Writing and Reading in Medieval Manuscript Culture: The

Translation and Transmission of the Story of Elye in Old

French and Old Norse Literary Contexts by Stefka Georgieva
Eriksen (review)

Kimberley-Joy Knight

Parergon, Volume 32, Number 2, 2015, pp. 290-292 (Review)

Published by Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval and Early

Modern Studies (Inc.)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/pgn.2015.0102

For additional information about this article

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/610899

Access provided at 13 Jan 2020 01:06 GMT from University of Cambridge

290 Reviews
copying chains that replicate mistakes, to being more open to the possibilities
that dubious attributions may be authentic and, more importantly, were seen
that way by contemporaries. Following the theme of scribal copying, Joel
Swann challenges simplistic interpretations of the relationship between text
and scribe, to explore issues of intent and varied reading patterns and habits.
Continuing the scribal focus, Eckhardt explores one scribe’s discernible
oscillation between serious and satirical material, highlighting the need to be
sensitive to the literary aesthetics and abilities of scribes.
Finally, Victoria E. Burke concludes with a focus on the aesthetic tastes
of one particular compiler. In this case study, Donne’s popularity, the theme
of moderation, classical excerpts, and the compiler’s personal interest in
sounds, all provide insights into the changing tastes of one individual reader,
firmly concluding the volume with an illustration of the benefits to be had
from studying medieval miscellanies in the whole.
Overall, this volume contains a delightful selection of essays. It will be of
interest to scholars with particular interests like Donne or English recusants,
who might choose the pages related to these topics. And, following its
own overall logic, it will be of interest to those willing to approach it in its
deceptively miscellaneous whole.
Nicholas D. Brodie, Hobart,Tasmania

Eriksen, Stefka Georgieva, Writing and Reading in Medieval Manuscript

Culture:  The Translation and Transmission of the Story of Elye in Old French
and Old Norse Literary Contexts (Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern
Europe, 25), Turnhout, Brepols, 2014; hardback; pp. xxii, 262; 12
colour illustrations; R.R.P. €80.00; ISBN 9782503547794.
Stefka Eriksen’s notable first book derives from her doctoral research,
produced under the auspices of the project, ‘Translation, Transmission and
Transformation: Old Norse Romantic Fiction and Scandinavian Vernacular
Literacy, 1200–1500’, at the University of Oslo (2007–11). The project
investigated the transformation of literary genres within their social settings
by combining historical and philological perspectives to emphasise the
importance of manuscript culture and its context. Eriksen’s research took
its cues from this framework and her study analyses attitudes to reading and
writing by comparing three manuscript versions of one text – the Crusade
story of Elye and his Saracen princess, Rosamunda – in three historical
contexts (late thirteenth-century Flanders and Norway and early fifteenth-
century Iceland).
In the first chapter, which defines her methodological approach, Eriksen
states that one of her main concerns is philological and she asks: ‘what did
writing and reading imply in the Middle Ages?’ (p. 7). In response to this

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 Reviews 291
question, the author formulates an approach that synthesises elements
of traditional and ‘new’ philology (text-versions and materiality, text-
generating, translating, and copying), discussions of orality and literacy, and
translation theory, arguing that the text and context define each other. The
study is thus based on three main principles: that each version of a text-work
is an intelligent response to a previous version and all versions should be
considered significant; that all aspects of a text (i.e., material and textual)
should be taken into account when it is being interpreted; and that texts are
conditioned by social, historical, and cultural contexts while at the same time
responding to the potential communicative context.
Eriksen presents three methodical case studies in Chapters 2 to 4.
Each begins with an outline of the historical context, which is followed by
an analysis of the correspondence between aspects of the materiality of a
manuscript (such as codicological structure, texts, illuminations, marginalia,
rubrics, abbreviations, and punctuation) and the textual and literary aspects.
This is done through an examination of the mise en livre, mise en page, and mise
en texte.
The subject of the first case study is the only Old French medieval
manuscript to contain the chanson de geste of Elye de Saint-Gille (BnF, MS FR.
25516). The examination of this manuscript leads Erikson to conclude that it
was created by a coherent production unit, commissioned by a patron of high
social status. Written within the Latin literary paradigm at a scribal centre of
prestige (possibly in north-east France and related to the House of Flanders),
and conforming to contemporary Old French chanson de geste characteristics in
its layout, structuring, punctuation, and abbreviation, Eriksen demonstrates
how these aspects, alongside the intricate structural strategies, suggest that
it was created by a highly competent scribe and illuminator. Based on the
correspondence between graphical and textual features, Eriksen argues that
the story was meant to be performed; however, she stresses that this did
not preclude private reading. This manuscript, Eriksen argues, was meant
‘to hover in between the spheres of literate and oral discourse’ (p. 100),
suggesting that these domains were not diametrically opposed.
The second case study is of the thirteenth-century Norwegian version of
Elíss saga appearing in De La Gardie 4-7 fol. This manuscript was produced
in a dynamic literary milieu, possibly related to the royal court. Once again,
Eriksen demonstrates how it appears to be a coherent entity, produced by
different scribes and rubricators who worked in close cooperation. Eriksen
skilfully illustrates how, even though it was produced during a time when the
Norwegian court was under considerable influence from European politics
and culture, the text was adapted to the norms of Norwegian scribal culture.
Unlike the subjects of the first two case studies, the final manuscript
(Holm Perg 6 4to) is not the sole surviving copy of Elíss saga from Iceland, but

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292 Reviews
Erikson does not provide a rationale for its selection over other copies, such
as Holm Perg 7 fol. Furthermore, as an early fifteenth-century work, this case
is a chronological outlier. Nonetheless, as a single production unit from an
environment of intense literary activity, the text and context provide the basis
for comparative study. The empirical evidence presented by Eriksen strongly
suggests that it was intended as a private book; less certain is the evidence
that it could have been used for a vocal performance. Eriksen elucidates how
textual and rhetorical features alongside the use of initials, majuscules, and
punctuation may indicate vocal performance. Y   et, a lack of prose rhythm and
illustrations counter this supposition. It is possible, though, that the private
owner enjoyed the text by reading aloud, without an audience.
In the fifth and final chapter, Eriksen presents a comparative analysis of
the three manuscripts, which also serves to conclude the book. The three
versions differ in terms of both content and the codicological, literary, and
historical contexts in which they were produced and read. Additionally,
Eriksen’s comparative analysis of the material and textual suggests a different
writing process and reception mode for each. A comparison of the French
and Norwegian versions shows that a process of inter-lingual translation has
resulted in the transfer of aspects of the source culture to the target culture,
most notably in the mise en livre. In contrast, the mise en page and mise en
texte are characterised by adaptation and replacement. Thus, the Old Norse
version is argued to be ‘an active and contributing response to its European
source culture, rather than a passive and servile reproduction’ (p. 220). By
comparing the intra-lingual transmission of Elíss saga, Eriksen shows that
adaption occurred at all three levels and that the process may be characterised
as ‘hermeneutically and cognitively dynamic’ (p. 225). Thus, Eriksen finds
that inter-lingual processes bring about more innovations than intra-lingual
ones. Inter-lingual transmission (Old French to Old Norse) adapted to the
local standards but also introduced something new, whereas the intra-lingual
process adapted to fit within an existing literary standard.
With this monograph, Eriksen’s aim to make a contribution to discussions
about writing and reading in the Middle Ages through a diachronic,
multicultural, and interdisciplinary approach, is realised. Not only does the
research demonstrate the dynamic relationship between, and relevance of,
vernacular textual cultures, it provides a theoretical and methodological
framework that others might apply. Eriksen’s insightful research method
bridges philological methods in order to view the texts from within, while
her historical approach looks outwards and situates the manuscripts in their
political, literary, and cultural contexts. The result is a polyphonic study that
will be relevant well beyond the spheres of Old Norse and Old French studies.
Kimberley-Joy Knight, The University of Sydney

Parergon 32.2 (2015)