Gripla - 01.01.1995, Page 150

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GRIPLA
that with the exception of one chapter are similar in length to the Sth.
3 redaction.
One such instance of what appears to be amplification - but is not -
on Björn’s part occurs when Gamaliel exhorts Lucianus to find the
body of St. Stephen as well as his own, that of his son, and Nicodemus.
In Sth. 2, he exhorts Lucianus:
lvk þv vpp skyndiliga groi þe/ri er jliggia likam/r vor/r orækt/r at
drottinn luki vpp dyrvm milldi sinnar tyrir mankyninv þv/at
heimrin/7 færizt j mTzrgann haska (46rb9-12; Hms 298:24-27)
The reading in Sth. 15 concurs with the above (80v34-35; 94rl9-20), as
does AM 661 (13r3-7). The corresponding passage in Sth. 3 is more ex-
pansive, however:
lvk þv helldr vpp skyndelega gravf þeirre er j liggia likamer vor-
er vrægtter þviat vær ervm fyrer longo gleymder af veralldlegvm
monnvm og liggivm j einvm ovidrqvæmlegvm stad. far til og Ivk
vpp dyrvm millde þinnar fyrer mannkynennv þviat heimvrenn
færizt nv j margann haska. en drotten minn vill leyfa þat at vær
eigvm vpp hefiazt vr þeim stad sem nv ervm vær honvm til lofs
en monnvm til gagnsemda. (227:21-27)
On the surface the preceding might be interpreted as Björn’s amplifi-
cation, but this is not the case. The text is corrupt - either because of a
copying error on Björn’s part or because it already existed in his
source - as comparison not only with Sth. 2 shows, but also with a Lat-
in redaction. The plea in Sth. 3 „lvk vpp dyrvm millde þinnar" should
be directed to the Lord, not to Lucianus. The above explanation for
opening the tomb, however, is attested in Latin sources. The redaction
edited by Mombritius reads:
Aperi nobis festinanter monumentum : ubi in negligentia positœ
sunt nostrœ reliquiœ : ut per nos aperiat deus et Christus eius et
spiritus sanctus ostium clæmentiæ suæ in hoc mundo . periclita-
tur enim sæculum in multis causis : quæ in eo singulis diebus
fiunt. (493:47-50)
The Latin redaction deviates somewhat from Sth. 3 but attests the au-
thenticity of the Icelandic text. Although the corresponding passage in
the Legenda aurea is an abbreviated version, it nevertheless transmits
an additional element of the Sth. 3 redaction. Gamaliel says: