maríu saga manuscript among the possessions of the Church of Garður.
Content of AM 233 a fol.
1 1va–5ra Rubric “Bref Grim Prests” “Virduligum Herra Runolfi abota i
Veri sendir Grimr prestr qveðio Guds sina ok sina sanna vínattu … / …
Þat lati ser soma oss at veita Almattigr Guð sa er með Feðr ok Helugum
Anda lifir ok rikir um endalausar alldir verallda. Amen.” Second (de-
fective) redaction of Jóns saga baptista, compiled by the priest Grímr
Hólmsteinsson (†1298). [Variants of the text are available in Postola
sögur, 849–52, 873–85, and 925–31.]
30 Niðrstigningar saga
2 5ra–12vb Rubric “Her byriar upp lifssǫgu hinar helguztu ok dyruztu
Drottningar Meyar cy lifrar ok Guds modir. Fru Sancte Marie hinar mill-
dztu nest Gudi.” “Drottníng hímins ok iardar sæl ok dyrdlig mær María
moðir Dróttins Ihesu Cristi … / … Þessir stafir er ero í nafni Marío segir
engillinn merkia.” Variant (defective) text of Maríu saga. [ MS, 1–7.]
6ra–12vb “Sialfum Gudi til sæmdar ok hans signadur modir … / … þickia
i ordi enn sannliga satt i g.” Variant text of Maríu jartegnir. [ MS, 243–9,
266–8, 275–6, 291–7, 302–6, 444–5, 521–7, 533–4, 554–5, 598–9.]
3 13ra–14rb “munu þer rikia … / … hans modur Marie nu ok at eilifu.
Amen.” Maríu jartegnir. [See item 2 above.]
4 15va–15vb “Þꜳ er um allan heim heilugh kenning gudligs sads runnit
med vaxandi milldi kraptaverkanna fra blotum skurðgoða … / … boðorð
Spesar ok Karítasar. [Kirsten Wolf, ed., “Saga af Fídes, Spes, Caritas,”
56–8; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 369–72.]
5 16ra–19rb “Liberalis heita. Hun kunni margar tungur at skilia … / … sa
er lifir ok rikir um allar alldir verallda. Amen.” Oldest and only (defective)
redaction of Katrínar saga. [ Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 401–21.]
6 19va–25vb Rubric “Af Martha.” “Hin sæla Martha var gǫfug at kýni
enn gǫfgari at godum sidum … / … Ok þa er þeir hofðu lengi.” Second
(defective) redaction of Mǫrtu saga ok Maríu Magðalenu. [Natalie Van
Deusen, “The Old Norse-Icelandic Legend,” 258–301; Heilagra manna
sögur, vol. 1, 513–51.]
7 26ra “Tak þu heilsu þína. Eptir þat leid hun fra henna at syn himins …
/ … þeim er lifir ok rikir med Fedr ok Syni ok Helgum Anda einn Guð
um allar alldir verallda. Amen.” Second (defective) redaction of Agnesar
saga. [ Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 22.]
8 26ra–27rb Rubric “Her byriar upp sogu sellar Aghattu meyar.”
“Kuincianus Sikileyiar iarl fretti goða siðu heilagrar Agathe meyiar … /
… at rikianda Drotni Vorum Ihesu Christo er með Feðr ok Helgum Anda
lifir ok rikir einn Guð um allar alldir verallda amen.” Second redaction of
Agǫtu saga. [ Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 7–13.]
9 27rb Rubric “Prologus firir Margreta sogu.” “Siðan er Vór Drottinn Ihesus
Christus hafdi til himins stigit til feðrs sins Almattigs sendi hann postola
sína … / … þa leipti sæl Margret fæti.” O
lder (defective) redaction of
Margrétar saga. [ Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 474–6.]
10 28ra–28vb “cipes vestras et elevamini porte eternales … / … per omnia
benedictus Deus in secula seculorum.” Older (defective) redaction of
Niðrstigningar saga. [Present volume, 133–53 (variant readings in the ap-
paratus); Odd Einar Haugen, ed., Stamtre og tekstlandskap, vol. 2, Tekster
og tabellar, 37–40; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 2, 14–17.]
The Manuscript Tradition of Niðrstigningar saga 31
11 28vb–29vb Rubric “Her hefr upp ok segher fra þvi hverss⟨u⟩ fanzt kross
Drottins Vars Ihesu Christz ok fra þeim ufridi er Romveriar giordu kristnu
folki um alla verolld.” “I þann tíma er lidit var fra higatburd Cristz .cc.
vetra var Dioclecianus keisari yfir heimi … / … Nu hefir þu cross þinn
latid upp taka til oþurftar mer.” Second (defective) redaction of Kross
saga ( Inventio Crucis). [Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir, “Universal History in
Fourteenth-Century Iceland,” 294–5; Mariane Overgaard, ed., The History
of the Cross Tree, 58; Heilagra manna sögur, vol. 1, 301–8.]
AM 238 V fol.
AM 238 V fol. is unquestionably the most obscure witness of Niðrstigningar
saga, as its history is still unknown. Niðrstigningar saga alone is transmitted
here in a secondary revised version, and its text amounts to around a third of
the original translation, corresponding to ninety-three lines in AM 645 4to.32
Later in chapter 4, it is argued that the underlying Latin text employed for this
correction displays features of the Majority Text rather than the readings typi-
cal of the source text Latin T, with which the older redaction of Niðrstigningar
saga shares several important readings.33
AM 238 V fol. is a single parchment leaf measuring approximately 20.5 by
16.8 centimetres, with thirty-nine lines on folio 1r and thirty-six on folio 1v,
written in a hybrid Gothic, semicursive script. Carl R. Unger has dated the
fragment to the fifteenth century, yet a specific paleographical study on AM
238 V fol., which could help reveal a more precise date of transcription and
place of origin, remains a desideratum.34
Content of AM 238 V fol.
1 1r–1v “Þessi er Son minn elskuligur vidur þann er mier likadi vel … /
… Hann sa þa takn þau er voru i Iorsalaborg ⟨at⟩ Drottin Varn ⟨var⟩ i