Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1959, Qupperneq 275
261
Other examples, where O probably has corrupt readings, are vv. 1297,
where O has Gualter, all the others Otes, 1943 and 1954, where O has
Marganices, all the others l’algalife. Less decisive is the Kms version of
O v. 285:
Tant par fut bels, tuit si per l’en esguardent,
V4 232: ................. tuti lo per lo guarde,
Kms:
En allir 12 jafningjar hugSu at honum sem vandligast, \>vi at raaSrinn var hinn
vænsti (p. 4915-6),
where CV7 has a different reading. Here the translator may have read a
“long” r as an l; besides, he would probably have associated the word per
with the famous twelve in any case.
Other verses where the saga definitely has the same reading as the later
French MSS are: vv. 11, cp. V4 17 (already mentioned by Storm), 13
(V4 18, numbers), 35 (V4 39, om. CV7), 66 (F4 67, om. CV7), 362
(V4 279), 383 (V4 300?), 438 (V4 354), 457 (V4 366), 485 (V4 381),
526 (V4 436), 599-600 (V4 494-95), 631 (V4 542), 664 (F4 596), 756-
58 (V4 692-93), 796 (V4 735), 884 (V4 837), 975 (V4 916), 1152 (V4
1079), 1236 (F4 1155), 1274 (V4 1191), om. the other MSS, stock
phrase), 1350 (V4 1267), 1626 (V4 1605), 1675 (F4 1722, om. the other
MSS), 1705 (F4 1803), 1756 (F4 1862), 2253 (F4 2408), 2297 (F4
2452), 2497 (F4 2689).
There are many verses where Kms appears to have the same reading as
F4, but where all the MSS use stock expressions, so that the similarity
may be accidental. The type E dist al ret / Droit emperer has already been
mentioned. Another and very instructive example is O v. 2344:
E Durendal, cum es bele e seintisme!
V4 2502: Ay! Durindar, cum es bona et santisme. (C 4081: ... bone =
V7, PLT diff.)
The saga translates:
.... hvi at bu ert bæ8i godr ok heilagr (p. 5246-7),
and commentators might conclude that the French source had bone, not
bele. But even if the source had bele, the translator would probably have
used go3r, which is the appropriate epithet for a sword in Old Norse,
while fagr would sound very unusual in the context.