Studia Islandica - 01.06.1994, Síða 98

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ject-predicate relationship, the use of tenses, and the word
order.
Firstly, it should be pointed out that the original manu-
scripts of the sagas include but scant punctuation. Most of
the inter- and intrasentence divisions have been supplied by
editors, and subsequently either followed or altered by
translators. These editors, however, agree to a surprisingly
high degree on where they should use commas, semi-
colons, and full stops. This can most likely be explained by
their attention to the rhythm which the original author has
given to his sequences. When grouped together they reflect
(as do many of the stylistic features of saga narrative) the
author’s consciousness of the natural pauses needed for
oral delivery. In any group of sentences the final clause
preceeding a full stop usually ends on a concluding, down-
ward note, as the following examples illustrate:
1) Þorsteinn skipaði ferju ok gekk þar á með tólfta mann; var þar
Þórarinn á, mágr hans, ok Ósk Þorsteinsdóttir ok Hildr, dóttir Þór-
arins, er enn fór með þeim, ok var hon þrévetr. (40)
2) Þessa ráðs var freistat ok dugði eigi, því at svá var djúpt á bæði
borð, at forkarnir kenndu eigi niðr, ok varð þar at bíða atfalls; fjarar
nú undan skipinu. (41)
3) Þorkell gerði ráð við tvá menn, at þeir skyldi sik láta á skilja um
einnhvern hlut ok vera þar nær staddir, þá er skírslan væri frömð, ok
koma við torfuna svá mjök, at allir sæi, at þeir felldi hana. (43)
4) “Þat var upphaf at öðrum draum, at ek þóttumk vera stödd hjá
vatni einu; svá þótti mér, sem kominn væri silfrhringr á hönd mér,
ok þóttumk ek eiga ok einkarvel sama; þótti mér þat vera allmikil
gersemi, ok ætlaða ek lengi at eiga.” (88)
5) Guðrún mælti: “Rætt hefi ek þetta áðr við Þorgils, ok er, sem því
sé lokit, því at hann gerði þann einn kost á, er ek vilda ekki á líta;
en ekki fór Þorgils undan at hefna Bolla, ef hann næði ráðahag við
mik; en þess er borin ván, ok mun ek því ekki biðja hann til þess-
arrar ferðar.” (178)