Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Side 70

56
the Norse version is considerably shorter than the existing French version;
the verses 1525-2004, 16 laisses, have been completely omitted. In a few
places the Kms differs from the French text, but agrees with the Middle
English poem Roland and Otuel67 (thus the passage in Kms p. 4576~28 is
an addition to the French text between vv. 1138 and 1139, cp. Roland and
Otuel vv. 1060-83). The Bb version has shortened the original saga con-
siderably in this branch.
Branch VII is a translation of the Pelerinage Charlemagne<;s, with
practically no additions and few omissions.
Branch VIII is a translation of the Chanson de Roland. This branch
is the subject of the second part of this book. With the end of branch VIII,
the Aa version breaks off, and we have to rely on the Bb version and D.
It is clear that the Aa version is incomplete; A breaks off in the middle
of hranch VII, and, as has been pointed out above (p. 33), even though
a breaks off practically at the very point where the eighth branch ends
in Bb, this was not the original end of the branch. S, D and the Rollants-
rimur of ForSur å Strjugi all have the episode of La belle Aude, a trans-
lation of vv. 3705-33 of the Chanson de Roland. Whatever the MSS A
and a may have contained, B and b, and no doubt also the MS from which
they are descended, lacked both this episode and certain other shorter tales
which are now found in D only. These tales are:
a) A short episode (only 11 lines) describing a war in Libya against a
pagan king “Gealwer”. This probably belonged to the Chanson de Roland
in the form known to the Norse translator69.
b) Another short episode, this time a new war against the Saxons, in
which the champion of the French is Roland’s brother Baudouin (only 16
lines in D).
c) A war against the pagan king “Amarus”, who has invaded Italy.
The leaders of the French are Ogier and Charlot, the emperor’s son. Ogier
kills the pagan, but Charlot is jealous of him, and attacks him, and in the
end Ogier has to defend himself and he kills Charlot. He is imprisoned,
but three years later another pagan king, “Maskabret”, invades Spain, and
07 Ed. by Sidney J. Herrtage, in The English Charlemagne Romances, Part Two,
London 1880. Cp. H. Treutler in Englische Studien V, pp. 97-149.
“ Ed. E. Koschwitz: Karls des Grossen Reise nach Jerusalem u. Constantinopel,
7th ed. Leipzig 1923.
" Thus Storm, Sagnkredsene, p. 15; cp. Aebischer: Les différents etats de la
Karlamagnus saga, p. 310.