Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Side 137
virduliga sina hird, sem vandi hans var til, svå engi jrottisk sét
hafa slika konungs prydi. (3:3-4:2)
(This story opens as King Arthur was holding court in his castle
which was called Kardigan. It was the Easter season and he was
maintaining his court as magnificently as had always been his cus-
tom; no one could remember ever having seen such royal splendor
elsewhere.)
With the presentation of the setting, the romance and the saga go their
separate ways, however. In Erec et Enide the author turns immediately
to the first narrative segment that is signalled by Arthur’s announcement
of the hunt for the white stag. The author of Erex saga chooses to inter-
polate a short portrait of the eponymous hero. Thereby he rounds out the
introductory section of the work so that it functions more nearly as pro-
logue:
Med honum våru xij spekingar hans ok rådgjafar, er dagliga
ridu ut med honum [Stockholm 46, fol.: er dagliga såtu at
hans kringlottu bordi]. Einn af [>eim var sonr Ilax konungs,
mikill kappi i riddaraskap, fridr synum ok tørottamadr mikill,
eigi eldri en hålf])ritugr, er saga jsessi gerdisk. Hann hét
Erex; hann var vel virdr af konungi ok drottningu ok allri
hirdinni. (4:3-8)
(On his daily rides [at his round table] Arthur had the company of
his twelve wise men and counselors. One of these, the son of King
Ilax, was outstanding in chivalrous deeds. He was handsome in
appearance, a most accomplished man, and not over twenty-five
years of age when this story took place. His name was Erex. He was
highly esteemed not only by the king and queen but also by all the
courtiers.)
The position of the hero’s portrait, albeit not all of the information about
him, is original with the saga. In Erec et Enide, the hero is not introduced
until he appears on stage, during the hunt for the white stag. He is
accompanying the queen and a maid-in-waiting, and Chrétien imparts to
us his name (v. 82), the faet that he is a member of the Table Round (v.
83), and that he is highly esteemed by all (vv. 84-86). The author lauds
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