the árni magnússon institute for icelandic studies ("stofnun árna magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum") is an institute of the ministry of education, science and culture of iceland which conducts research in icelandic and related academic studies, in particular the icelandic language and icelandic literature, to disseminate knowledge in those areas, and to protect and develop the collections that it possesses or those placed in its care. it is named after árni magnússon, a 17th-18th century collector of medieval icelandic manuscripts.