1.
Herjúlfur var Bárðarson Herjúlfssonar.
Herjolf was the son of Barð Herjolfsson
Hann var frændi Ingólfs landnámamanns.
He was the kinsman of Ingolf the settler (one of the
first settlers)
Þeim Herjúlfi gaf Ingólfur land á milli Vogs og Reykjaness.
To them - (the) Herjolfs (Herjolf and Family) Ingolf
gave land between Vog and Reykjaness
Herjúlfur bjó fyrst á Drepstokki. Þorgerður hét kona hans en Bjarni
son
þeirra og var hinn efnilegsti maður.
Herjolf at first, farmed at Drepstokk. His wife was
named Thorgerð and Bjarni was their son and he was a most promising
man
Hann fýstist utan þegar á unga aldri.
He wished to go abroad at once (while he was still)
at a young age
Varð honum gott bæði til fjár og mannvirðingar og var sinn vetur hvort,
utan lands eða með föður sínum.
He was good (well off) both for money and
honout/prestige and his Winter was (spent) out of the country (?to other
lands) or with his Father
Brátt átti Bjarni skip í förum. Og hinn síðasta
vetur er hann var í Noregi þá brá Herjúlfur til Grænlandsferðar með
Eiríki og brá búi sínu.
Soon Bjarni had a ship (a merchantman) and during the
last winter he (Bjarni) was in Norway, Herjolf turned to/decided to a trip to
Greenland with Eirik and Gave up his farm.
Með Herjúlfi var á skipi suðureyskur maður, kristinn, sá er
orti Hafgerðingadrápu. Þar er þetta stef í:
With Herjolf was - on board ship a Hebridean
man - a Christian, he (it was) who composed the Song of Great
Waves
Mínar bið eg að munka reyni
I pray you tester/judge of monks
meinalausan farar beina,
Blameless (agrees with Christ) of my Earth's path
promote/care
heiðis haldi hárrar foldar
hallar drottinn yfir mér stalli.
Of the Hawk's perch (Heidi's stalli - Heidi = poetic
form)
Lord hold over me - I think this should be as
follows
I pray you blameless tester of monks
To be the keeper/ward of my way
that you hold high
The perch of your Hawk over me
[I find it a gentle and beautiful
prayer]
Herjúlfur bjó á Herjúlfsnesi. Hann var hinn göfgasti maður.
Herjiolf lived/farmed at Herjolf's Peak. He was the
most honourable/worshipful man
Eiríkur rauði bjó í Brattahlíð. Hann var þar með mestri virðingu og
lutu
allir til hans.
Eirik the red farmed at Brattahlið. He was there,
among the most honoured and all deferred to him
Þessi voru börn Eiríks: Leifur, Þorvaldur og Þorsteinn en
Freydís hét dóttir hans.
These were Eirik's children, Leif, Thorvald, and
Thorstein, and Freydis was the name of his Daughter
Hún var gift þeim manni er er Þorvarður hét og
bjuggu þau í Görðum þar sem nú er biskupsstóll.
She was given (in marriage) to that man who was named
Thorvarð and they farmed/lived ay Garð where the Bishop's seat is now (well it
is now at the Bard's time of writing)
Hún var svarri mikill en
Þorvarður var lítilmenni. .
She was very haughty (proud - svarri)
[The two words svarri and svárri similar - svárri is
serious]
but Thorvard was of little worth (a mean little
man)
Var hún mjög gefin til fjár
She was much given (over) to luxury (was he wealthy
then?)
Heiðið var fólk á Grænlandi í þann tíma.
Heathen were the folk of Greenland in that
time.
Það sama sumar kom Bjarni skipi sínu á Eyrar er faðir hans hafði brott
siglt um vorið.
That same summer Bjarni came in his ship to
Eyjar whence his father had set sail in the spring
Þau tíðindi þóttu Bjarna mikil og vildi eigi bera af skipi sínu.
These tidings Bjarni thought important and he did not
want to
unload his ship
Þá spurðu hásetar hans hvað er hann bærist fyrir
Then his steersman what it is he was waiting
(?hanging about) for
en hann svaraði að hann ætlaði að að halda siðvenju sinni og þiggja að
föður sínum veturvist
and he replied that he intended to keep his custom of
receiving (?) hospitality along with his Father in his winter
quarters
"og vil eg halda skipinu til Grænlands ef þér viljið mér fylgd
veita"
"and I would want to steer the ship (on a course) to
Greenland,
if you want to to give me youe support"
It certainly looks quite untidy - but I believe I
have most of it
I empathise with Grace - their verses are a lot of
sheer
convolution - I am sure it is The Christ who is
Blameless - innocent
whereas I first thought it applied to the
Monks
Kveðja
Patricia