Ms 81 Gulathings Log-Bok, Magnusar Noreghs Konnongs 1

This manuscript, from around 1720, gives us a glimpse into the process of translating the Landslǫg. In this book, the Old Norse has been written out, copied from AM 56 4to, and then facing pages have been left blank for someone to come back and write out the Danish translation, although we sometimes find translations written in cursive script intermingled with the Old Norse, particularly in the later part of the law code. Only a small attempt has been made at a facing page translation though, so perhaps they found it difficult! In this manuscript, we can also see the ways that people tried to help themselves both with understanding the Old Norse and with facililating its translation to Danish. After the law code, there is a register in two columns of the contents of the law code. Following this, we find an explanation of words in the law code, probably those that were felt noteworthy or difficult, and following this, an alphabetical vocabulary list that also contains Danish translations. These were probably written into the back of the manuscript as a reference for the person who intended to translate the law code. Interestingly, this manuscript was made after the Landslǫg went out of force in 1687, perhaps pointing to an antiquarian interest in older Norwegian law.