Norwegian gods from Utrecht return to Iceland

From 12 August 2025 onwards, a special manuscript from the collection of Utrecht University Library is on display in Iceland. It is a sixteenth-century manuscript containing the Prose Edda, a fundamental text on Norse mythology. The manuscript is part of the changing exhibition 'World of Words', which takes place at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík. Here, visitors can view Iceland's most important medieval and later manuscripts. The manuscript from Utrecht occupies an important place in this collection.

The Norse mythology

Thor, Loki, Odin... these are names that many people know from the Marvel films. They are derived from Norse mythology about Norse gods, heroes, giants and monsters. Our knowledge of this mythology comes from medieval writings, which were written after Christianity had already supplanted the indigenous religions throughout northern Europe. In Iceland, this happened around the year 1000. The Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturlason (1179-1241) wrote down many aspects of Norse mythology in his Prose Edda in the thirteenth century. Four important copies of this work have been preserved, all slightly different from each other.

The Codex Trajectinus

One of these four copies is the so-called Codex Trajectinus (the Utrecht Book). It was written in Iceland around 1595. It is a copy of a manuscript from the mid-thirteenth century. Of the four copies, Codex Trajectinus is the youngest, the only one written on paper, and the only one that is now part of a collection outside Iceland and Scandinavia. In 1643, it was donated to the then City Library and University Library of Utrecht. Read more about this in the article “The Codex Trajectinus of the Prose Edda: An unexpected journey”. The manuscript (M. 1374) has also been digitised.

Back in Iceland after 400 years

The Codex Trajectinus was a must-have for the changing exhibition 'World of Words'. The exhibition was organised because the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies was housed in a new building in 2024, aptly named Edda. The manuscript was flown to Reykjavík, marking its first return to Iceland in around 400 years. It has a prominent place at the beginning of the exhibition. It will be on display from mid-August to mid-November 2025 and from mid-February to mid-May 2026. This will allow the Icelandic public to view a manuscript that would otherwise require them to travel more than 2,000 km.

In the Icelandic news

Watch the report on the Codex Trajectinus on Icelandic television news (in Icelandic) and read the written version of the report (in Icelandic).