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Galdrablöð

Manuscript. Iceland. Landsbókasafn Íslands Háskólabókasafn, Reykjavík, JS 375 8vo. Photo: CC unknown.

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JS 375 8vo

Findspot: Iceland.

Dating: 1800-1820.

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Galdrablöð (JS 375 8vo) — an early 19th-century Icelandic galdrabók assembled from disparate quires in several unknown hands, dated 1800–1820.

The octavo carries a working repertoire of named galdrastafir with their captions and instructions, including a squared variant of the ægishjálmur on page 46v labelled “Hinn meiri ægishjálmur” (“The Greater Ægishjálmur”) and identified there as the Seal of Moses, alongside other protective and operative signs from the late Icelandic magical tradition.

The manuscript came to the Landsbókasafn through the collection of Jón Sigurðsson, purchased by Alþingi in 1878 and transferred to the library in 1881.