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Walking along Sudurgata you pass the bigger of the country's two universities - the other one is a tiny affair in Akureyri - an ugly, pebbledashed monstrosity that overlooks the city airport, before coming to the wonderful Arni Magnusson Manuscript Institute (June-Aug daily 1-5pm; Sept-May Tues-Fri 2-4pm on request for small groups; 400kr), housed in the university's Arnagardur building and one of the best places to gain an understanding of both Iceland's literary past and the nation's obsession with books and stories. Named after the learned seventeenth- to eighteenth-century Icelandic scholar , the institute houses some of the most important, often ornately decorated historical accounts, including the Islendingabok ( Book of Icelanders ) and Landnamabok ( Book of Settlement ), which both recount the settlement of the country, as well as some of the fact-based fiction - Njal's Saga , the Saga of Eirik the Red and Snorri's Saga - all of which helped establish the high-flying cultural reputation Iceland once enjoyed. Unfortunately, very few of the original manuscripts are now on public display since they're considered too valuable and delicate to be exposed to the light. Instead, they're kept locked away in vaults accessible only to the museum staff, who, only under special circumstances, are allowed to access them - and then only when wearing gloves to protect the vellum. Instead, a small visitors' room allows guests to see some of the less precious originals, as well as plenty of copies of the masterpieces themselves, all housed in a couple of locked glass cabinets. Although the museum is a little disappointing in this respect, it's invaluable in providing background information on the literary tradition in medieval Iceland and on Arni Magnusson himself. English-speaking guides are on hand for this purpose and will regale you with stories that clearly fill them with pride - to Icelanders, these medieval manuscripts are as much a part of their history as historic buildings and royal palaces are to other nations.
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