SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

344 Saga-Book of the Viking Society
Yet the reason for the compiler's deletion of Gor. II
39/3-4 may once again be due to his concern for consistency
- why, after all, should Gudnin flare out against Atli
before he treacherously attacks her brothers, even if she
had married him reluctantly? The compiler might well
have thought this entirely out of place. The precise
significance of the line seems at any rate a little doubtful,
and this may also have influenced the compiler to disregard
it. Gudnin's avowal of her readiness to become reconciled
to Atli is really no more than her personal statement of the
way she is actually shown to act in Am., and Am. lays at
least as much stress on her duplicity as VS does.
It is rather doubtful whether the changes introduced by
the compiler which affect in some way the original
conception of the characters were expressly made with
this end in view. Admittedly, Fafnir is a shade fiercer,
and Regin a shade politer, but changes noted in the other
characters may have been due to quite other considerations.
IX
Of course, many small changes introduced by the
compiler seem to be quite gratuitous and the reasons for
his making them, if reasons there were, must remain
obscure, e.g. (HH 35/7) d kvernom : vio eld (VS 16(12);
(Sg. 34/8) (d fleti) br60ur : (heima mea) hour minum
(VS 59/36); (Akv. 12/1) um. fipll : um hrio (VS 68/17); and
other instances could be cited.
X
Sometimes the compiler's changes might seem to
improve on his source in one way or another (d. (28) and
(32) above).
In PE, Gudnin is described as asleep in bed at Sigurd's
side (Sg. 24/2-4) at the time of his murder, whereas in VS
she is asleep in his arms (i [aomi, VS 58/32). The scene is
the more effective for the change.