Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1960, Blaðsíða 272

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tampered with the text. At I 4r. 19 fyrer in the course of writing is
ehanged into vegna [Roil. frænda mijns], similarly at I 2r. 23 Suari
into tali, etc. However, these scribal alterations would seem mainly
to be confined to selections from among available synonyms.
As far as textual criticism is concerned, then, we are in an un-
favourable position. In principle we have at our disposal but one
text, which can be described as the transcript of a transcript. Con-
sequently, the following remarks on the relationship between the
translation and the original are only applicable to the relationship
between I and G, or between a text that is the product of original
translation and various scribal alterations whose extent is not known,
and a text which may be, but has not been conclusively proved to
be, the source of the translation.
It should be added that these remarks do not by any means make
any claim to be considered exhaustive. I cannot undertake an ex-
amination of the language of I, which would doubtless pr o ve of
interest. What can be done here is merely to offer a preliminary
presentation of the translation, with special reference to the trans-
lator’s relation to his original and to his knowledge of German.
These remarks are mainly based on an analysis of the translation
of five out of the 31 chapters found in G (G 1 and 2~I 1, G 8~I 7,
G 22 ~ I 21, G 30 ~ I 29), the examination of individual words
being, however, supplemented by means of further excerption.
As far as the arrangement of the text is concerned, there are
few and insignificant variations observable as between I and G:
the arguments heading each chapter of G are not found in I, which
on the other hånd adds a numbering of chapters which is absent
from G. The division into chapters seen in I is similar to the one
found in G, only the two first chapters of G have been thrown
together to form one chapter in I; formally, therefore, I has but
30 chapters while G has 31.
I have observed no major omissions of prolonged passages in I,
while there do occur quite a few minor omissions. Additions being
rare, the result is that I is rather shorter than G.
Omissions are particularly numerous in the case of lists of names
and titles: