SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

320 Saga-Book of the Viking Society
of gold with metal the least effective, putting it at the
beginning in order to work up to a climax. (28) Neof
sakar dcema is omitted in the prose. If the compiler
unnecessarily destroyed the effective image of the laukr,
it is at least arguable that here the Saga makes some
improvement on its source. The retention in prose of an
equivalent to 'nor speak law' (implying that they could
not keep their mind on their usual business during the
day) after 'they could not sleep' (until they had killed
him) could have detracted from the urgency of the thought
expressed. (29) The negative -t of mdttot becomes the
normal prose eigi.
E
(Am. 53-54) Morgin mest v6go, / unz miGian dag Uddi /6tto
alla / ok pndurGan dag; / fyrr var fullvegit, / fl60i vpllr
bl60i; / dtidn, dor feUo, / efri peir uroo, / Bero tveir sveinar /
ok br60ir hennar. // Roskr t6k at raaa, / pott hann reior
ueri: / 'Jllt er um litaz: / yor er pat kenna! / uorom. prir
tigir, / pegnar vigligir: / eptir lifom ellifo; / or er par
brunnitl' (VS 69/22-29) Orrostan stendr nu lengi [ram,
allt um miojan dag. Gunnarr ok Hpgni gengu i
gegnum fylkingar Atla konungs, ok sud er sagt at allr vpllr
flaut i bl60i. Synir H pgna ganga nu hart fram. Atli
konungr malti, 'Ver h{}fOum* liG mikit ok fritt, ok stora
kappa, en nu eru margir af oss fallnir, ok eigum ver yor illt
at launa - drepi: nitjdn kappa mina, en ellifu* einir eru
eptir.' Ok verar hoild d bardaganum. (The MS readings
of the two words emended in the prose text - they are
here asterisked - are due rather to faulty scribal transmission
than to changes by the compiler.) (30) A
reluctance to use poetic or elevated diction continues to
be evident (and A m. is a particularly florid poem which
must at times have made it difficult for the compiler to
unravel the sense). The opening lines of each stanza are
turned into ordinary prose. The somewhat sentimental
idea of the original, thirty valiant warriors reduced to