Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Blaðsíða 171
157
corresponded to the French verse. The rest of the speech is summarized
in a short phrase, of a type often found in the Icelandic sagas. The other
French texts do not differ materially from O, and there is no reason to
believe that the French source had a dif ferent text here. The explanation
proposed by M. Aebischer, viz. that the translator did not understand w.
1925-311S, is scarcely necessary: at least one verse in this passage, v. 1927,
occurs in almost exactly the same form elsewhere, and is then correctly
rendered (cp. vv. 1054, 1063—64, 1194, 1210). The translator has simply
substituted a Norse stock phrase for a number of French verses.
The saga has a strange version of O v. 2169:
A l’arcevesque Turpin alat aider,
which is translated:
En Turpin erkibyskup rann til hans sem skjotast (p. 5224'5).
It is possible that the translator has misunderstood the verse: he may
have overlooked the preposition a, or, if the first three words were written
a li arcevesque, he may have taken a li to mean “to him”, since in Old
Norse no definite article is needed before the noun, and he must have
regarded the words arcevesque Tur pin as the subject of the clause.
But this is not the only possible explanation. There are some peculiar
features in the saga version of the rest of this passage too:
(-----rann til hans sem skjotast) ok tok af honum skjold hans ok brynju ok hjålm,
ok skar af honum silkikyrtil
ok sneri honum i moti vindi at koela hann, ok mælti siSan:
Heilagr gu5 himneskr sé lofaSr i bvi, er vér hofum sigr i orrustu jiessi, j>u Rollant
ok vér meS J>ér.
UglaSliga må ek jjess biSja hik goSr félagi, segir Rollant (p. 5225 10).
This corresponds to the following French verses:
(2169: A l’arcevesque Turpin alat aider)
2170: Sun elme ad or li deslagat del chef, = V4 2322
2171: Si li tolit le blåne osberc leger, = V4 2323
2172: E sun blialt le ad tut detrenchet; — V4 2324
add. V4 2327: Pois li a dit: “Al vent vos refredé!”
O 2183: Cist camp est vostre, mercit Deu, vostre e mien”. = V4 2335
O 2176: Mult dulcement li ad Rollant preiet: — V4 2328
O 2177: “E! gentilz hom, car me dunez eunget! — V4 2329
18 Rol. Bor. p. 202.