Studia Islandica - 01.07.1966, Page 38

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by a hundred columns. This building had decorations depict-
ing all creation: flying birds, animals, and serpents are men-
tioned.
The third building is the one assigned by Hugue to Charle-
magne and his men to sleep in. This was also vaulted and
decorated with painted flowers and precious stones. It was
illuminated by a carbuncle. There were twelve splendid beds
with beautiful coverings, and a thirteenth in the centre: this
one was circular, and had gold ornaments.
Many of the details of the description of the sleeping
chamber in RauSúlfs þáttr correspond to those in one or
other of these descriptions. This building, like Hugue’s
palace, was circular, and revolved (according to the sun,
not with the wind). It was vaulted, and the roof was sup-
ported by twenty pillars standing in a circle. Like Charle-
magne’s sleeping chamber it had splendid beds for the king’s
men, with beautiful coverings, and King Óláfr’s bed, like
Charlemagne’s, was the finest and stood in the middle, and
had gold ornamentations. The circular dais mentioned in
RauSúlfs þáttr recalls the fact that Charlemagne’s bed was
circular.
The decorations on the walls and roof of the building in
RauSúlfs þáttr are described in much greater detail than
those in Le Voyage de Charlemagne, although the sugges-
tion for most of them is to be found in the French poem.
Rauðúlfr’s chamber had pictures representing all creation,
including angels, the sky and heavenly bodies (cf. the church
in Jerusalem), birds of the air and beasts of the field (like
Hugue’s revolving palace), fishes in the sea (like the church
at Jerusalem), and plants (like Charlemagne’s sleeping
chamber). The stories of ancient times (fornsQgur) may
have been suggested by the pictures of martyrs in the
church at Jerusalem. It may be noted also that King Óláfr
at first takes the sleeping chamber at Rauðúlfr’s homestead
for a church.
Karlamagnus saga survives in two main versions. One is