In the late Middle Ages the fame of Charlemagne and his paladins spread throughout Europe and reached its northernmost territories as well. The Frankish king and first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is, in fact, not only the protagonist of the Old Norse Karlamagnús saga og kappar hans, a 13th century Norwegian adaptation of -among others - the French Chanson de Roland, but is also at the centre of a large cycle of Faroese ballads known as Karlamagnusar kvæði (CCF 106): Aligast, Flóvins ríma, Oddvalds ríma, Geipa táttur, Emunds ríma, Runsivals stríð, Viljorm Kornus, Karlamagnus og Jógvan kongur, Dreyur Karlamagnusar, Ólivars kvæði, Karlots kvæði and Bragdar tættir. In addition to this, Charlemagne appears in a separate ballad, Óluvu kvæði (CCF 107), as well. In this study, these texts and their complex tradition (i. e. the large number of versions collected by the various editors)are analyzed, paying particular attention to the narrative they convey, in order to clarify their relation to – and possibly dependence from – both the Old Norse prose and other European medieval adaptations of the matière de France and to characterize the figure of Charlemagne as it is presented in the Faroese oral tradition.
The Faroese Oral Tradition on Charlemagne and its Relation to European Literature
BENATI, CHIARA
2013-01-01
Abstract
In the late Middle Ages the fame of Charlemagne and his paladins spread throughout Europe and reached its northernmost territories as well. The Frankish king and first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is, in fact, not only the protagonist of the Old Norse Karlamagnús saga og kappar hans, a 13th century Norwegian adaptation of -among others - the French Chanson de Roland, but is also at the centre of a large cycle of Faroese ballads known as Karlamagnusar kvæði (CCF 106): Aligast, Flóvins ríma, Oddvalds ríma, Geipa táttur, Emunds ríma, Runsivals stríð, Viljorm Kornus, Karlamagnus og Jógvan kongur, Dreyur Karlamagnusar, Ólivars kvæði, Karlots kvæði and Bragdar tættir. In addition to this, Charlemagne appears in a separate ballad, Óluvu kvæði (CCF 107), as well. In this study, these texts and their complex tradition (i. e. the large number of versions collected by the various editors)are analyzed, paying particular attention to the narrative they convey, in order to clarify their relation to – and possibly dependence from – both the Old Norse prose and other European medieval adaptations of the matière de France and to characterize the figure of Charlemagne as it is presented in the Faroese oral tradition.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
