Niorstigningar Saga
Page 19
and roaring dragon, which sometimes reveals himself to them with seven heads,
and sometimes with three in the shape of a man”).
10 A (“It was at that point of the day that Heaven opened, and there came forth first
a white horse and the Prince who rode that horse was in many respects more noble
than the most accomplished of all others. His eyes were like blazing fire. He had a
crown on his head where many tokens of victory could be seen. He had a vestment
above the others that was spattered in blood. On His vestment, around the waist,
these words were written: King of kings and Lord of lords. He was brighter than
the sun. He led a great army, and all those who followed Him rode white horses,
and all were dressed in white silk and were very bright”).
11 B (“It was at that point of the day that Heaven opened, and there ran forth a white
horse, which was ridden by a thoughtful man, who was more glorious and princely
than anyone else. His eyes were like blaze on fire. He wore a crown on his head
where many tokens of victory could be seen. He had a vestment above the other
garments that was spattered in blood. On His vestment, around the waist, these
words were written: King of kings and Lord of lords. He was brighter than the sun
and an unarmed army of knights followed Him. They had white horses, all whiter
than snow”).
12 D (“It was at that point of the day that Heaven opened, and there came forth first a
white horse and the King who rode that horse was in many respects more excellent
than all others and more accomplished than anything else. But His eyes were like
blaze. He had a crown on his head which could be seen in detail and displayed
many tokens of victory. He had a wounded foot out [of the vestment] that was
110 Notes to pages 40–1
spattered in blood. On his forehead, in the middle, there was written: King of kings
and Lord of lords. He was brighter than the sun. He had the mightiest army of
angels and all those who followed Him rode white horses. They were all sliding
in white silk and were as light as the sun”).
13 E (“It was at that point and hour of the day that Heaven opened, and there came
forth first a white horse, and the King who rode that horse was in many respects
more handsome, fair, and princely than all others. His eyes were like blazing fire.
He had a crown on his head that displayed many tokens of victory. He had a vest-
ment above the others that was spattered in blood. On His vestment, around the
waist, these words were written: King of kings and Lord of lords. He led a great
army, and all those who were followed Him rode white horses and were clothed
with white silk and were very bright”).
14 A (“Then he transformed himself into the shape of a dragon and grew to such a
stature that it seemed he could lie around the whole world. He saw those events
that occurred in Jerusalem, that Jesus Christ was breathing His last, and immedi-
ately travelled there and intended to tear away His soul from Him. But when he
came there and thought he could swallow Him and carry Him away, the hook of
divinity bit him and the sign of the cross fell down on him, and he was caught like
a fish on a fishhook, a mouse in a mousetrap, or an arctic fox in a snare, according
to what was previously prophesied. Then Our Lord went to him and bound him”).
15 B (“And he transformed himself into the shape of a dragon and grew to such a stat-
ure that it seemed he could lie around the whole world. He saw those events that
occurred in Jerusalem, that Jesus Christ was breathing His last, and immediately
flew there and wanted to steal His soul from Him. But when he wanted to swallow
Him and have Him for himself, he bit the hook of His divinity, and the sign of
the cross fell down on him, and he was caught like a fish on a fishhook, or like
an arctic fox in a snare, according to what was previously prophesied. Then Our
Lord went there and bound him”).
16 C (“Then he transformed himself into the shape of a dragon and thought he could
lie in circle around Hell. He saw those events that occurred in Jerusalem, that Jesus
Christ was breathing His last, and immediately travelled there as fast as he could
and thought he would be able to swallow the soul of Jesus. But when he arrived
and thought he could swallow Jesus and have Him for himself, the hook of divinity
bit him and the sign of the cross fell down on him, and he was caught like a fish
on a fishhook, a mouse in a mousetrap, or an arctic fox in a snare, according to
what was previously prophesied. Then Our Lord went to him and bound him”).
17 D (“And he transformed himself into the shape of a dragon and grew to such a
stature that it seemed he could lie around the whole world. Then he saw the event
that occurred in Jerusalem, that Jesus Christ was breathing His last on the Holy
Cross. Then Satan travelled there immediately and thought that all would turn well
Notes to pages 41–2 111
and intended to tear His soul away from Him. And then it occurred to him that
he thought that he had swallowed it into his cruel stomach and that he had it with
him, but then Satan bit the hook of the divinity, and the sign of the cross fell down
on him, and he was caught like a fish on a fishhook or a mouse under a trap. Then
it happened, as it was previously prophesied, that the Lord went to Hell, and there
He bound the enemy of all mankind, the Devil”).
18 E (“Then he made himself in the shape of an enormous dragon, whose largeness
is compared to the Midgard Serpent, and about whom it is said that he lies around
the whole world. He then saw those signs that were in Jerusalem, that Our Lord
was breathing His last and immediately”).
19 Turville-Petre, Origins of Icelandic Literature, 127.
20 See the section titled “Agreement between K and E against T and A” in chapter 4.
21 See the section titled “Minor Variants of T Reflected in A against K and R” in
chapter 4.
22 A (“In the darkness of Hell”).
23 D (“In the darkness of Hell”).
24 E (“In the darkness and in the shadow of Death”).
25 T (“In the darkness and shadow of Death”).
26 A (“I am set up to see to each man’s condition”).
27 B (“I am set up to behold each man’s condition”).
28 D (“I am set up to see to it that no sinful [man] travels to Paradise”).
29 E (“I am appointed over the human body”).
30 T (“Truly, I am appointed over the human body”).
31 A (“Although he is very sick”).
32 B (“Although he is sick”).
33 D (“Although he is sick”).
34 E (“To improve the sickness of his body”).
35 T (“For the pain of his body”).
36 A (“Before [five thousand four hundred years] shall be completed from now”).
37 B (“Before [five hundred thousand and thirty years] are completed from now”).
38 D (“Before [five thousand and three years] are completed from now”).
39 E (“Until the everlasting days of indefinite time”).
40 T (“Until the latest days of times”).
41 A (“Then they expelled their Prince out of Hell”).
42 Like in the edited text, om. stands for “omissit” and signals scrib
al omissions.
43 C (“Then they expelled their Prince out of Hell”).
44 D (“And they expelled him or drew [him] away from Hell”).
45 E (“And thereafter he expelled Satan, his Prince, out of his seats”).
46 T (“And Inferus ejected Satan from his seats”).
47 A (“To give [it] to your father”).
112 Notes to pages 42–5
48 B (“To give [it] to your father”).
49 D (“To give [it] to your father”).
50 E (“So that you [may] anoint your father Adam”).
51 T (“So that you [may] anoint the body of your father Adam”).
52 E (“For I have held under my power all the mighty princes of the earth, whom you
now carry subject with your strength”).
53 T (“For in my land and through my power are held all the mighty ones, whom you
have carried subject to me with your strength”).
54 E (“My soul is afflicted all unto death”); cf. Matthew 26:38.
55 T (“My soul is sorrowful unto death”); cf. Matthew 26:38.
56 E (“But if you are mighty, who is this man Jesus, who fears death and yet opposes
you and your power?”).
57 T (“If, therefore, you are powerful, what sort of man is that Jesus who, fearing
death, opposes your power?”).
58 Maas, Textual Criticism. On the formation and legacy of the genealogical method,
see Timpanaro, The Genesis of Lachmann’s Method, and, more recently, Trovato,
Everything You Always Wanted to Know.
59 All the textual corruptions of Niðrstigningar saga are listed and discussed in
Haugen, Stamtre og tekstlandskap, 105–52. His stemma codicum is discussed
in “Haugen’s Stemma” and drawn in Figure 3.
60 Separation and conjunction of errors within the tradition are treated in Paul Maas’s
Textual Criticism, 42–9.
61 A, B, D “þa er ec lifða” / C “er ek var lifs aa iordu”; A, B, D “sa hafði” / C “hafandi.”
62 A, B, D om. / C “En Guds helgir saa þenna man.”
63 In Psalm references, the first number (24 in this example) is the psalm number
given in Hebrew (Mesoretic) tradition, and the second number in parentheses (23)
is the number given in the Greek Septuaginta and Latin Vulgate.
64 A (“When I lived”).
65 B (“When I lived”).
66 D (“When I lived”).
67 C (“When I was alive on earth”).
68 T (“When I was alive on earth”).
69 A (“Who had”).
70 B (“Who had”).
71 D (“He had”).
72 C (“Having, carrying”).
73 T (“Carrying”).
74 C (“When the saints of God saw that man, they asked [him]”).
75 T (“When all the saints of God saw him, they said to him”).
Notes to pages 45–7 113
76 A, C, D “for þangat” / B “flo hann þangat”; A, C, D “slita ondina” / B “slęgia
ǫndina”; A, C, D “maþr allosęligr” / B “otirligr maþr.”
77 A, C, D “enn þa munom viþ ðangat coma” / B om.
78 They are treated as errors common to A, C, and D also in Haugen, Stamtre og
tekstlandskap, vol. 1, Teori og analyse, 140n1, 140n2, 140n4, and 140n6.
79 A, C, D “for þangat” / B “flo hann þangat” and A, C, D “slita ondina” / B “slęgia
ǫndina.”
80 See the section titled “The Capture of Satan on the Cross” in chapter 5.
81 A (“And [he] travelled there”).
82 C (“And [he] travelled there”).
83 D (“Satan travelled there”).
84 B (“And he flew there”).
85 As suggested in the section “The Capture of Satan on the Cross” in chapter 5.
86 A (“[To] tear away the soul at once from Him”).
87 C (“[He] would tear away the soul from Jesus”).
88 D (“[To] tear away the soul from Him”).
89 B (“[To] steal the soul from Him”).
90 A (“A most joyless man”).
91 C (“A most joyless man”).
92 D (“A most prudent man”).
93 B (“A wretched man”).
94 T (“A most wretched man”).
95 A (“And then we shall come there”).
96 C (“And then we shall travel down to the world”).
97 D (“Then we travel to you”).
98 The reading “existi in salutem populi tui” is not derived from the Vulgate, which
in this place reads “egressus es in salutem populi tui,” but from the Vetus Latina
“existi in salutem populi tui.” This accordance may be due to the fact that the
song of Habakkuk was one of the seven songs incorporated in the Roman series
of canticles and that this, rather than the text of the Vulgate, was possibly used
for the insertion of the above-mentioned songs into the composition of the
Evangelium Nicodemi. The first known manuscript of the Roman canticles is
the so-called Vespasian Psalter, copied in Canterbury at the beginning of the
eighth century and containing the first interlinear translation of the Bible in
Old English. Its text is available in Wright, ed., The Vespasian Psalter. On the
alternative usage of its readings and those of the Vulgate in medieval England,
see Marsden, The Text of the Old Testament in Anglo-Saxon England, 61, 214,
and 228.
99 A (“To free your poor ones”).
114 Notes to pages 47–55
100 B (“To free your poor ones”).
101 D (“To free your chosen ones”).
102 A (“You confess to the Lord”).
103 C (“You confess to the Lord”).
104 B (“They would confess to the Lord”).
105 T (“They would confess to the Lord”).
106 A, D “scolom biþa” / B, C “scalltu biþa.”
107 A, D om. / B “sputum iustorum”; A, D om. / B “sva sem sem þu svaraþir feþrom
orom.”
108 A (“We shall wait a little while”).
109 D (“We two shall wait a little while”).
110 B (“You shall wait a little while”).
111 C (“Now you shall wait a while”).
112 T (“Wait a little while”).
113 On the different epithets addressed to Satan by Hell, see “Seven-Headed Satan”
section in chapter 5.
114 B (“Defamed by men”).
115 T (“Spittle of the just”).
116 B (“As you promised to our fathers”).
117 T (“As you promised to our fathers”).
118 See Turville-Petre, Origins of Icelandic Literature, 127.
119 Aho, “A Comparison of Old English,” 156. Aho’s main positions have been recent-
ly presented in a brief uncritical summary by Langley, “The Niðrstigningarsaga. ”
120 Haugen, Stamtre og tekstlandskap, vol. 1, Teori og analyse, 125–52.
121 See Magnús Már Lárusson, “Um Niðrstigningar sögu,” 159.
122 See in the sections titled “Agreement between K and E against T and A”
and “Minor Variants of T Reflected in A against K and R” in chapter 4.
4 The Latin Source Text Underlying Niðrstigningar saga
1 See Haugen, Stamtre og tekstlandskap, vol. 1, Teori og analyse, 46; K. Wolf,
“The Influence of the Evangelium Nicodemi,” 238; Roughton, “Stylistics and
Sources of the Postola Sögur,” 45; and K. Wolf, The Legends of the Saints, 273.
2 As can be gathered from Izydorczyk, Manuscripts of Evangelium Nicodemi.
3 As illustrated in the “Agreement between K and E against T and A” s
ection in
this chapter.
4 On the different themes and doctrines connected to Christ’s Descent and
Harrowing of Hell, see MacCulloch, The Harrowing of Hell, and, more recently,
Tamburr, The Harrowing of Hell. On the iconography in the visual arts of the
Middle Ages, see Schiller, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, 3:43 and
Notes to pages 57–9 115
the introductory pages to its development in modern times by Böhm, “Von der
Höllenfahrt Christi.” One of the most exquisite rappresentations of the Harrowing
of Hell as described in the Evangelium Nicodemi is an illumination attributed to
the Master of the Parement of Narbonne in the Très belle Heures de Notre-Dame
(Paris, BnF, nuov. acq. lat. 3093), f. 155r (ca. 1375–1400), which belonged to
John, Duke of Berry (†1416). The narrative starts with John the Baptist announc-
ing the coming of the Messiah in the wilderness of Judea (trees on the left side)
and in Hell (chapter XVIII.3) and ends (right side) with Christ delivering the souls
of the righteous and taking Adam by his hand (chapter XXIV.2). Also worthy of
note are the details of the entrance to Hell (right side): the wood of the cross is
stuck outside of the gates of Jerusalem and close to Adam, on whose grave (at
Golgotha) the seed from which the wood of the cross was made was believed to
have grown, and the Mouth of Hell, placed beneath Jerusalem, populated by host
of devils dispersed outside its gates after the Harrowing. See Figure 5.
5 K (“This same Nicodemus wrote it in the Hebrew script”).
6 T (“This same Nicodemus wrote it in the Hebrew script, then the Emperor
Theodosius the Great had it translated from Hebrew into Latin”).
7 A (“And many generations later their book came to the Emperor Theodosius, son
of Arcadius. He had it with him in Constantinople and had it read aloud and people
were very impressed by it”).
8 K (“In the name of the Holy Trinity begin the ‘Deeds of the Saviour’ of Our Lord,
Jesus Christ, which were found in Jerusalem among public documents, during the
reign of the Emperor Theodosius the Great in the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate”).
9 The preposition “upp” (“up”) conveys the nuance of “declaiming, reciting” to the
broader meaning of the base verb “ráða” (“explaining, reading”) in the description
of the Emperor’s dealings with the apocryphon. On the particular usage of this verb