Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

languages, on diverse subjects from a copy of a 6th-century
commentary on the Apocalypse to a 15th-century treatise
on warfare and the use of cannons.
The works of the collection are central to the study and
understanding of Scandinavian language and culture.
They are also invaluable as a source of information on
the history of mainland Scandinavia and the North
American colonies during the Viking expansion.
This was a period which shaped both how the region
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The Arnamagnæan manuscript collection
perceives itself and how it is regarded by the rest of the
world. They were a source of national inspiration in
art and politics, fuelling the movements that led to
independence for Norway and Iceland.
The collection was gathered over much of his life by
Árni Magnússon (1663–1730), an Icelander and professor
of antiquities at the University of Copenhagen (his name
in its Latinized form, Arnas Magnæus, gives the collection
its name).