THE PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

ARI FRODE (ARI THORGILSSON HINN FRODI).

Schedæ [Schedae] Ara Prestz Froda Um Island.

Skalhollte, Hendrick Kruse, 1688.

4to. Beautiful red full morocco binding from ab. 1800 with gilt lettering to spine and triple gilt line-borders with corner-vignettes to the boards. All edges with elaborate gilding and witth elaborate gilt borders to inner dentelles. Spine with wear and corners slightly worn. Binding signed Simier R. du Roi (i.e. Rene Simier (1772-1843), the unrivalled royal book binder of 19th century France). Internally a bit of brownspotting and browning due to the paper-quality, but overall in excellent condition. Title-page with assembled woodcut border, and last leaf entirely woodcut and with centre-crest. (2), 14, (8) pp. 


Exceedingly scarce first edition of Ari Thorgilsson's (also known as Ari Frode) paramount Book of the Icelanders which is of seminal importance to the history of the pre-columbian Discovery of America, to the history of Greenland, and to the history of Iceland.

Ari Frode's "Schedae" also known as "Islendingabok" or "The Small Landnamabok" constitutes one of the earliest sources to the discovery of America by the Norse, one of the earliest references to "Wineland" ("Vinland" - i.e. North America), one of the first printed accounts of the discovery of Greenland, one of the most important works of Icelandic history, The first Icelandic history written in Old Norse, and the first historical Icelandic work by a named writer from the 12th century.

Ari Frode Thorgillsson is arguably the most important Icelandic historian, in spite of the fact that the present work is the only on we know for certain was written by him. Apart from being the first Icelandic author to write in Old Norse, he is also the first of all Icelandic historians to mention Wineland, hardly more than 120 years after Leif Ericsson had found it.

"The mere mention of Wineland in this chapter is of the greatest importance since it is the first instance of that name being found in Icelandic literature, and this shows that it was apparently well known in Iceland at the beginning of the 12th century" (Hermannson, The Book of the Icelanders, Islandica XX 1930, p. 83).

This first printed edition of "Schedae" was issued by Th. Thorlacius and based on Jón Erlandsson's manuscript - the only reliable one, since Erlandsson copied the original membrane, which still existed on Iceland in 1651. "The oldest and most reliable accounts of the discovery and earliest habitation of Greenland are undoubtedly by Are Frode. All recent writers have also agreed on this, as they are contained in the few, but important leaves, that we have from his hand under this extremely modest name (Schedae)." (C.C. Rafn - own translation).

Although he is credited with several other historical works, "Schedae" is the only written material that we know for certain was written by Ari Frode, who is the most prominent writer of Medieval Iceland. According to Snorri Sturlasson he was the first historical author to write in Icelandic as opposed to Latin, which was the common written language of the time.

The work consists of 10 small chapters, in which an account of the history of Iceland from the Landnam period until 1120 is given. "For posterity Are's reputation remained undiminished; Snorre calls him "exceptionally wise and of an excellent memory", and says that his "story is the most important of all"." (Finnur Jonsson - own translation).

It is on p. 6, in the second paragraph that we find the seminal passage of the discovery and naming of Greenland and the legendary mention of Wineland ("Vinland") - translated from the original Old Norse:
"That country which is called Greenland, was discovered and colonized from Iceland. Eric the Red [Eirekr enn Rauthi] was the name of the man, an inhabitant of Breidafirth, who went out thither from here, and settled at that place, which has since been called Ericsfirth [Eiriksfiorthr]. He gave a name to the country, and called it Greenland, and said that it must persuade men to go thither, if the land had a good name. They found there, both east and west in the country, the dwellings of men, and fragments of boats, and stone implements, such that it may be perceived from these that that manner of people had been there who have inhabited Wineland, and whom the Greenlanders call Skrellings. And this, when he set about the colonization of the country, was XIV or XV winters before the introduction of Christianity here in Iceland, according to that which a certain man [lit. he], who himself accompanied Eric the Red thither, informed Thorkel Gellisson."

"This mention of Wineland,.. acquires its greatest value from that which it leaves unsaid. For had Ari not known that his reference to Wineland and its inhabitants would be entirely intelligible to his readers, he would hardly have employed it" (A. Reeves, The Finding of Wineland the Good, 1895. p. 9).

"WINELAND the Good is first mentioned in Icelandic literature by the Priest Ari Thorgilsson, in a passage contained in his so-called Islendingabok [Icelanders' Book] (i.e. "Schedae"). Ari, commonly called the Learned, an agnomen which he received after his death, was born in Iceland in the year 1067, and lived to the ripe age of eighty-one, acquiring a positive claim to the appellation "hinn gamli" [the Old, the Elder], which is once given him; in this instance, however, to distinguish him from another of the same name. Of Ari, the father of Icelandic historiography, the author of Heimskringla, the most comprehensive of Icelandic histories, says in the prologue to his work:
"The Priest Ari Thorgilsson the Learned, Gelli's grandson, was the first of men here in the land [Iceland] to write ancient and modern lore in the Northern tongue. Of this book, the so-called Islendingabok, the oldest manuscripts are two paper copies, of a lost parchment manuscript, belonging to the Arna-Magnæan Collection in the University Library of Copenhagen, which are known as 113a and 113b fol. At the end of 113a, the scribe has written as follows:
"These 'Schedæ' and narratives of the priest Ari the Learned are copied from a vellum in his own hand, as men believe, at Villingaholt, by the priest John Ellindsson [Jon Erlendsson], Anno domini 1651, the next Monday after the third Sunday after Easter."
This John Erlendsson is known to have made transcripts of many of the sagas for Bryniolf [Brynjolfr] Sveinsson, Bishop of Skalholt. To this worthy bishop's literary ardour, and zeal in collecting the neglected treasures of his language, we owe the preservation of many manuscripts, which would, but for him, doubtless, have perished before the coming of the indefatigable collector, Arni Magnusson.
Bishop Bryniolf, unfortunately, left no heir interested in the preservation of his library, and his books were soon scattered. When Arni Magnusson visited Iceland, thirty years after the Bishop's death and ransacked the island for surviving manuscripts, the vellum of the Islendingabok, doubtless one of the oldest of Icelandic manuscripts, had entirely disappeared." (Rasmus B. Andersen edt. The Norse Discovery of America. Ldn., 1906. P. 1)

Iceland's first - and, until 1773, only active - printing press was established around 1530 in Holar, the island's northern episcopal, where it operated until the late seventeenth century. The press came into the private possession of Bishop Gudbrandur Thorlaksson (ca. 1542-1627) and his descendants, several of whom became bishops as well.
The printing in Holar was solely centered on religious texts and are of the utmost scarcity and are never found in the trade.
In 1648, Brynjolfur Sveinsson (1605-1675), bishop of Iceland's southern diocese Skalholt asked the Danish authorities for permission to establish another printing press to print historical texts and sagas alongside religious books.
Not wanting the competition, his northern colleague in Holar intervened to halt this initiative, and nothing came of the plan for a second press nor of the printing of historical subject-matter for the time being. After Thordur Torlaksson (1637-1697), great-grandson of Bishop Gudbrandur Thorlaksson, became bishop in 1674, a monopoly from the King was granted, on April 7th, 1688, to print historical books on Iceland. Shortly after, namely the same year that the grant was given, the present work as well as "Landnamabok" and "Christendoms Saga" were printed - all three works being of the utmost scarcity. The printing press remained the sole press in Iceland until 1773.
In general, pre-Eighteenth-Century Icelandic prints are very rare and are almost never found in the trade. The Skalhollt-prints are of special interest since they were the first in Iceland to print secular and historical works including the sagas thereby making a seminal contribution to preserving the Icelandic cultural heritage.

Hermansson Islandica Vol. XIV:p.4). - Fiske p. 15. - Klose: 5413. - Sabin : 34158.

Order-nr.: 60404


DKK 250.000,00