Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Blaðsíða 231
217
VIII
Death of Turpin and Roland; arrival of Charlemagne ; final defeat
of the pagans; dreams of the emper or, vv. 2164-2569.
The text of V4 is here practically identical with that of O, with one
additional laisse between vv. 2245 and 2246, which Kms and the version
rimée also have, and two laisses between vv. 2416 and 2417 which are
peculiar to this MS. P and L follow the assonanced texts closely, while
CV7 is an expanded version. The difference between Kms and the French
MSS is small and generally of no great importance.
A surprising feature in the saga is the omission of vv. 2193-99 and
2203-06, in which the archbishop laments the death of the peers, and ab-
solves them. It is true that the translator avoids emotions and tears as far
as possible, as pointed out in a previous chapter (above, pp. 123-24), but
here even the scene of absolution is left out, although it belongs, as it
were, to the more “international” and therefore more acceptable motifs
of the poem. Moreover the saga has preserved Roland’s lament, vv. 2207-
14, beside the body of Oliver, monologue and all. The omission of vv.
2193-99 and 2203-06 seems to be a case of deliberate shortening of the
text, carried out by the French remanieur rather than by the translator.
The following laisse, vv. 2215-21, which describes Roland’s sorrow at
the sight of Oliver, and his fainting, is completely omitted in the Icelandic
MSS. S appears to have a reminiscence of vv. 2219-20:
Si grant doel out que mais ne pout ester:
Voeillet o nun, a tere chet pasmet.
S3: och fiøl nedher i owith annat sin (—) sorga saker (ed. Kornhall, p. 9332"33).
But this may be an addition in the S text, based on the following line in
the saga:
Nu så erkibyskup at Rollant hafSi svå mikla ugleSi at hann lå i umætti (p.
52221-22)
which translates v. 2222:
Li arcevesques, quant vit pasmer Rollant46.
46 Cp. also Aebischer: Rol. Bor. p. 215. In V4 the laisse that corresponds to O
vv. 2215-21 has been reduced to 5 verses and combined with the previous laisse.