--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "AThompson" <athompso@...> wrote:

>
> "Betur er svarað," segir Njáll, "en eg spurði og munt þú verða góður
> maður."
> '(It) is better answered,' says Njál, `than I asked (your answer puts my
> question to shame) and you will become a good person.'

Good paraphrase, by the way!

> Móðir Flosa var Ingunn dóttir Þóris af Espihóli, Hámundarsonar
> heljarskinns, Hjörssonar, Hálfssonar konungs er réð fyrir

Hálfsrekkum, Hjörleifssonar hins kvensama.

You can read more about these people in the legendary 'Hálfs saga ok
Hálfsrekka'.

http://www.heimskringla.no/original/fornaldersagaene/halfssaga.php
(Old Norse)
http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/Half.htm (English)

Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb recorded a traditional Faroese ballad
about King Half, in Faroese Álvur kongur [
http://books.google.com/books?id=Q8wEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP15&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_2#PRA1-PA1,M1
]. The story of Hámundr and Geirmundr heljarskinn is also told in
Landnámabók [ http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/landnama.htm ] and
'Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns' from the beginning of Sturlunga saga.

http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/Sturlunga1.htm (Old Norse)
http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/Geirmund.htm (English)

(Here are links to a couple of articles about possible symbolism in
this story [ http://www.oe.eclipse.co.uk/nom/sagas.htm ], both from
the journal Alvíssmál [ http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~alvismal/ ].)