Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Blaðsíða 135

portrait of Kanelangres, Tristram’s father (pp. 3-4; see pp. 31-32). We as-
sume that the saga is faithful to Thomas’ Tristan in this respect.8 The
Icelandic Tristram commences by providing information about Tristram’s
background on his maternal side, however; the saga reaches back to the
grandparents:
På er saga fressi gerbisk, hefir så konungr rikt yfir Englandi er
Philippus hét; hann var bædi vitr ok gobgjarn; drottning hans
er nefnd Philippia; hon var vel at sér. Pau åttu ij born: son
{reirra hét Morodd, en Blenzibly dottir; frau våru bæbi efnilig
ok atgervismenn hinir mestu ok hin vinsælstu i uppruna
smum. (ch. 1)
(When this story took place, there was a king ruling over England
who was called Philippus. He was both wise and benevolent. His
queen was named Philippia. She was an accomplished woman.
They had two children; their son was called Morodd, and the
daughter Blenzibly. In their youth they were both as promising and
as accomplished as it was possible to be, and very popular.)
The saga then proceeds to introduce the other major characters who are
to play a role in the introductory section of Tristram: a knight named
Piegrus, who turns out to be Blenzibly’s lover; Héri the Clever, the king’s
counsellor; Pollornis, the page of the princess, who is the intermediary in
her dealings with Kalegras. Chapter I of the saga contains in effect the
kind of information that is typically found in the opening chapter of a
native Icelandic saga, that is, a cast of characters.9
Parcevals saga also opens with an introductory section that presents a
brief account concerning the background of the hero’s parents. In that
respect the saga diverges from the French source, for in Perceval Chréti-
en piunges the reader in medias res, into an idyllic forest setting. We do
not learn how the widow and her son came to live in such seclusion until
vv. 416 ff. The function of the introduction to Parcevals saga is somewhat
different from that of the prologue to the Saga af Tristram ok Isodd cited
above: not the dramatis personae who are to direct the action are present-
ed, but instead the prologue takes the form of an apologia for Parceval’s
solitary upbringing and consequent ignorance of chivalric ways:
8 See Joseph Bédier, Le roman de Tristan par Thomas, I, p. 2.
9 See Andersson, The Icelandic Family Saga, pp. 6-11.
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