The Codex Trajectinus of the Prose Edda now on display at Edda

A manuscript exchange will take place today, Tuesday, as part of the exhibition A World in Words, bringing new manuscripts into public view. According to the announcement, on this occasion Haukur Þorgeirsson, research professor, will speak about the Trektarbók of Snorri’s Edda (The Codex Trajectinus), which is normally kept in Utrecht, the Netherlands, but will now be on display at Edda for the next three months.

“Snorri Sturluson’s Edda was a popular book in medieval Iceland. Poets often referred to it, and seven vellum manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries have been preserved. No two of these manuscripts contain exactly the same content, as the work was in constant development and revision, as is common with textbooks.”

The Trektarbók of the Prose Edda, however, is not a vellum book but a paper manuscript, written around 1600, making it the youngest of the main Edda manuscripts. The book is now in Iceland for the first time in 400 years. Þorgeirsson will discuss the history and significance of the manuscript in his lecture, which begins at 12:00 in Edda’s lecture hall.