Bơðvarr leyndisk í brott um nóttina; hann lætr Hơtt fara með sér,

Bơðvarr stole away during the night; he has Hơttr go with him,

ok gørir hann þat nauðugr ok kallaði hann sér stýrt til bana.

and Hơttr does this unwillingly and he declared that he was being sent to death.

Bơðvarr segir at betr mundi til takask.

Bơðvarr says that it would be better to begin.

Þeir ganga í brott frá hơllinni, ok verðr Bơðvarr at bera hann, svá er hann hræddr.

They go away from the hall, and Bơðvarr has to carry him, he is so afraid.

Nú sjá þeir dýrit, ok því næst œpir Hơttr slíkt sem hann má ok kvað dýrit mundi gleypa hann.

Now they see the beast, and next Hơttr cries out at the top of his voice and said the beast will (i.e. would) swallow (i.e. devour) him.

Bơðvarr bað bikkjuna hans þegja ok kastar honum niðr í mosann, ok þar liggr hann ok eigi með ơllu óhræddr.

Bơðvarr told the cur of a man to shut up and throws him down into the moss, and there he lies not entirely unafraid. (The understatement of the century?)

Incidentally, would his actual words be something like Þegiðu, bikkjan þín? See my recent posting.

Eigi þorir hann heim at fara heldr.

Neither does he dare to go home.

Nú gengr Bơðvarr móti dýrinu; þat hœfir honum, at sverðit er fast í umgjơrðinni, er hann vildi bregða því.

Now Bơðvarr goes against the beast; it befalls him that the sword which he was going to draw is stuck in the scabbard.

Bơðvarr eggjar nú fast sverðit ok þá bragðar í umgjơrðinni,

Bơðvarr now urges (i.e. gives it a really hard pull?) the stuck sword and then there is movement in the scabbard.

ok nú fær hann brugðit umgjơrðinni svá at sverðit gengr ór slíðrunum,

and now he manages to jerk the scabbard so that the sword goes out of the sheath.

ok leggr þegar undir bœgi dýrsins ok svá fast at stóð í hjartanu,

and immediately thrusts it under the shoulder of the beast and then so hard that it stuck in the heart

ok datt þá dýrit til jarðar dautt niðr.

and the beast fell down to the ground dead.

Eptir þat ferr hann þangat sem Hơttr liggr.

After that he goes where Höttr lies.

Bơðvarr tekr hann upp ok berr þangat sem dýrit liggr dautt.

Bơðvarr picks him up and carries him where the beast lies dead.

Hơttr skelfr ákaft. Bơðvarr mælti: ‘Nú skaltu drekka blóð dðyrsins.’

Hơttr trembles violently. Bơðvarr said: ‘Now you are to drink the blood of the beast.’

 

I particularly like your translation of

Böðvarr bað bikkjuna hans þegja.

"Cur" is an excellent word which I'd forgotten all about!

 

Next installment coming up over the weekend!

Kveðja,

Sarah.