Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Side 192

VI. Icelandic Metamorphoses
But it is when they [the translators] took liberties, expanding, con-
tracting, and rearranging episodes to suit themselves, that they
revealed most, especially about their ideas of effective narrative.
That is why the Icelandic versions are interesting in inverse ratio to
their faithfulness.1
The literary form taken by the matiére de Bretagne in Norway and Iceland
is characterized by variety. Despite the faet that one can isolate certain
stylistic, structural, or thematic features that predominate in the Arthuri-
an riddarasogur, no one saga contains the aggregate of characteristics
associated with the translated romances. They also display considerable
variance in the degree of fidelity to their sources. Differences are discern-
ible not only from work to work, but also from scene to scene within the
same work. Similar episodes in the romans courtois did not necessarily
generate similar responses from the authors of the riddarasogur. The
translated romances became transmitters - albeit in another language
and another form - of the French matiére de Bretagne. Not infrequently,
however, it is possible to observe in the Norwegian-Icelandic riddara-
sogur the gradual metamorphosis from translation into indigenous saga.
The considerable variety in the reception of the Matter of Britain by
the authors of the riddarasogur is exemplified by two analogous episodes
in Tristrams saga and Ivens saga. In both episodes the antagonist is a
giant. Tristrams saga relates how King Arthur undertakes to avenge the
death of his kinswoman Elena, whom a giant had abducted. The giant
had taken her to his cave where he forced his attentions upon her; she
died as a result.
En pvi (at) hon var hin fridasta kona, på girntisk hann likams
losta af henni. En på er hann gat ekki unnit pat er hann vildi,
1 Schlauch, Romance in Iceland, pp. 174-75.
178