Daniel Willard Fiske in Scandinavia: Home

Daniel Willard Fiske in 1880,

the year of his marriage

and the year after

his one visit to Iceland

Daniel Willard Fiske in 1880,

the year of his marriage

and the year after

his one visit to Iceland

Street scene near Parliament,

Copenhagen, August 2008

Entrance to the Carolina Rediviva Library of Uppsala University,

where Fiske did much of his reading while a student

Daniel Willard Fiske in Denmark and Sweden

Daniel Willard Fiske, a brilliant linguist, inveterate book collector and authority on chess, became Cornell University’s first University Librarian in 1868. He donated or bequeathed four major literary collections to the university, including the Fiske Icelandic Collection.

His first exposures to the Nordic world occurred during sojourn and study in Denmark and Sweden. Fiske became fluent in both Danish and Swedish and also commenced his study of Icelandic in Copenhagen and Uppsala.  Although he intended to sail to Iceland after his stay in Sweden, circumstances forced a postponement until the summer of 1879.

The manuscript items and books in this list highlight Willard Fiske’s youthful sojourn in Scandinavia and emphasize his early book purchases there, as these books were the foundation of his Icelandic Collection, which he was to compile over a half-century.

Citations for manuscript material (by item number) and correspondence (by page number) are from Manuscript Material, Correspondence, and Graphic Material in the Fiske Icelandic Collection: a Descriptive Catalogue, compiled by Þórunn Sigurðardóttir. Islandica 48 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994). Other sources include the Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection bequeathed by Willard Fiske, compiled by Halldór Hermannsson (Ithaca, 1914) and its supplements (1927 and 1943); the Catalogue of Runic Literature … bequeathed by Willard Fiske, compiled by Halldór Hermannsson (London, 1918); and the on-line catalogue of the Cornell University Library.

Manuscripts and Correspondence

Diary of Daniel Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, 1850)
(Manuscript material, 44)

Letter from Jón Sigurðsson to Carl Christian Rafn on behalf of Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, ca. 1850)
(Miscellaneous correspondence, p. 193)

Letters from Carl Christian Rafn to Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, 1851-1854)
(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 98)

Unpublished letters from and to C.C. Rafn: manuscript fair copies of correspondence, including a letter from Willard Fiske (23 April 1853)
Gift to Fiske from Rafn’s daughters
(Catalogue 1914, IcA29R139, p. 479)

Diary of Daniel Willard Fiske (Stockholm and Uppsala, 1851)
(Manuscript material, 45)

Materials for an English-Icelandic Dictionary compiled by Daniel Willard Fiske (Stockholm, 1851)
(Manuscript material, 46)

Tegnér, Esaias (1782-1846).  Frithiofs saga (Stockholm: Nordström, 1825)
PT9830 1825

First edition of the poem, based on Friðþjófs saga frœkna; the poem was enormously popular and many times reissued and translated.

Tegnér, Esaias (1782-1846).  Fritiof's Saga:  a legend of the North, translated from the original Swedish by G.S. [i.e. George Stephens] Rev. and illustrated with an introductory letter, by the illustrious author himself (Stockholm: A. Bonnier, 1839)

PT9831.E5 S8 1839

Review by Daniel Willard Fiske of three publications, including two translations of Tegnér’s Frithiofs saga
into English, 1877
(Manuscript material, 55)

Letters  (in Icelandic and Swedish) from Rolf Arpi to Willard Fiske (Uppsala, 1889-1904)

(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 70)

Letters (in Danish) from Bjarni Jónsson (Copenhagen and other European locations, 1899-1904)

(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 71)

Selected Books described in both Willard Fiske’s Diary from Sweden, 1851, and “Private Libraries of New York,” 1857

Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar hin mesta (Skálholt, 1689-90)
PT7279.O7 A1 1689

Landnámabók (Skálholt, 1688)
With Schedae Ara prests froda um Island, Christendoms saga (Kristni saga) and Gronlandia edur Grænlandz saga (Arngrímur Jónsson)
PT7266.A1 1688

Nockrer marg-frooder søgu-þætter Islendinga (Selected sagas and þættir of the Icelanders)
Hólar, 1756
PT7261.N75 1756

Magnús Stephensen (1762-1833). Eptirmæli atjándu aldar eptir Krists híngadburd,frá Ey-konunni Islandi (Leirárgarðar, 1806)
IcC47S831 and IcC47S832

Selected Books described in Willard Fiske’s Diary from Sweden, 1851

Eggert Ólafsson (1726-1768).  Kvæði Eggerts Ólafssonar: útgefin eptir þeim beztu handritum er feingizt gátu
(Copenhagen, 1832)
PT7501.15.G301A17 1832

Björn Halldórsson (1724-1794). Gras-nytiar eda Gagn þat, sem hvørr buandi madr getr haft af þeim ósánum villijurtum, sem vaxa i land-eign hanns.... (Copenhagen: A.F. Stein, 1783)
IcN1H272

Runes

Worm, Ole (1588-1654). Runir, seu Danica literatura antiquissima (Copenhagen: M. Martzan et G. Holst, 1651)
++PD2013.W92 1651

Kort underrättelse om Runstafwar (Anno 1737)
(Manuscript material, 17)

Runstaf (Dalarne (?) Sweden, 1661)
(Catalogue of Runic Literature … bequeathed by Willard Fiske. London, 1918)

Selected early Danish and Swedish editions of Old Norse-Icelandic literary works

[Edda Snorra Sturlusonar]

Edda Islandorum an. Chr. M.CC.XV Islandice conscripta per Snorronem Sturlæ Islandiæ nomophylacem
(Copenhagen: Typis H. Gödiani, 1665)
PT7312.A1 1665 c.2

[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs]
Hervarar saga, på gammal götska med Olai Vereli uttolkning och notis (Uppsala: H. Curio, 1672)
+PT7287.H57A1 1672

Snorri Sturluson, 1179?-1241.
Heims kringla, eller, Snorre Sturlusons Nordländske konunga sagor…. (Stockholm: Literis Wankiwianis, 1697)
++PT7276.A1 1697

The Icelandic Manuscript Tradition

[Facsimile and diplomatic edition]

Isländska Homilieboken (Kungliga Biblioteket (Sweden))

The Icelandic homily book: Perg. 15 4o in the Royal Library, Stockholm, edited by Andrea de Leeuw van Weenen (Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, 1993)

This book of sermons is the oldest complete book in Old Norse/Icelandic, dating from ca. 1200.

++PT7304.A1 1993

Jónsbók

Manuscript, ca. 1550, dated through a comparison of hands found on other Icelandic manuscripts.

This manuscript is a copy of a medieval code of laws imposed on Iceland and still in force in later centuries. The parchment is heavy and durable. The volume was rebound in recent years.

Ic G1 J811

Ólafur Jónsson, 1560-1627.

Vísna-bók [skrifad ä nij an[n]o 1686 af Jone Biarnasyne ad Høfda vid D.-f.] (1686)
IcF86J885

Jarlmanns saga ; Konráðs saga keisarasonar

In manuscript compendium supplied with title Ýmsar sögur (early nineteenth century). The two sagas in this section are Old Norse-Icelandic medieval romances (sagas with themes from the European Age of Chivalry). The writing material is paper. Icelanders continued a lively tradition of copying these venerable stories in new manuscripts until the twentieth century.

Ic F75 A125 (.1 & .2)

Entrance to the Carolina Rediviva Library of Uppsala University,

where Fiske did much of his reading while a student

Daniel Willard Fiske in Denmark and Sweden

Daniel Willard Fiske, a brilliant linguist, inveterate book collector and authority on chess, became Cornell University’s first University Librarian in 1868. He donated or bequeathed four major literary collections to the university, including the Fiske Icelandic Collection.

His first exposures to the Nordic world occurred during sojourn and study in Denmark and Sweden. Fiske became fluent in both Danish and Swedish and also commenced his study of Icelandic in Copenhagen and Uppsala.  Although he intended to sail to Iceland after his stay in Sweden, circumstances forced a postponement until the summer of 1879.

The manuscript items and books in this list highlight Willard Fiske’s youthful sojourn in Scandinavia and emphasize his early book purchases there, as these books were the foundation of his Icelandic Collection, which he was to compile over a half-century.

Citations for manuscript material (by item number) and correspondence (by page number) are from Manuscript Material, Correspondence, and Graphic Material in the Fiske Icelandic Collection: a Descriptive Catalogue, compiled by Þórunn Sigurðardóttir. Islandica 48 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994). Other sources include the Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection bequeathed by Willard Fiske, compiled by Halldór Hermannsson (Ithaca, 1914) and its supplements (1927 and 1943); the Catalogue of Runic Literature … bequeathed by Willard Fiske, compiled by Halldór Hermannsson (London, 1918); and the on-line catalogue of the Cornell University Library.

Manuscripts and Correspondence

Diary of Daniel Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, 1850)
(Manuscript material, 44)

Letter from Jón Sigurðsson to Carl Christian Rafn on behalf of Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, ca. 1850)
(Miscellaneous correspondence, p. 193)

Letters from Carl Christian Rafn to Willard Fiske (Copenhagen, 1851-1854)
(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 98)

Unpublished letters from and to C.C. Rafn: manuscript fair copies of correspondence, including a letter from Willard Fiske (23 April 1853)
Gift to Fiske from Rafn’s daughters
(Catalogue 1914, IcA29R139, p. 479)

Diary of Daniel Willard Fiske (Stockholm and Uppsala, 1851)
(Manuscript material, 45)

Materials for an English-Icelandic Dictionary compiled by Daniel Willard Fiske (Stockholm, 1851)
(Manuscript material, 46)

Tegnér, Esaias (1782-1846).  Frithiofs saga (Stockholm: Nordström, 1825)
PT9830 1825

First edition of the poem, based on Friðþjófs saga frœkna; the poem was enormously popular and many times reissued and translated.

Tegnér, Esaias (1782-1846).  Fritiof's Saga:  a legend of the North, translated from the original Swedish by G.S. [i.e. George Stephens] Rev. and illustrated with an introductory letter, by the illustrious author himself (Stockholm: A. Bonnier, 1839)

PT9831.E5 S8 1839

Review by Daniel Willard Fiske of three publications, including two translations of Tegnér’s Frithiofs saga
into English, 1877
(Manuscript material, 55)

Letters  (in Icelandic and Swedish) from Rolf Arpi to Willard Fiske (Uppsala, 1889-1904)

(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 70)

Letters (in Danish) from Bjarni Jónsson (Copenhagen and other European locations, 1899-1904)

(Letters to Willard Fiske, p. 71)

Selected Books described in both Willard Fiske’s Diary from Sweden, 1851, and “Private Libraries of New York,” 1857

Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar hin mesta (Skálholt, 1689-90)
PT7279.O7 A1 1689

Landnámabók (Skálholt, 1688)
With Schedae Ara prests froda um Island, Christendoms saga (Kristni saga) and Gronlandia edur Grænlandz saga (Arngrímur Jónsson)
PT7266.A1 1688

Nockrer marg-frooder søgu-þætter Islendinga (Selected sagas and þættir of the Icelanders)
Hólar, 1756
PT7261.N75 1756

Magnús Stephensen (1762-1833). Eptirmæli atjándu aldar eptir Krists híngadburd,frá Ey-konunni Islandi (Leirárgarðar, 1806)
IcC47S831 and IcC47S832

Selected Books described in Willard Fiske’s Diary from Sweden, 1851

Eggert Ólafsson (1726-1768).  Kvæði Eggerts Ólafssonar: útgefin eptir þeim beztu handritum er feingizt gátu
(Copenhagen, 1832)
PT7501.15.G301A17 1832

Björn Halldórsson (1724-1794). Gras-nytiar eda Gagn þat, sem hvørr buandi madr getr haft af þeim ósánum villijurtum, sem vaxa i land-eign hanns.... (Copenhagen: A.F. Stein, 1783)
IcN1H272

Runes

Worm, Ole (1588-1654). Runir, seu Danica literatura antiquissima (Copenhagen: M. Martzan et G. Holst, 1651)
++PD2013.W92 1651

Kort underrättelse om Runstafwar (Anno 1737)
(Manuscript material, 17)

Runstaf (Dalarne (?) Sweden, 1661)
(Catalogue of Runic Literature … bequeathed by Willard Fiske. London, 1918)

Selected early Danish and Swedish editions of Old Norse-Icelandic literary works

[Edda Snorra Sturlusonar]

Edda Islandorum an. Chr. M.CC.XV Islandice conscripta per Snorronem Sturlæ Islandiæ nomophylacem
(Copenhagen: Typis H. Gödiani, 1665)
PT7312.A1 1665 c.2

[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs]
Hervarar saga, på gammal götska med Olai Vereli uttolkning och notis (Uppsala: H. Curio, 1672)
+PT7287.H57A1 1672

Snorri Sturluson, 1179?-1241.
Heims kringla, eller, Snorre Sturlusons Nordländske konunga sagor…. (Stockholm: Literis Wankiwianis, 1697)
++PT7276.A1 1697

The Icelandic Manuscript Tradition

[Facsimile and diplomatic edition]

Isländska Homilieboken (Kungliga Biblioteket (Sweden))

The Icelandic homily book: Perg. 15 4o in the Royal Library, Stockholm, edited by Andrea de Leeuw van Weenen (Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, 1993)

This book of sermons is the oldest complete book in Old Norse/Icelandic, dating from ca. 1200.

++PT7304.A1 1993

Jónsbók

Manuscript, ca. 1550, dated through a comparison of hands found on other Icelandic manuscripts.

This manuscript is a copy of a medieval code of laws imposed on Iceland and still in force in later centuries. The parchment is heavy and durable. The volume was rebound in recent years.

Ic G1 J811

Ólafur Jónsson, 1560-1627.

Vísna-bók [skrifad ä nij an[n]o 1686 af Jone Biarnasyne ad Høfda vid D.-f.] (1686)
IcF86J885

Jarlmanns saga ; Konráðs saga keisarasonar

In manuscript compendium supplied with title Ýmsar sögur (early nineteenth century). The two sagas in this section are Old Norse-Icelandic medieval romances (sagas with themes from the European Age of Chivalry). The writing material is paper. Icelanders continued a lively tradition of copying these venerable stories in new manuscripts until the twentieth century.

Ic F75 A125 (.1 & .2)