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128 Hollander: Gautrekssaga and Hrólfssaga.
queen, which is the condition both for the generosity story
and the very existence of the Hrólfssaga.
It is necessary to call attention to an hitherto unob-
served point of contact between the two sagas. In the
Gautrekssaga (chap. ii), we are told that Snótra and her son
Gautrek leave their home in the forest after all of her fa-
mily had plunged themselves from the ætternisstapa *). ”Fara
nú þangat til, er þau finna Gauta konung, ok tekr hann vel
vid þeim syni sínum. Fæddizt hann þar upp med hird fedr
sins ok var brádgjorr á allan þroska, ok lida nú svó fram
nökkurir vetr, par til er Gautrekr var mjçk fullkominn at
þroska. jj>á bar svó til, at Gauti konungr tók sótt ok kalladi
til sin vini sina. Konungr mællti: |»ér hafid verit mér hlýd-
nir ok eptirlátir í çllu, en nú þiki mér mikil vón, at þessi
sótt, er ek hefi, skili vóra vingan; vil ek ríki þetta, er ek
hefi átt, gefa Gautreki syni mínum ok þar med konungs
nafn. J>eim líkadi þetta vel, ok eptir andlát Gauta konungs
var Gautrekr til konungs tekinn yfir Gautland”, etc. —
Since no other sons are mentioned (the whole story being,
in fact, an etiological fiction), the whole proceeding is but
natural, and only a brief remark, such as this, in order to
apprise us of Gautreks succession.
In the Hrólfssaga, however, there are two sons. The
older, Ketil, is described 2), as ”minnztr vexti ok þó inn hraus-
tasti. Var hann ecki mjök vid lyndi Gautreks konungs
sakir hávada ok kappgirni”, — these not being altogether
desirable qualities in a ruler, according to Old Korse con-
ceptions; whereas Hrólf, the younger son, is his exact op-
posite, uniting in himself all chieftainly qualities. Imme-
diately after the above description of Ketil, the order of
succession is taken up: ”Lídr nú svá fram, þar til er Gautrekr
konungr tekr þyngd mikla ok er hann finnr, at hónum herdir,
‘) L. c. p. 11.
*) ed. Detter, p. 8.
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