Gripla - 01.01.1995, Page 179

STEFANUS SAGA IN REYKJAHÓLABÓK
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The conclusion to be drawn from the above is that not only the In-
ventio narrative but also the first Translatio account in Sth. 3 derives
from an Icelandic source that represented a different version than the
one found in the other Icelandic manuscripts. This hardly comes as a
surprise, for the Translatio was transmitted in Latin and vernacular re-
dactions as part of the Inventio. The source of these two sections of
Stefanus saga in Reykjahólabók presumably was a redaction that did
not contain the second Translatio legend.
IV. The „Interpolated“ Chapter in Sth. 3
and the Structure of the Miracle Sequence
Ch. 13 of Stefanus saga, which Widding and Bekker-Nielsen identi-
fied as material deriving from a source other than an older Icelandic
redaction, is an account of a second transferral of the relics of St. Ste-
phen, this time from Constantinople to Rome, where they came to rest
next to those of his fellow martyr St. Lawrence. On one level the leg-
end of the translation of the relics of St. Stephen to Rome is a miracle
story. Eudoxia, the daughter of Emperor Theodosius is possessed by
the devil, and in order to obtain a cure, her father wishes to send her
to Constantinople to visit the grave of St. Stephen. The devil, however,
announces through her that he will not leave her body until the relics
of St. Stephen have been brought to Rome. When the emperor asks
the Constantinopolitans to cede their relics, he is told that they are
willing to give up their saint only in exchange for the relics of St. Law-
rence, and this is agreed upon. The relics of St. Stephen are to be
placed in the church of St. Peter in Chains, but when the bearers arrive
there, the body becomes so heavy that they are unable to move it. The
devil intervenes again and announces that St. Stephen wishes to rest
nowhere except at the side of St. Lawrence. On this occasion the prin-
cess is cured. When the remains are borne to the church of St. Law-
rence, a minor miracle attesting the posthumous friendship of the two
saints takes place: St. Lawrence moves aside to make room for his fel-
low martyr. Again there is supernatural interference, for when the
Constantinopolitans now attempt to remove the remains of St. Law-
rence, they fall to the ground unconscious. The body of St. Lawrence
is once more placed beside that of St. Stephen, and heaven voices its