Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Blaðsíða 183

too harsh on Brother Robert. The text as it stands - if one can refrain
from making comparisons with the French - is rhetorically and stylistical-
ly effective.
Antithetic and synonymous collocations are particularly suited for allit-
eration, as the preceding examples from Tristrams saga and Ivens saga
demonstrate. Passages that contain little parallelism - that is, they contain
no series of collocations - can also become a stylistic entity by the pre-
dominance of one alliterating letter. For example, alliteration on one
predominating stave can consolidate a scene depicting combat, or link
the different speakers and speeches in dialogue, as happens in the follow-
ing altercation between Parceval and the lady from whom he had earlier
snatched a kiss and ring:
“Pu hin frida mær, ekki minnir mik at ek hafa fyrr sét J>ik
ok f>ér ekki vitandi né viljandi mein gert.”
“Pli hefir f>at vist gert, at ek er svå vesol pind.”
“Gu5 veit,” kvad Parceval, “]jess er ek ekki valdandi.
En æ vilda ek verda viss hvat vesold J?inni veldr. (ch. 13,
34:23-27)
(“Fair maiden, I do not recollect that I have seen you before or
have ever done you harm, wittingly or willingly.”
“You have indeed brought it about that I, miserable one, am so
tormented.”
“Heaven knows,” said Parceval, “I am not the cause of this. But I
would certainly like to find out what caused your misery.”)
The author establishes a semantic link between the two partners in dia-
logue through repetition and variation. The lady’s description of her
sorry State - vesold - is repeated by Parceval. The two share the etymolo-
gically related vitandi-vist-veit-vlss, and these words in turn alliterate with
other significant vocabulary. Semantic variation is here supported acous-
tically and thereby emphasized. Unusual in such a short passage is the
occurrence of three present participles which alliterate with each other as
well as with other stressed vocabulary. The use of the present participle
especially with the verb vera or in a dative absolute construction (that
corresponds to the Latin ablative absolute) is rare in the native sagas, but
occurs as a distinctive stylistic feature in the translated sagas, and particu-
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