SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Saga-Book of the Viking Society
be found where the story of your passion is, but rather love and
peace will be there."5
In the Reykjavik print of the Margretar saga the
corresponding passage reads thus:
"Hear my prayer, omnipotent God. I pray you in the name of
your dear son, Jesus Christ, hear the prayers of those who read
my passion or hear it read and help them. I pray you, Lord
almighty, that he who writes it or buys it may be partaker of
your eternal grace, oh, let your blessings go with it into every
home - this I beg you, heavenly Father, that the foul spirit
may never enter in there or grow strong within that house
where the story of my passion is found, and if that man asks
you for mercy who has my passion in his keeping, hear his
prayer, let him benefit from your blessed Son." 6
It is clear enough that in this latter version the Catholic
elements have been dispensed with as thoroughly as
possible, presumably to make it more acceptable for
Lutheran readers. But both versions hold out the same
promise of physical and spiritual benefit to the person who
reads, writes or buys the text, and of safekeeping from evil
spirits for the home in which the text is kept. Here there
is a special sanctity in the text itself, the book on its own,
and this is not found in connection with any other lives of
virgin saints - it may be noted, moreover, that a book
and quill-pen are emblems of St Margaret. There can
5 Unger, Heilagra manna segur (1877), I 480 13 - 16 , 21-", so-ss: Heyrdu bam
mina. pess bid ek, at pvaiz syndir pess manz, er les pislarsogu mina; ok
hverr sem einn, sa er lysi fzerir til kirkiu minnar, pvaiz af syndir pess a peiri
tid .•. Enn bid ek, drottinn, sa er ritar pislarsogu mina eda kaupir pa bok,
fylldu pa af helgum anda, Ok i pvi husi, er bok su er inni, verdi par eigi fredt
daudt barn ne lama. Fyrirgef pu peim manni syndir, drottinn, er bok min a
hefir at vardveita, ef hann bidr pik liknar ... Ok ef syndugr madr kemr til
pess stadar, sem pinn heilagr domr er vardveittr, med idran synda ok
litillaiti, pa munu honum fyrirgefaz syndir; ok par mun eigi fiandi inni vera,
sem pislarsaga pin er, helldr mun par vera ast ok fridr. (The text is normalised
in the use of te and 6.)
• op, cit. 6-7: Heyr bam mina, allsvaldandi Guo. Eg bil'J pig i nafni pins
elskulega sonar ]esu Krists, bamheyr og hjalpa peim, sem lesa pislarsogu mina
el'Ja heyra hana lesna. Eg bil'J pig drottinn minn almattugur, al'J sa er hana
skrifar el'Ja kaupir megi veroa pinnar eilifu naoar aonjotandi, 6, lattu blessun
fylgja henni inn a hvert heimili, pess bil'Jeg pig himneski fal'Jir, al'J aldrei megi
hinn 6hreini andi par inn komast el'Ja i pvi husi magnast, par sem min pislarsaga
er inni, og ef sa maour biour pig liknar, er mlna pislarsogu varoveitir, pa
brenheyrou hann.Jattu hann nj6ta pins blessaoa sonar.