Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Page 197
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before this verse, however), and L with v. 1152. The episode is also pre-
served in the German and Welsh translations and in the Flemish and
Middle English versions (in part), but the latter especially are of no
interest for our purpose, since they contain nothing of importance that
does not also occur in one or more of the French versions. From v. 792
onwards we have the Swedish text in addition to the Icelandic MSS of
the saga.
There are numerous small differences between the French MSS; V4
and the version rimée have a number of additional laisses in common, and
these are in general also extant in the Kms text. On the other hånd there
are many additional laisses in the version rimée MSS which do not occur
in the saga32.
The saga version omits the dreams in laisses LVI-LVII, O vv. 717-36.
The dreams definitely belonged to the original Chanson de Roland, and
there is an allusion in vv. 836-37:
Enoit m’avint un’ avisiun d’angele,
Qu’entre mes puinz rae depecout ma hanste:
transiated in Kms:
1 nott bar fyrir mik, at engill guSs kom til min
ok braut i sundr spjotskapt mitt i millum handa mer, (p. 5022"3),
which shows that these laisses have been omitted by a remanieur, French
or Norse. The translation of vv. 836-37 is not correct; in the saga it is
the angel, not Ganeion, who breaks the hanste. But if the translator had
known vv. 720-23, he would scarcely have made this mistake, and con-
sequently the laisses were probably omitted in the French source. The
translator might of course have forgotten vv. 720-23 by the time he
reached vv. 836-37, and in this case, we cannot decide whether the omis-
sion is due to the translator or his source. It should be noted however that
the translator does not omit the dreams in vv. 2529-62, although he ob-
viously does not understand them. Those of vv. 717-36 are less obscure,
and the first dream at least should cause no difficulty33.
æ For a full discussion of the relationship between the French MSS in this episode,
vide Horrent: La Chanson de Roland dans les litteratures etc. pp. 165-171.
33 For an explanation of the dreams, vide Bédier: Lég. ép. III, 3rd ed. p. 476,
and, for another interpretation, E. Lerch in Romania 64, 1938, pp. 401 ff.