Just another small pointer:
--- "AThompson" <athompso@...> wrote:
> Þó hafa húsfreyjur þótt góðar austur hér að ekki hafi staðið
> í mannráðum.
> Yet house-wives have seemed good here that none have
> been-engaged in plots-against-a-man's-life
> I found this speech very difficult to understand ...
You might find it easier to comprehend by reordering slightly:
"Húsfreyjur hafa þótt góðar austur hér, þó að ekki hafi staðið
í mannráðum" - i.e.
"Housewives have been thought (to be) good here in the
east, even though (they) haven't plotted men's deaths."
I know it doesn't sound like proper English idiom, but
the force is:
"Until now women in these parts have been considered to
be perfectly adequate without plotting murder!"
Desperate housewives of the Meandering River Plains .....
Hope this helped a bit,
E.