Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1992, Page 263

Reykjahólabók
261
wealthy man with whom they had found lodging for the night. He
accompanies them for part of the way and what follows takes the form of a
travel guide:
Enn aa alidnvm deigi bivggv þeir ferd sina bvrtt wr stadnvm og bonde med þeim
og allt þar thil er þeir vorv komner nær milv vegs fra stadnvm. þar fvndv þeir
eina mikla þiod bravt. og sem þeir hofdv gengit hana nockvra stvnd þa siaa þeir
at hvn qvislazt svndvr. j þriar bravter. Þa seiger bonde at þeir skvlv gannga þaa
gavthvna er lægi til hægre handar þvi hvn lægi allt thil þess stadar er siaa
herrann riedi fyrer sem þeir leitha efter og þo at nockvr þorp edr borger være j
veginvm fyrer þeim þa lægi samt þessi bravten beintt j gegnvm þav. med þat
seigizt bonde vilia fara aftvr sem hann og giorde og skilldvzt med mikille
vinattv. Enn þeir forv leid sina. allt þar til er þeir qvomv thil borgarinar
Salvchenn er broder þeirra Georgivs atte. og thokv sier þar natth stad. en þaa
hofdv þeir farit j ellefv daga j samtt fra þvi er þeir skildv vid bondan er fyr var
gethid. Anan dagen efter ganga þeir brædr fyrer brodr sinn Georgivm og heilsa
honvm thigvlega. (I, 304:14-29)
The sentence in the Passionael informing us that the brothers embarked
on their journey to look for George and that they reached him the next day
has an entirely different function and form than the account above, which
takes on a life of its own, is in fact an anecdote, with a different time frame
and additional character.
A second striking example of the disparity between the narrative types in
the Low German and Icelandic legendaries also comes from the same legend.
The primary distinction between the Low German and the Icelandic
versions of the legend is that obtaining between the short narrative form
intended to have exemplary impact, which is quickly told, undramatic, and
presented primarily in the third person, and the long novellistic form, that
alternates between third-person report and dialogue, provides extensive
detail, furnishes authorial commentary and the motivation for action, and
seeks to present to the reader credible individuals rather than types. A
choice example of such generic differences is the dragon episode, the high
point of the medieval branch of the legend of St. George. In the Passionael
the tale is quickly told: The princess sits by a lake expecting to be killed by
the dragon; St. George passes by, sees her and asks why she is so sad. She
does not answer his question; instead she tells him to flee. When he repeats
the question, she tells him that she is to die because the dragon will devour
her. St. George promises to save her, and at this moment the dragon arrives.
The rather laconic scene of the Low German Passionael reaches a length
of 47 lines in print in the Icelandic version. The episode is told from the
perspective of the princess rather than that of the all-knowing narrator, as
happens in the Passionael, and is structured as a dramatic dialogue. As the
princess is sitting by the lake bemoaning her situation, she sees a knight
approaching on a rapidly galloping horse.