Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Page 195

(But the retainers say: “This is contrary to God’s law unless she
herself gives permission to do so” - and that they could not get out
of her.)
Although the earl by no means gives up his attempts to seduce Evida, he
takes into consideration the objections voiced by his courtiers, and does
not marry her. The intercalated reference to God’s law - and implicitly to
the right of a woman to make a decision regarding marriage - as well as
the acquiescence of the earl in this matter, betrays a major difference of
attitude. In Erex saga especially - but to some extent also in the other
romances - occur deviations from the French text that are chiefly the
result of the saga author’s individual perception of reality, which derives
from his own cultural background, ethical as well as literary. The major
discrepancy between the Count of Limors episode in Erec et Enide and
the Earl Placidus episode in Erex saga obtains because of differing views
regarding the relationship between the sexes. In Erec et Enide Chrétien
expresses the right of the stronger of the species to make decisions for the
weaker. In the romance Enide has no right of self-determination, but in
the saga the retainers remind their lord that it is contrary to God’s law,
presumably canon law, to marry Evida without her consent.
Another textual interpolation in Erex saga, one which also results in a
change of substance, provides further evidence that the attitude towards
woman as expressed in Erex saga diverges from that in Erec et Enide.
Erex’ love for Evida, at first sight, and his immediate proposal of mar-
riage have been discussed elsewhere (see pp. 103-04), but the response of
the father to his request is germane to the present discussion. After Erex’
enthusiastic outburst, in which he also points out that he is the son of a
king and in the service of another king, namely Arthur, the saga relates
how Evida’s father reacts in thought and word:
Husbondinn var5 gladr vid, er hans ætt var honum vitanlig
ordin, ok mælti: “Opt hefi ek heyrt (rin getit at hreysti ok
riddaraskap, ok ongum kosti vil ek f>vi neita at gipta J)ér mina
dottir, ef j>at er hennar vili.” (ch. 3, 12:7-10)
(The master of the house was now very glad when he learned about
Erex’ family, and said: “I have often heard people speak about
your bravery and chivalrous deeds, and by no means do I wish to
refuse to give you my daughter in marriage - if that is her wish.”)
13 King Arthur
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