Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1981, Side 245

for the lion in the other romances - and in this manner the dragon flies
to its lair. The lion is thrown to the dragon’s young and immediately
devoured by them. Having also eaten its fill, the old dragon uncurls its
tail, thereby releasing Pidrikr, and falis asleep. Pidrikr sneaks off, finds a
sword, and with this weapon he kills the dragon and its young. He then
comes upon a precious suit of armor, dons it, and leaves the scene. Thus
concludes the episode. Despite the happy ending - for the hero - the
episode is exceptional. The hero of the saga sets out to rescue a lion but
fails, notwithstanding his prayer for divine assistance. Vilhjålms saga
sjdds contains a reflex of some of the elements of this episode from
Pidriks saga. After Vilhjålmr has rescued the lion, he comes upon the
dragon’s den, where he finds much gold and the young. He kills the
young dragons, and then carries off the gold. The very same topoi are
repeated in Konråds saga keisarasonar and in Sigurdar saga pogla.
The late medieval romances contain variations on the conclusion of the
grateful-lion episode in Ivens saga, where the manner in which the animal
manifests its gratitude for the rescue is charming. Having slain the dra-
gon, Iven fears that the lion will now attack him, and the knight prepares
to defend himself. Instead of attacking him, however, the lion crawls
towards the knight, rolis onto its back, belly up, like a puppy waiting to
be scratched, as tears roil down to its muzzle. The behavior of the lion
resembles that of a dog - the anthropomorphic element excepted - and,
in faet, in Sigurdar saga pogla the hero pats the lion on the back before
taking it to his tent, where SigurQr feeds the animal and nurses its
wounds. In Konråds saga keisarasonar the scene from Ivens saga is re-
peated verbatim, but only after Konrådr has addressed the lion - saying
“You are supposed to understand the speech of men” (66:50) - and
suggested that he become the animal’s master. The hero puts the lion on
a leash. In Grega saga the hero also talks to the animal. He rides off after
having slain the dragon and suddenly realizes that he is being followed.
When Grega prepares to defend himself, the lion demonstrates its peace-
ful intentions, and the hero addresses the animal with words reminiscent
of those in Konråds saga keisarasonar.
None of the sagas containing the grateful-lion motif- Ivens saga includ-
ed - is as expansive in its account of the rescue of the lion as is Sigurdar
saga fxigla. The author borrowed and transformed matter from hither
and yon in order to create an harmonious complex of narrative units
dominated by the grateful-lion motif. In Sigurdar saga frogla the lion
becomes the companion par excellence and demonstrates that he is in-
deed the wisest of animals - as the author maintains his sources claim.
16*
231