Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

Although Magnússon bequeathed the collection to
his university, Icelandic independence from Denmark
in 1944 lent weight to an already-existing campaign to
have the Icelandic sections of the collection returned
to Reykjavik.
As a result, the collection is now divided between
the two countries under an arrangement that was
itself ground-breaking in setting a precedent for the
amicable return of cultural treasures. In a transfer
that took 26 years and was completed in 1997, Iceland
received 1666 items from the collection together with
the Icelandic charters and apographa, or transcripts.
Both countries remain joint custodians, working together
to secure continued access to the manuscripts and
their preservation.
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