LN !! Thank you so much for all your comments - which have been copied up - and the comment on the Humour of the Norse men being as the German words "Galgen humor* - that I'm 'fraid is my style - perhaps you were right all alon g - from the past comments - maybe after all I am thinking like a Viking - the Klingons in Startrek remind me of the Vikings with their words
"Today is as good a day to die as any other"
Kveðja
Patricia
Waes Thu Hael 
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: llama_nom
Date: 15/08/2007 11:34:12
Subject: [norse_course] Re: Eirik 11 end + 12 beginning
 
> Það var einn morgun er þeir Karlsefni sáu fyrir ofan rjóðrið flekk
nokkurn sem glitraði við þeim og æptu þeir á það. Það hrærðist og var
það einfætingur og skaust ofan á þann árbakkann sem þeir lágu við.
 
"It happened one morning that Karlsefni and the others saw over the
clearing a speck that glittered at them, and they shouted at it. It
took fright, and it was a uniped (a one-legged man) and darted down
onto the riverbank off which they lay (at anchor)."
 
'rjóð(u)r' "clearing" + the definite article '-ið'.  If this had been
the adjective 'rjóð(u)r' "ruddy", it would need the masculine
accusative singular ending, thus 'rjóðan'.
 
'skaust', reflexive = (with normalised ON spelling) 'skauzk'. The
middle voice suffix makes it intransitive; he shoots / darts / springs
(hops!) down to the riverbank.
 
> Þá mælti Þorvaldur: "Feitt er um ístruna."
 
Cf. Gordon 219, note 434, about the similar speech made by Þormóðr at
the battle of Stiklastaðir, according to Heimskringla.  Besides all
the great gallows humour in ON sagas, it reminds me of Werner Herzog's
film 'Aguirre der Zorn Gottes', the bit where one of the conquistadors
on the boat is shot from the shore and comments dryly, "Long arrows
are coming into fashion now," before falling.
 
LN
 
 
 
A Norse funny farm, overrun by smart people.
 
 
To escape from this funny farm try rattling off an e-mail to:
 
Yahoo! Groups Links
 
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
 
<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional
 
<*> To change settings online go to:
    (Yahoo! ID required)
 
<*> To change settings via email:
 
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
 
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: