Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1991, Blaðsíða 137

125
Andliga menn
tacnar (Jion),
himna rike gripendr,
Eucherius: Accipiter interdum
sanctus, ut puto, rapiens
regnum dei, (Hrabanus Maurus:
Accipiter interdum sanctum
virum significat, utpote
rapiens regnum Dei)
sem oc petta:
Himna rike polir afl.
Matthew, 11,12: ...regnum
coelorum vim patitur72.
We may conclude by saying that an interpretation of the literary pro-
blems linked to this as well as to other chapters of the OIP, which I
intend to analyse in due course, requires consideration of more than a
single source. The abridged form of the chapters of the two fragments,
the frequent departures from what has been regarded as their model,
let us argue that the author might have received some echoes from texts
we cannot easily identify but that were current in his day. The pro-
cedure of combining two or more sources in one section is likewise evi-
dent in the contemporary Bestiaries where most of their chapters, even
those derivative from the early Physiologus, underwent a considerable
transformation. The evidence shown above, though confined only to
two birds, has shown the vitality of Physiologus as a whole and the
complexity of the relations existing among the different texts belong-
ing to the genre. If in interpreting Physiologus we do not take into
account that in the course of time it has been revitalized and expanded
by contact with various texts, we can hardly penetrate its nature or find a
reason for its long tradition.
72 Although it is not my own finding (cf. lastly Louis-Jensen, Forklaringer, p. 62), I
have added this parallel to give a complete oudine of the chapter.
*After sending the paper to the printer, I have had the opportunity to read the recendy
published articles by V. Dolcetti Corazza, »Animali reali e fantastici nel Fisiologo
islandese antico«, AION, Fil. Germ. XXVIII-XXIX (1985-86), pp. 141-68, and C. Del
Zotto Tozzoli, »II Physiologus nella tradizione nordica«, Cultura classica e cultura
germanica settentrionale, ed. by P. Janni, D. Poli, C. Santini (Atti del Convegno
Intemazionale di studi. Universitå di Macerata, Facoltå di Lettere e Filosofia, Macerata-
S. Severino Marche, maggio 1985), Roma 1988, pp. 339-70. Flowever, these articles do
not specifically concem the theme I am dealing with.