A review of the earliest period of Old Norse-Icelandic scholarship in Copenhagen from
the end of the 16th century to the arrival of nationalism and democracy in the 19th
century can yield notable insights into the ambitions of the first Danish scholars who
studied these texts to construct a glorious protestant antiquity for the Danish kingdom and to support ideologically the claims of their monarchs to possess Norway and the northern islands. My primary focus will be on manuscript collection, translation into Latin and editing/printing of Old Norse-Icelandic texts in Copenhagen with the indispensable aid of learned Icelandic and Norwegian assistants.