Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1960, Page 281

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considerable similarity between the two magniloquent, almost in-
vulnerable giants Ferakut and Fierabras, even if we disregard the
slight similarity of names. The translator or transcriber who renamed
Fierabras may have been in good faith; he may have thought that
here was another version of the account describing the heathen
giant Ferakut’s encounter with the defenders of Christianity, Charle-
magne and his Peers. Or he may, against his better judgment, have
renamed the giant so as to create a greater measure of advance
interest round his saga by associating it with an already well-known
and popular tale.
The tale is also called Bruarpdttur because its latter part is dom-
inated by the description of the furious struggle for the Mantrible
or Mautrible bridge, “Su bru til mantribel” (I 84r. 12 : G Giiij die
Bruclc zu Mantribel).
III. Appendix
Bålants rimur og Ferakuts.
In 1701 GuSmundur Bergjxtrsson composed 24 rimur about Fera-
kut. Judging from the numerous copies of them found in “Lands-
bokasafn” at Reykjavik18, these rimur must have been highly
popular. In the rest of Scandinavia there appears to exist only one
transcript, viz. R: 695 at the University Library of Uppsala19; this
transcript is the only one I have had the opportunity of inspecting.
The rimur about Ferakut have not been published in their entirety.
Only quite recently have a few brief specimens been printed in
Craigie’s Synisbok Islenzkra Rimna II (1952), pp. 147-160 and
279-291, under the title of Rimur af Ferakut Bdlantssyni.
The correct assumption that these rimur are based on Fierabras
was advanced as eariy as in the introduction to Busching and von
der Hagen’s Buch der Liebe 1809, p. xxxviii:
Im Altislåndischen giebt es em Werk, welehes p. 102. der sehon erwahnten
Sciagraphia hist. liter. Islandicae, Halfdani, Einari, angefuhrt wird, unter
18 Pali. Eggert (5rason, Skrå um handritasofn Landsbokasafnsins I-III (1918—
37). See the index III, p. 414 (“Bålant admiråll”).
19 Godel, Katalog ofver Upsala Universitets Biblioteks fomislandska och forn-
norske håndskrifter (1892), pp. 42 f.