The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1974, Side 52

5D
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING 1974
about the effect on Canada of the
Spanish Civil War of 1936. This vol-
ume includes a delightfully presented
account, by Hugh MacLennan, relat-
ing to the 1200 Canadians, the famous
Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion of the
XV International Brigade, who fought
on the .side of the Republicans in
Spain. The Republican cause was pro-
moted in Montreal by the Canadian
socialists who “saw the Spanish war
as a fight between two rival ideologies
—Socialism and Fascism”. This account
is presented in a “Story Time” style
and form that hypnotize the reader
into the actual drama being unfolded.
It is probably appropriate at this
point not to reval any more of the
interesting and highly motivating
themes presented in this edition but
rather leave the joy of their discovery
to the prospective readers. Not only is
this volume an excellent supplemnt
to any student text; it also makes de-
lightful fireside reading.
—Arilius Isfeld
BOOK REVIEW:
THE SAGA OF TRISTRAM AND ISOND
Translated with an introduction by
Paul Schach University of Nebraska
Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1973.
P.P. 148. Price $9.50.
To those with an interest in medi-
eval romance, whether scholarly or
casual, here i.s a book which should
offer considerable appeal. In the an-
nals of chivalry, perhaps no name is
more noted than that of Tristram. In
all the knightly arts—horsemanship,
use of the sword and lance, and skill
in the graces of courtly life—he was
without peer. Hi.s long and tragic love
affair with Isond—an Irish princess and
wife of his uncle, King Mark of Corn-
wall—forms the core of the Tristram
legend.
In one form or another the tale of
the ill-fated lovers has been told and
re-told throughout northwestern Eur-
ope. Rooted in Celtic tradition, it has
at times been associated with the Ar-
thurian legend. Wagner used the
story in his opera “Tristram and
Isolde”, based on the 13th Century
romantic poem by Gottfried von
Strasburg. This present work by Paul
Schach (University of Nebrasaka) is a
translation of the version written by
a Friar Robert in 1226 at the request
of King Hakon Hakonarson of Nor-
wav, which in turn was based on the
12th Century poem composed by
Thomas of Brittany. In his intro-
duction the author traces the literary
history of the Tristram poem and
discusses its various versions. “In Ice-
land, especially,” he writes, “the in-
fluence of Tristram’s saga was persist-
ent and pervasive.” He sees a “spiritu-
al affinity between Tristram’s saga and
the indigenous literature of the North
that accounts in large part for its en-
ormous popularity during the Middle
Ages.” It is of interest to note that
the author completed his translation