Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Page 123

saga regarded his source material. In the French romance the hero refu-
ses the offer with charming gallantry; he observes that the emperor of
Germany might be a more appropriate match for the lovely and cultiva-
ted daughter - Ou l’anperere d’Alemaingne/Seroit bien saus s’il l’avoit
prise,/Qui mout est bele et bien aprise! (vv. 5482-84). The response is in
the best tradition of chivalrous deportment. The saga author must have
interpreted the offer contextually, considering how he modifies Yvain’s
response: on the one hånd, Iven is asked to redeem 300 enslaved maid-
ens, on the other, the lord of the castle is willing to reduce his own
daughter to similar estate, since he uses her together with his possessions
to drive a bargain with the knight. Iven interprets the lord’s offer of his
daughter as a form of payment for services rendered and his retort is to
the point: Gud låti mik eigi hana kaupa, heldr skal hon jafnan frjåls fyrir
mér (127:11-12 ‘God forbid that I should bargain like that for your
daughter, but rather, as far as I am concerned she shall always be free’).
Parcevals saga contains a prime example of the interplay between
service and reward, between the altruistic and the erotic. The author of
the riddarasaga found nothing objectionable in the promise of love in
exchange for the promise of service. Parcevals saga adheres to Chrétien’s
text in depicting how the marriage of Parceval and Blankiflur came
about. Like the lady in the Earl Alies episode in Ivens saga, Blankiflur
requests outright Parceval’s assistance against the aggression of King
Klamadius, and under rather unusual circumstances: Parceval wakes up
during the night to find her kneeling by his bedside, bathed in tears.
Despite her unusual visit, and the faet that she is clad only in a shift and
mantie, she reassures him that her intentions are neither sinful nor shame-
ful: Mér kom aldri i hug synd né svlvirding, poat ek kæmi hér nåliga nokt
(ch. 7, 18:31-32). She then pours out the story of her affliction. Parceval
agrees to fight on her behalf against Klamadius, the assailant, but sets a
condition: En efsvå kann til bera at ek drep hann eda sigrumsk å honum,
på bid ek at eignask åstir ydrar (ch. 8, 20:14-15 ‘And if matters come to
pass that I kill him or vanquish him, then I request to be granted your
love’). Blankiflur deemed the request rather humble, the author com-
ments.
The didactic comment by Iven, mentioned earlier, upon being offered
a lord’s daughter is reminiscent of a similar remark - and in a similar
situation - in Erex saga. The hero comes to the rescue of a lady whose
husband has been abducted and mishandled by two giants. Erex takes on
the evil doers, and slays them both, thus releasing the unfortunate
knight. In gratitude the knight and his lady offer to serve Erex for life,
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