Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2005, Qupperneq 46
36
Jon Helgason
If the stemma suggested at the beginning of this section is correct,
both X2 and X3 - and, similarly, the possible intermediary between X3
and 458 - must have been very good copies of the saga, considerably
better than M. This appears from the archaisms surviving in 458. Sub-
sequently the C-redaction and in particular the B-redaction have depart-
ed further from the original text.
§ 12.
Now let us retrace our steps to the point at the end of § 3 where it was
stated that a passage corresponding to EgEA I, ch. 9,14-17,6, has been in-
corporated in 560 from an unknown source. For comparison with this
passage we have in the first instance M and K (and in addition the second
leaf of fragment a, which begins at ch. 13,40) and in the second instance
two B-manuscripts, 458(a) and W. The latter only overlap for a few lines,
for 458(a) ends at ch. 11,26 and the first lacuna in W at ch. 11,14.
Here we have the same situation as before: in the seventeenth centu-
ry more manuscript fragments of Egils saga existed than today, and
copyists who did not have access to a more complete exemplar of the
saga combined these fragments. The passage in 560 under discussion is
obviously put together from two sources and can be correspondingly
subdivided into two sections, chs. 9,14-14,23 and 14,23-17,6.
The second section, ch. 14,23-17,6, is closely related to W. For ex-
ample, it even has og væntu sier sigurfor (= W) at 14,27-28, where gen.
sigurfarar might have been expected. Examples like the following ne-
vertheless show that it does not descend directly from W:
15,2 vmm veturinn 560, pann vetr M K, om. W.
15,11-13 pa skal pad vera meira fie, er vid skulum færa ydur<.) enn
allt pad peir sogdu a hendur Porolfe pa bara fora nautar peirra
vitne med peim og sonnudu pad so vera 560, similarly M K,
pa skal pat meira en petta huartueggia W.
16,5 stor mannlega 560, it stormannligsta M, hit skoruligsta W.
16.5 daginn 560 M K, morguninn W.
16.6 og toludust vid 560 K, toluSuz peir vi5 M, om. W.
16.7 a soddan fortolur 560, a slikar fortolur M, a pessar fortølur
K, miok a pat W.
16,21 tuent til huort pu munt allvel fær [read allvarfær] vmm vera
560, similarly M K, ymist fra huersu per ferr W.