Charlemagne in Vincent’s Mirror: The Speculum Historiale as a Source of the Old Norse Karlamagnús Saga

Abstract

The Old Norse (largely, but not exclusively, Norwegian) translation of the cycle of chansons de geste centering on Charlemagne and Roland, Karlamagnús Saga, is mostly based on Old French (or Anglo-Norman) texts; however, aside from one section which is clearly based on a Middle English original, it is often difficult to be sure exactly what language the translator(s) was (were) working with. Two exceptions exist: Part IV, "The Saga of Agulandus," which is in large part based on the Latin Pseudo-Turpin chronicle, and Part X, which is, for the most part, drawn from the Speculum historiale of Vincent of Beauvais. Vincent is not without influence elsewhere in the saga translation; he was obviously one of the sources of the later version of the fourth part of the saga. What I wish to examine here, however, is the one portion of the saga for which Vincent appears to have been a basic source, Part X, "Miracles and Signs" — referring to signs that Charlemagne was elect, a true saint.