A puzzle rhyme from 1782

Abstract

A puzzle of thirty birds, known in many ancient cultures, is found in an Icelandic spelling book for children from 1782, transposed into Icelandic context so well that it seemed genuinely domestic. Its form is a three-verse rhyme governed by complex Old-Germanic rules of prosody. The birds are sold for units typical for Icelandic middle-age trade commodities, used up to recent times. The composition is completely adjusted to the Icelandic culture and may therefore be considered as Icelandic ethnomathematics of early modern times.