Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1979, Page 89
77
“tacit condemnation”9 of the heathen King Felix in the following
opening lines of the saga:
Felix hét konungr i borg J?eiri, er Apies heitir, ågætr at fé ok lidi; en
hann var heidinn. (I, l)10
Furthermore, when we consult the French text, which is not
reproduced in the article, we realize that “en hann var heidinn” may
simply be a translation of “si fu paiiens” (A 61). GB claims that “the
opening lines of the work [the saga] emphasize the Christian-heathen
clash between Flores’ family and Blankiflur’s”. She States that “By
omitting the prologue to the original, which is preoccupied entirely with
amors (1-51), the translation highlights a religious conflict which, in the
romance, is overshadowed by interest in romantic love”* 11. This is a
misrepresentation, since lines 13-24 of the prologue spell out the
Christian-heathen polarity in the roman'2:
Flores, ses amis, que vos di,
Uns rois paiiens l’engenui;
Et Blanceflor, que tant ama,
Uns cuens crestiiens l’engenra.
Flores fu tos nés de paiiens,
Et Blanceflors de crestiiens.
Bautisier se fist en sa vie
Flores por Blanceflor s’amie;
Car en un biau jor furent né
Et en une nuit engenré.
Puis que Flores fu crestiiens,
Li avint grans honors et biens; (A)
9 P. 155.
10 Cf. the reading in the parallel text:
Felix hefir konungr heitit i borg Jjeiri, er Apies heitir, nog rikr at fé ok liåi; hann var
heiåinn.
printed in the appendix of the Kolbing edition, p. 78.
11 P. 155.
12 The hagiographic element in the roman should not be underestimated, cf. Maurice
Delbouille, “A propos de la patrie et de la date de Floire et Blanchefleur”, in Mélanges de
linguistique et de littérature romanes ojferts å Mario Roques, 4 (Paris, 1952), p. 98.