Gripla - 20.12.2005, Side 30

GRIPLA28
encased in a magnificent shrine, is shown to be as foul and terrifying as
possible.38
3. GROUP B
Andrew (AM 645 and AM 652/630), Bartholomew (AM 652/630 version
only), James the Greater (AM 652/630 version only), John, Philip and James
the Less (the latter two exist only in AM 652/630).
The Group B sagas are based primarily on Pseudo-Abdian texts, but are ex-
panded through the addition of either material extraneous to Pseudo-Abdias or
a homiletic introduction and/or conclusion. The sagas in this group display the
characteristic Pseudo-Abdian elements as described above for the sagas of
Group A, yet with modifications caused by the introduction of the extraneous
material. In particular, the homiletic nature of the sagas tends to change their
overall didactic scheme: whereas the Group A texts all seem designed to pro-
vide for maximum edification of audience members through the thematic and
narrative exposition of doctrine, the overall narrative focus of the Group B
texts is more on the power and sanctity or ‘sublimity’ of the saint himself.
This heightened presentation of the figure of the apostle is often comple-
mented and supported by a more elaborate use of rhetorical language and
figures than is seen in the Group A sagas, perhaps distinguishing these sagas
as later compositions (rhetorical elements in the Group B sagas foreshadow
the much more elaborate use of rhetorical figures in the Codex Scardensis and
later collections of Icelandic saints’ lives).
The distinctions between the first two groups are of course somewhat
blurred. As mentioned previously, the texts of the saga of the apostle Bartho-
lomew in AM 645 4to and AM 652/630 4to are identical apart from the
addition in the latter of a homiletic introduction and a concluding section de-
scribing the translatio of the apostle’s relics to Benivent in Italy; therefore, the
bulk of this saga is typically Pseudo-Abdian. Andrew’s saga is derived
primarily from Pseudo-Abdias, yet the Pseudo-Abdian text is itself a com-
pilation of Gregory of Tours’ account of Andrew’s miracles and a modified
version of Andrew’s passio; the Icelandic translator in this case modifies the
Pseudo-Abdian text by performing adaptations in an attempt to provide the
38 See Collings 1969:176-178.