Gripla - 01.01.1995, Qupperneq 140

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the replacement of certain forms by synonyms; changes of tense; 2)
omissions vis-á-vis the Sth. 2/AM 661 redaction (the complete legend
is extant only in Sth. 3 and, with the exception of one chapter, in these
two manuscripts), but the injection of cross references to indicate
where the material can be found; and 3) deviations and additions of a
type suggesting that Stefanus saga in Sth. 3 constitutes a compilation
of three differently derived texts: a) the Passio, Inventio, and the first
Translatio narrative, as well as the miracle sequence derive from an
Icelandic redaction that differed significantly from Sth. 2; b) the ac-
count of the transferral of St. Stephen’s relics to Rome was translated
from a Low German redaction - but not that found in the Passionael -
and incorporated into the already existing Icelandic text; c) certain his-
torical and biblical interpolations in the Passio appear to derive on the
one hand from another Icelandic hagiographic text and possibly also
from a Low German source.
The scribe of Reykjahólabók has been identified as Björn Þor-
leifsson,17 and it is likely that he was also the translator of the Low
German legends and the compiler of the legendary. The evidence for
the latter is circumstantial, however, and therefore uncertain. In the
following I do not attempt to argue for or against the identification of
Björn the copyist as the editor, compiler, and translator of Reykjahóla-
bók. My major concern is not to establish whether the copyist of the
Icelandic redaction of Stefanus saga, the translator of the Low
German interpolations, and the editor and compiler of the text trans-
mitted in Sth. 3 were one and the same person, but rather to analyze
the text in relation to that in the other manuscripts containing the Pas-
sio, Inventio, Translatio, and miracle sequence of the legend of St.
Stephen. Thus, references to the „compiler“ of Stefanus saga are to
the individual responsible for the omissions and the interpolations in
the Rhb redaction of Stefanus saga. My argument will focus primarily
on the section of the legend devoted to the Inventio S. Stephani, since
it is transmitted not only in Sth. 2 and AM 661 but also in the older
17 The hand was first identified by Mariane Overgaard, The History ofthe Cross-Tree
Down to Christ's Passion. Icelandic Legend Versions, Ed. Arn. B, 26 (Copenhagen:
Munksgaard, 1968), pp. cv-cxi. Her identification was subsequently confirmed by Ag-
nete Loth in her edition of Reykjahólabók, I, xxix.