Gripla - 2023, Blaðsíða 99

97GENESIS AND PROVENANCE OF THE OLDEST SOUL
Although the latest possible date for the production of Viðrǿða líkams
ok sálar is contemporary with the translation of Tristrams saga ok Ísǫndar,
on the basis of historical and editorial considerations, I would exclude
Brother Robert as a possible translator of Desputisun. In fact, the French
visionary body-and-soul dialogue is thematically, stylistically, and lexi-
cographically distant from the Arthurian and courtly matrix of the texts
translated by Robert, which does not include any of the theological,
eschatological, and soteriological material typical of Desputisun and its
Norse translation. Furthermore, Brother Robert was probably active in an
English Cistercian centre in Norway, such as that of Lyse or Hovedøya,82
while a Benedictine milieu can be hypothesized for the preparation of Y.
Conclusion
In terms of genre, sources, and dating, the text of Viðrǿða líkams ok
sálar undoubtedly represents a unicum within the corpus of Old Norse
literature. From the textual evidence examined, the version transmitted
in N emerges as the closest possible textual witness to the archetype Y.
As previously demonstrated by Widding and Bekker-Nielsen, through
qualitative analysis of concurrent readings, it is also possible to ascertain
the existence of a subarchetype that today is lost, designated as Z by
the two scholars, the ancestor of the three Icelandic manuscripts A, R1,
and R2. Furthermore, the existence of an additional codex interpositus
Z1 has been established on the basis of significant errors shared by R1
and R2. In addition, from a complete collation of Viðrǿða líkams ok sálar
with variants of the Desputisun, conclusions can also be made about the
French Vorlage underlying the Norse text. From its agreements and
omissions within the French manuscript tradition, it is logical to assume
that it necessarily had to belong to the Continental tradition rather than
to the Insular tradition. The lost French source-text must have preceded
1250 and Strengleikar in 1270. Furthermore, King Hákon Hákonarson also commisioned
Mǫttuls saga and Ívens saga. Other texts on Arthurian topics, such as Parcevals saga, were
translated during his reign. For a recent study, see Francesca Coscia, “L’amour courtois in
Scandinavia: La versione norrena dei lais di Marie de France negli Strengleikar” (PhD diss.,
University of Naples “L’Orientale,” 2018), 32.
82 Isidro Rivera, “Brother Robert,” in The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, ed. Norris J. Lacy
(New York: Routledge, 1996), 56.