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18 INTEODUCTION.
1689, the royal antiquarian Bartholin published his
"Antiquities," a classic work for the time. It con-
tained extracts from twenty-one Eddaic poems,
which gaTC a more complete idea of the poetic Edda
than could be obtained from the two poems of
Eesenius. In the translation of these and other
fragments, Bartholin had as amanuensis Arnas
Magnseus, and Torfseus had assisted Kesenius in his
translation of the prose Edda.
• The goTernment also took an active interest in
these antiquarian researches. In 1662- Frederick
in. sent Torfaeus to Iceland to collect manuscripts,
and in 1685 Christian Y. forbade the sale of them
to any foreigner.
While the study of mythologic lore was thus zeal-
ously pursued in Denmark, the Swedish scholars
were not idle in this field of learning. They re-
ceived manuscripts at Upsala, directly from Iceland,
as well as by the purchase of the Library of
Stephanius. But while they went on collecting the
sources of antiquarian learning, they were not yet so
enriched thereby for want of interpreters. In sup-
plying this deficiency they were aided by the for-
tunes of war. Jonas Eugman, a learned Icelander,
was captured on his way to Copenhagen, during the
war between Charles Gustavus and Frederick HI.
in 1658, and carried to Sweden. He was at once
employed to introduce the study of Icelandic, which
he did by teaching the language, and by his labors
in connection with Iceland. He was appointed
Adjunct of the Antiquarian College of Upsala,
where he died in 1679. Through his agency the