Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Page 261
247
The description of the execution of Ganeion in Kms is probably derived
from a laisse which resembled O vv. 3964-74:
3964: Quatre destrers funt amener avant,
Puis si li Hent e les piez e les mains.
Li cheval sunt orgoillus e curant:
3969: Guenes est turnet a perdiciun grant;
Trestuit si nerf mult li sunt estendant
E tuit li membre de sun cors derumpant:
Sur l’erbe verte en espant li cler sanc.
Cp. Kms:
Si5an var Guinelun jarl bundinn i millum tveggja hrossa utamra, ok drogu jiau
hann vi5a um Frakkland, til pess er svå lauk hans æfi at ekki bein var fast viS
annat å likama hans, ok våru f>au eigi harSari en makligt var (var t>v£Hkr hans
dauSi, sem nu måtti heyra ok makligt var B, — bæ\ pp. 53030-5314).
The following laisse in O, vv. 3975-87, describes how the pagan queen
is baptized, and this is omitted in the saga, and also in the version rimée.
The concluding words of the Icelandic MSS of the saga have no parallel
in any of the French versions:
Eptir hat let Karlamagnus konungr frelsa sitt rlki ok styrkja ok setja i sin lond
menn til stjornar ok forråSa, en rySja i brott sinum fjåndmonnum (end of a, Bb
adds:) ok andskotum. Svå segist at Karlamagnus keisari ætti siSan margar orrostur
ok sigraSist £ fåm, en helt f>o riki sinu ollu til dauSadags. Ok lykr svå bessum
haetti (p. 5314-8).
The saga text is probably based on a few verses in the French source de-
scribing the dissolution of the assembly and the return of the great vassals
to their homes. The addition in Bb is an obvious scribal note, because,
in this version at least, this was the end of the Runzivals pattr. In S and
D the whole passage is omitted, but that may only be because these versions
frequently shorten their Norse source.
82 The words of the a text: våru pau eigi harSari en makligt var do not mean
“ils (the bones) ne furent pas plus solides qu’ils ne devaient” (Aebischer: Rol. Bor.
p. 237), but “they (the horses) did not treat him worse than he had deserved.” It
may be that this text is wrong and that pau originally referred to some word for
punishment. Cf. the text of Bb.