Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Qupperneq 76

saga, can be in regard to the translator’s style. Until Paul Schach pub-
lished the text of the AM 567 fragment, Roaldr’s lament upon hearing
that Tristram had been kidnapped, read as follows:
“Tristram,” segir hann, “huggun mm ok herra, hugarro min,
åst min ok yndi, gudi gef ek })ik, ok undir hans vernd fel ek
t>ik.” (ch. 18, p. 28)
(“Tristram,” he said, “my comforter and lord, solace of my mind,
my love and delight, to God I commend you, and into His care I
commit you.”)
Alliteration is in evidence, but the passage limps rhythmically. The text is
hardly exemplary of Brother Robert’s penchant for extended alliteration
and his fine sense of rhythm. The style of the passage changes perceptive-
ly once AM 567, which has a fuller text at this juncture, is also taken into
consideration:
“Tristram,” segir hann, “huggari minn ok herra, hugarro min
ok hjarta, åst min ok yndi, gu5i gef ek J^ik, ok i hans vorn ok
vardveizlu fel ek f)ik.”19
(“Tristram”, he said, “my comforter and my lord, solace of my
mind and heart, my love and delight, to God I commend you, and
into His care and keeping I commit you.”)
The restitution of two words (italicized above) as alliterating comple-
ments suffices to re-establish the melody and rhythm of a previously
awkward sentence. This one example is thought-provoking: “If even the
text of Tristrams saga could suffer such attrition (and there is consider-
able evidence that this saga enjoyed greater respect and popularity in
Iceland than most of the other translated romances) it is not difficult to
imagine to what extent Icelandic scribes simplified the style in some of
the other Norwegian translations.”20
The passage above can be used to make another, equally important
19 Cited from Paul Schach, “An Unpublished Leaf of Tristrams saga: AM 567 Quarto,
XXII, 2,” Research Studies, 32 (1964), 54-55.
20 Paul Schach, “Some Observations on the Translations of Brother Robert,” Les rela-
tions littéraires scandinaves ... Actes du Colloque de Liége, p. 129.
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