Some of Iceland’s principal medieval manuscripts are on display in the exhibition Medieval Manuscripts – Eddas and Sagas, - such as the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, law codices and Christian works, and the Sagas of Icelanders.
The vellum manuscripts preserve the Northern classical heritage: unique sagas, poems and narratives which are often our sole written sources on the society, religion and world view of the people of Northern Europe from pagan times through the tumult of Viking Expansion and the period of Christianisation.
The exhibition focuses on the manuscripts’ origins and role, their collecting, editions, and reception in Iceland and abroad. It also portrays the process of book making: preparing the vellum and ink, writing, illuminating etc.