Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Page 84
En lor porte serreement,
Ses re?oivent hardiement,
Mais poi de gent et feble furent
Et li autre de force crurent
Des serjans qui sivis les orent,
Tant que cil soffrir ne les porent,
Tant qu’en lor chastel se retraient.
Sor la porte ot archiers qui traient
En la grant fole et en la presse,
Qui molt ert ardans et engresse
D’entrer el chastel a bandon,
Tant c’une route de randon
S’est dedens a force embatue.
Et cil desus ont abatue
Une porte sor cels desoz
Qui ocist et estainst trestoz
Ciax qu’ele ataint en son cheoir.
ok toku |)å at ver jask vaskliga ok drengiliga
ok skutu libit er at for [Joeir <J)å> er at foru] borginni
ok dråpu mikinn fjdlda
allt ]>ar til er styrkr [teirra ox
med fylktu lidi
ok |)å måttu ]>eir ekki lengr vid standa,
J}vi'at f)eir våru fåir ok |>ungmegnir.
Foru på sumir upp i turnana yfir \)å
ok skutu t^adan mikinn fjolda [å j)å]
ok J)vi næst komusk hinir med kostgæfi [teirra ok afli
innan borgar, enn (jeir er geymdu [gættu] borgarhlids
komu |>a lokum ok låsum [låsum ok lokum] fyrir borgina-
en f?eir sem i turninum våru hrundu
miklum borgarvegg å hlidit
ok dråpu hvert manns barn
er innan borgar var komit.26
By conflating the two vellum redactions we arrive at a text that approxi-
mates the French source nearly verse for verse. Attrition in the Icelandic
manuscripts vis-å-vis the French version and what we can postulate to
have been a rather faithful translation is considerable. Of 28 verses, the
fragment NKS 1794b does not transmit the content of four that we know
to have been translated (vv. 2464-67) - on the testimony of Stockholm 6.
Similarly, the latter manuscript has incurred loss of another four verses
known to have been translated (vv. 2480-83) - the text of NKS 1794b
vouches for this. The two manuscripts exhibit a combined loss of the
content of over 8 verses, that is, one third of the translator’s work is
wanting.
In this particular section of the narrative ambiguity may be the reason
for considerable loss of text. To blame is not the translator but Chrétien,
whose orchestration of the battie between opposing forces is none too
lucid. Pronominal confusion reigns: Li autre in v. 2460, and cil in vv.
2466, 72, 80 refer to the besieged, but li autre in v. 2470 and cil in v. 2462
as well as ciax in v. 2483 refer to the besiegers. The translator had followed
26 See Appendix I for English translation.
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J