The Saga of Ambrosius and Rosamunda

A Parallel Translation of the Oldest Icelandic Version in AM 576 b 4to

Abstract

This article presents the first English translation of any version of Ambrósíus saga og Rósamunda, an Icelandic romance preserved in 20 manuscripts, the oldest being an abridged version of the narrative in AM 576 b 4to (c. 1700). This translation is of this abridged and oldest witness of the romance, accompanied by an edition of the Icelandic text. The romance is about the young merchant Ambrosius, his bride Rosamunda, his friend Marsilius, and includes an example of the pound of flesh motif that circulated widely in pre-modern European literature. The romance was likely translated into Icelandic from a Danish chapbook in the later seventeenth century: AM 576 b 4to, summarized from a now lost manuscript, contains a note to that effect.