Gripla - 01.01.1995, Qupperneq 188

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GRIPLA
copyist. A comparison of Stefanus saga in Sth. 3 with the text of the
legend in the other extant manuscripts provides evidence that Björn
was copying an older Icelandic redaction of the Inventio, first Trans-
latio, and miracle sequence that was in some instances markedly dif-
ferent from the other preserved texts. The most striking deviations are
found in the content of the roses-and-saffron dream in the Inventio
and the structure of the miracle sequence.
The Sth. 3 redaction of Stefanus saga contains the most complete
legend of St. Stephen in Iceland, for unlike the redaction represented
by Sth. 2, it includes a second Translatio account before the miracle se-
quence. This second Translatio derives from a Low German legend -
not from that in the Passionael, but from a longer redaction. In in-
terpolating the translation from the Low German, presumably for the
sake of completeness, Björn revealed himself to be a compiler, a facet
of his literary activity evident also in other parts of Stefanus saga. The
Passio section of the legend appears to derive ultimately from the
same Icelandic translation of the legend as the other manuscripts, yet
it manifests considerable editorial intervention. Björn deleted matter -
for example, the story of Veronica, because it could be read in another
legend, that of St. James the Less - at the same time that he in-
tercalated into Stefanus saga scriptural matter, which possibly also de-
rives from the legend of St. James. Björn, the editor and compiler,
went about his work with respect for the reader, for when he in-
tervened in the text he was copying, he provided cross references.
Stefanus saga, as transmitted in Reykjahólabók, is the work of a
hagiographer who set about transmitting as complete a record of the
saint’s Passio, Inventio, Translatio, and miracles as was available in
Iceland at the time. The Sth. 3 redaction of Stefanus saga is superior to
that in the other manuscripts - despite its idiosyncratic Icelandic lexi-
con and syntax - inasmuch as it is a compilation of late medieval
knowledge about St. Stephen. Björn Þorleifsson copied an already ex-
isting Icelandic translation from the Latin but supplemented the text
by translating additional material found in a Low German redaction.
Contrary to what has been claimed, Björn, as copyist and translator,
neither modernized the language nor modified the content of his
source(s). Nonetheless, he appears to have worked in the awareness of
his œuvre as a whole and therefore made conscious decisions to ex-
clude matter recounted elsewhere. He was a thoughtful editor who