Francini, Tristrams Saga.pdf

M ARUSCA F RANCINI

(Università degli Studi di Pavia)

The Saga af Tristram ok Ísodd:

an Icelandic reworking of Tristrams saga

Summary . The Saga af Tristram ok Ísodd , which is also known as Tristrams saga

ok Ísoddar , is an Old Icelandic reworking of the Tristan legend, dating back to the

14 th century. In the past, critics analyzed the Saga af Tristram ok Ísodd in relation to

its alleged source, Tristrams saga , which is the Old Norse prose translation of Tho-

mas’ Tristan ; more recently, critics have argued for the necessity of studying this

saga in the context of the wider Icelandic and European cultural and literary frame-

work. Following this suggestion, this essay investigates some aspects of structure

and style in the Old Icelandic reworking. The analysis of the composition technique

reveals that the use of the conventions of various different literary forms which were

current in medieval Iceland (such as translated Riddarasögur , original Riddarasögur

and Íslendingasögur ), has been crucial to the reshaping of the Tristan legend.

1. Introduction

The Saga af Tristram ok Ísodd , also known as Tristrams saga ok Ísoddar , is

a prose work written in Iceland in the 14 th century and handed down in a 15 th

century manuscript. It is a reworking of the legend of Tristan and Isolt and

its model has been traced to Tristrams saga , a Norwegian prose translation

of the Anglo-Norman poem Tristan by Thomas.

In their studies on the Saga af Tristram , Leach, Schach and Kalinke focused

on its relation to Tristrams saga , whilst Thomas and Barnes have more re-

cently enlarged the field of comparison by placing the Icelandic work in the

literary framework of its time. Leach (1921: 169-198) held the Icelandic

work to be a vulgarization of Tristrams saga , written for a less refined audi-

ence. Schach (1964: 281) at first deemed it a “clumsy retelling of Tristrams

saga based on a faulty recollection of the original”, further distorted by the

addition of names and situations from other sources, and as a result an unin-

tentional parody; he later changed his mind and spoke of “a deliberate re-

ply”, of a farcical imitation of Tristrams saga [Schach (1964: 281), (1987:

95)]. Kalinke, noting that the Icelandic reworking has but scarce affinities

with the tragic love story we know from the Norwegian translation [Kalinke

M ARUSCA F RANCINI

(1985: 348)] speaks of an “iconoclastic approach” [Kalinke (1981: 211)],

considering the Saga af Tristram a parody of translated Riddarasögur and of

Arthurian romance in general; in her opinion, the Icelandic work, by means

of distorsion and exaggeration of certain motifs, mocks the behavioural pat-

terns put forward by courtly literature [Kalinke (1981: 199-211)].

Whereas Schach and Kalinke see a burlesque purpose, M.F. Thomas (1983:

54) rejects the idea of parody and considers the Icelandic work in the light of

the influence of other European traditions; she claims that it is essential to

enlarge the field of comparison beyond Tristrams saga and to place the Ice-

landic work in the wider European context of the Tristan issue as a whole.

Finally, Geraldine Barnes (1999: 380) argues that the Icelandic work should

be placed in the cultural context of late medieval Iceland and not only com-

pared to the Norwegian translation.

This paper, following the suggestions of Barnes and Thomas, will analyze

some structural and stylistic features of the Saga af Tristram , with the pur-

pose of highlighting how and why it strays from the Norwegian translation:

the characters, the narrative strategies and analogies in structure and style to

genres of Scandinavian literature such as Íslendingasögur , translated Ridda-

rasögur , and original Riddarasögur , will be investigated.

2. The manuscript tradition of the Saga af Tristram

The composition of the Saga af Tristram probably dates back to the early

14 th century; the work was handed down in a mid-15 th century manuscript,

AM 489, 4to, which was a little more recent than the oldest manuscript of

Tristrams saga (which was written between the end of the 14 th century and

the beginning of the 15 th century). While AM 489, 4to is the oldest and the

most authoritative manuscript, two later manuscripts are also extant: NKS

1754, 4to (18 th century), a copy of AM 489, 4to, and 2316, 4to (dating from

about 1850).

AM 489, 4to is made up of two different manuscripts, AM 489A and AM

489B, bound in a single codex: AM 489A comprises ff. 1-26, originally part

of AM 471, 4to, and AM 489B comprises ff. 27-56. 1 AM 489, 4to contains

1 There were originally two distinct codices. One of them, AM 489, 4to, contained Hrings

saga ok Tryggva , Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr , Saga af Tristram , Ívens saga . The other, AM

471, 4to, contained Barðar saga , Kirjalax saga , Þorðar saga Hreðu , Króka-refs saga , Kjalne-

singa saga , Ketils saga Hængs , Gríms saga Loðinkinna , Örvar-Odds saga , Viktors saga ok

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T HE S AGA AF T RISTRAM OK Í SODD : AN I CELANDIC REWORKING OF T RISTRAMS SAGA

six sagas, or parts of them. AM 489A contains Barðar saga Snæfellsáss and

Kirjalax saga , while AM 489B contains Hrings saga ok Tryggva (the con-

clusion only), Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr (a translation from French), Saga af

Tristram ok Ísodd , and Ívens saga (another translation from French; the con-

clusion is missing).

A comprehensive view of the manuscript tradition allows us to infer some

data: the oldest extant manuscript was written down about half a century

later than the oldest Icelandic manuscript of Tristrams saga , during a period,

the 15 th century, that saw the flourishing and manuscript dissemination of

original Riddarasögur . Unlike these latter, however, which were handed

down with an abundance of copies over a long time span (until the 19 th cen-

tury), the Saga af Tristram appears to have existed in only one vellum from

the 15 th century, and in two later paper manuscripts, from the 18 th and 19 th

centuries respectively.

AM 489, 4to is an important witness for two romances which ultimately de-

rive from medieval French works (i.e. the only complete vellum of Flóres

saga ok Blankiflúr , and one of the two vellums of Ívens saga ) and of a third

romance of similar origin (i.e.the only complete vellum of the Saga af Tris-

tram ). It thus forms an important link in the trasmission and development of

the so-called Riddarasögur [Blaisdell (1980: 9)].

3. The translated Riddarasögur

The Norwegian translation of Tristan was commissioned in 1226 by king

Hákon Hákonarson “The Old” to a monk named Robert; 2 it is the first in a

series of translations from French courtly romances 3 which form a distinct

group of works within saga literature, the Riddarasögur (‘sagas of knights’,

‘chivalric sagas’), also called “translated Riddarasögur ” since they are trans-

lations and must be distinguished from the so-called “original Ridda-

Blávus . The folios containing Barðar saga and Kirjalax saga were then removed (we cannot

determine when and why) from AM 471, 4to and added to AM 489, 4to.

2 That the translation was commissioned by the king from Brother Robert is stated in the pro-

logue of Tristrams saga in the manuscript AM 543, 4to, dating from the 17 th century. Brother

Robert lived in the monastery of Lyse, near Bergen, which was the seat of the Norwegian

royal court. An Abbot Robert is mentioned as translator of Elis saga , also commissioned by

Hákon and written a little later than Tristrams saga . This Abbot Robert is probably the same

person as Brother Robert, who had in the meantime advanced in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

3 Chansons de geste were also translated, for example Elis saga is the translation of Elie de St.

Gilles .

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M ARUSCA F RANCINI

rasögur ”, which are later, original creations, though they were greatly influ-

enced by the translated ones. Tristrams saga , Elis saga , Ívens saga , Möttuls

saga , Parcevals saga , Válvers Þáttr and the Strengleikar are products of

Hákon’s cultural activity and were probably all translated by Brother

Robert. 4 The translated Riddarasögur , however, were not unaffected by the

influence of native literature; the translations were executed in the 13 th cen-

tury, a time when a large number of Íslendingasögur (‘sagas of Icelanders’,

also called “family sagas”) were being written down; around 1220 Snorri

was composing Edda and Heimskringla [Mitchell (1959: 462)].

The introduction of this translated literature to Norway was part of Hákon’s

political programme. Under his rule the crown became stronger and the king

strove to claim a place among European monarchies; the translations repre-

sent Hákon’s endeavour to make Norway conform to the great courts of his

time, where chivalric literature was flourishing. Hákon’s model was the

Plantagenet court in England; indeed, commercial and cultural relations be-

tween Norway and England were thriving and they probably advanced the

knowledge in Norway of the literature written in French which was prosper-

ing in England under the patronage of the Angevin kings and their barons. 5

English influence was strong in literature, architecture and church affairs

[Helle (1968: 107, 109)] and the majority of the manuscripts of the romances

which were then translated probably came from England, including the Tris-

tan of Thomas [Leach (1921: 152)].

4. The original Riddarasögur

This activity of translating French romances lasted just as long as Hákon’s

reign [Togeby (1975: 183-185)]. The translated works themselves, however,

lived on in Iceland, where they were copied over a span of more than six

centuries [Kalinke (1982: 36)]. The majority of manuscripts containing

translated Riddarasögur are Icelandic copies 6 of Norwegian originals, rang-

ing from the 14 th to the 18 th century; as these copies are geographically and

4 These sagas reveal affinities in their vocabulary: see Hallberg (1971: 114-138); Blaisdell

(1974: 134-139); Hallberg (1975: 1-17).

5 The 13 th century was a period of growth for trade in the North Sea and the market for Nor-

wegian dried fish was expanding; Bergen, the seat of Hákon’s court, was the main trading

centre for dried fish. Norway imported cereals, fabrics and other handmanufactured articles

from England, and exported fish and fish by-products, timber, furs and falcons.

6 Only Icelandic copies are extant of Tristrams saga , Ívens saga , Möttuls saga and Válvers

Þáttr . As for the Norwegian manuscript tradition of translated Riddarasögur , we have some

parchment fragments and the codex de la Gardie 4-7.

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T HE S AGA AF T RISTRAM OK Í SODD : AN I CELANDIC REWORKING OF T RISTRAMS SAGA

chronologically removed from the Norwegian translations of the 13 th cen-

tury, it is not easy to determine how much of the text handed down in these

manuscripts is the actual work of Norwegian translators and how much is

that of Icelandic copyists. The question of omissions 7 must be considered in

light of the fact that Robert’s translation is no longer extant. Indeed, we only

have manuscripts which are later Icelandic copies, so that, compared to the

French originals, omissions and differences may be, in part at least, due to

the taste of Icelanders who were accustomed to the style of the sagas.

The style of the saga form tends towards economy: there is little description

and chiefly action, dialogues are limited in number and concise, narratorial

intervention is scarce and, with regard to subject matter, the psychology of

love is almost absent. The text of Tristrams saga , when compared to its

model, appears to have been influenced by these characteristics of the

Íslendingasögur , which were in fact being copied down in parchment in the

very same years when manuscripts of the translated Riddarasögur were be-

ing produced [Boyer (1995: 1520)]. It is also possible that the saga style af-

fected the texts at the moment of their translation in Norway.

In the 14 th century, the translated Riddarasögur in Iceland contributed to the

shaping of the original Riddarasögur , which were influenced both by the

chivalric subject matter of the translated works and by stories based on

Scandinavian subjects known as Fornaldarsögu r [Weber (1986: 426)]. 8 The

original Riddarasögur contain a great number of narrative elements bor-

rowed from various sources, both written and oral, rearranged in a new

structure. The influence of translated Riddarasögur is remarkable above all

in terms of the setting, which is courtly society.

4.1. Tristan in the Saga af Tristram

In the Saga af Tristram , Tristram is portrayed as the typical perfect knight.

This portrayal was taken from translated Riddarasögur and had become a

7 And the question of additions: for example, the prayer of the dying Ísodd to God in Tris-

trams saga .

8 The Fornaldarsögur are the ‘sagas of ancient times’ and are also called “mythical-heroic

sagas”. The most remarkable difference compared to Fornaldarsögur lies in the courtly influ-

ence which permeates the original Riddarasögur ; moreover, the atmosphere in the Fornal-

darsögur is often tragic, but this is never the case in the original Riddarasögur. The Fornal-

darsögur hand down a corpus of legendary traditions which has the function of a “legendary

history” of Iceland; this aspect distinguishes them from the original Riddarasögur . In any

case, the subject matter of both genres involves marvellous happenings.

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