Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Page 163
Support for Isond does not seem to be unanimous, however, for the
nobles wrangle about her oath formula:
Sumir vilja f>rengja henni ok angra hana,
en sumir vilja hjålpa henni um eidstafinn.
Flestir vildu fylgja konunginum at gera eidstafinn
sem frekastan. (ch. 59, p. 128)
(Some wanted to constrain and distress her, but some wished to
help her in the formulation of the oath. Most of them agreed with
the king that the oath formula should be most rigorous.)
The effectiveness of the above rests on a combination of enumerative
technique and antithesis. A variant of this stylistic device occurs in Parce-
vals saga; the passage is constructed in a manner resembling the examples
above from Tristrams saga, but is not as effective because not as extended.
Alliteration - instead of antithesis - functions here in a supporting role:
Sumar fcalla hann fcaupmann,
sumar Ziuglausan Ziirdmann,
sumar/agrt /ol. (ch. 15, 44:1-2)
(Some call him a merchant, some a cowardly courtier, some a fair
fool.)
Enumeration is not necessarily always intended for emphasis; it is the
most succinct mode of depicting the activities of large numbers as, for
example, in a tournament:
Sem J)eir eru mettir, J)å for lidit at leika sér:
einir til atreida;
adrir at rydja (sic) skjoldu;
hinir jjridju at skjota gaflokum,
sumir at skylmask med allskonar skemmtan ... at leika,
sem hirdmanna sidir eru i odrum londum at slikum sam-
kundum. (Tristrams saga, ch. 70, p. 147)
(When they had finished eating, the retainers went out to amuse
themselves: some took part in jousting, others in the bohort; some
11 King Arthur
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