Gripla - 01.01.1975, Page 75

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MANIFESTATIONS OF RAGNARS SAGA LOÐBRÓKÁR
(2) Olsen 184-86, llr,l-12r,24, corresponding to Olsen 149,7-152,22
Total no. of legible words in 147 315
Estimated total no. of words in 147 1037
Total no. of words in common with 1824 b 237
Total no. of words in 1824 b 1022
‘Theoretical legible total’ in 1824 b 310
Percentage of words in common in 147 75%
Percentage of words in common in 1824 b 76%
(3) Olsen 192-93, 18v,l-19r,7, corresponding to Olsen 166,17-167,27
Total no. of legible words in 147 172
Estimated total no. of words in 147 411
Total no. of words in common with 1824 b 108
Total no. of words in 1824 b 407
‘Theoretical legible total’ in 1824 b 170
Percentage of words in common in 147 63%
Percentage of words in common in 1824 b 64%
These figures show that, in the three passages of Ragnars saga chosen
for comparison, the two texts of the saga more than fulfil Mageröy’s
requirements for an acknowledgement of literary relations between
saga-texts. The two members of each of the first two pairs of passages
have two-thirds of the words in common; while the two members of
the third pair have well over half the words in common. Space does
not permit me to discuss here the merits and demerits of Mageröy’s
method; I simply wish to answer the question, raised by Lönnroth, of
whether Bjarni would have assumed rittengsl for the extant stories of
Ragnarr loðbrók if he had used Mageröy’s method. The answer in the
case of 147 and 1824 b is that he certainly would have done; the
figures listed here in no way conflict with Bjarni’s views.
We certainly cannot expect the correspondences between Hauksbók
and either 147 or 1824 b to be as striking as those indicated by the
figures for 147 and 1824 b in relation to each other. Not only is
Ragnarssona þáttr in Hauksbók not a text of Ragnars saga, as has al-
ready been pointed out;20 it is also very much shorter than either the
1824 b text of Ragnars saga or the version of Ragnars saga reflected
in 147. It consists only of five chapters, the last two of which—deal-
ing respectively with King Gormr and Sigurðr hjörtr, both descend-
20 See p. 68 above.