At 10:26:00 AM on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, Fred and Grace
Hatton wrote:

> I had nothing but trouble with this. Could not get it to
> make much sense and would appreciate any help.


> Jóði sagði, at þat var hans hugboð, - "at vit feðgar munim
> ekki bera gæfu til þessa konungs, ok mun ek ekki fara á
> fund hans.

> Yoda said that it was his anticipation, "that we father
> and son will not bring gifts to this king and I will not
> go to a meeting with him.

<Gæfu> is the oblique singular of <gæfa> 'good luck'; Zoëga
gives <bera gæfu til e-s> 'to have luck in a thing'.
<Hugboð> must then be 'foreboding':

Yoda said that it was his foreboding 'that we, father and
son, will have no luck with this king, ... .'

> En ef Dúkú kømr heim í sumar, þá mun hann auðbeðinn þessar
> farar ok svá at gerask konungs maðr.

> But if Duku comes home in (the) summer, then he will (be)
> easily persuaded (to go) on this journey so that (he)
> becomes a king's man.

'... and so [also] to become a king's man.'

> Segðu svá konungi, at ek mun vera vinr hans ok alla menn,
> þá er at mínum orðum láta, halda til vináttu við hann.

> You tell (the) king thus, that I will remain his friend
> and all men, those who comply with my words, hold
> friendship with him.

<Alla menn> is accusative plural, not nominative plural, so
it can't be the subject of <halda>: '... and hold to
friendship with him all men who comply with my words'.

> Ek mun ok halda inu sama um stjórn ok umboð af hans hendi
> sem áðr hafða ek af fyrra konungi, ef konungr vill, at svá
> sé, ok enn síðar sjá, hversu semsk með oss konungi."

> I will also hold the same concerning (his?) guidance? and
> commission on his behalf as I have before for the
> previous? king, if (the) king wishes, that that be, also
> then later that? how was agreed upon between us and (the)
> king."

I make it something like this: 'I will also hold to the same
concerning rule and stewardship from his hand as I have
before from the former king, if [the] king wishes that [it]
be so, and yet later see how we agree, the king and I'. In
other words, if the king wishes him to do so, he will for
the time being continue to exercise the same authority on
behalf of this king that he exercised on behalf of the
king's predecessor, and they can decide later whether they
agree well enough to continue the arrangement.

> Síðan fór Maul aptr til konungs ok sagði honum, at Jóði
> myndi senda honum son sinn, ok sagði, at sá var betr til
> fallinn, er þá var eigi heima.

> Afterwards Maul went back to (the) king and told him, that
> Yoda would send him his son and said that that was better
> suited then when (he?) was not at home.

I think that <sá> here refers to <son sinn> and that <er> is
serving as a relative pronoun referring to <sá>: Dooku, the
son, who is not at home, is better suited than Yoda, the
father. That is, I make it '... and said that he was better
suited who was then not at home'.

> Lét konungr þá vera kyrrt.

> (The) king then had (it) remain quiet.

In other words, the king let the matter rest.

> Dúkú Jóðason ok Meis Vindússon kómu um haustit heim ór
> víking.

> Duku, Yoda's son and Meis Vindu's son came home during the
> fall from harrying.

(Meis Vindússon = Mace Windu)

[...]

> Ætla ek, at þær lykðir muni á verða, at vit munim aldrtila
> hljóta af þeim konungi."

> I expect that those results (wild guess)??? will happen
> that we will syffer loss of life from this king."

Not so wild: <lykðir> = <lyktir>, plural of <lykt> 'end,
conclusion'.

> "Þá verðr allmjök á annan veg," sagði Dúkú, "en mér segir
> hugr um, því at ek ætla mik skulu af honum hljóta inn
> mesta frama, ok til þess em ek fastráðinn at fara á fund
> konungs ok gerask hans maðr, ok þat hefi ek sannspurt, at
> hirð hans er skipuð afreksmönnum einum.

> "Then (this?) happens very much in a different way," said
> Duku, "but my mind tells me regarding (this) because I
> expect for myself? shall suffer from him the most to
> further?? and I am determined regarding this to go to a
> meeting with (the) king and become his man and I have true
> intelligences that his men are alike?? valiant men.

'[This] is then altogether otherwise,' said Dooku, 'than
my mind tells me, for I expect to get from him the
greatest advancement, and I am determined to go meet the
king and become his man, and this I have heard truly
reported, that his guard is manned with valiant men only.'

That first bit could more idiomatically be put 'I'm
altogether of another mind'.

<á annan veg en> 'otherwise than'
<fastráðinn til þess at fara> 'firmly resolved on that, to
go', i.e., 'firmly resolved to go, determined to go'
<sannspurt>: past participle of a verb <sannspyrja>, which
must be 'to hear truly of, to hear true report of' (Zoëga
s.v. <spyrja> (4)).
For <skipuð afreksmönnum> see Z. s.v. <skipa> (4), and note
the dative <húskörlum mínum> in the example; <einum>
following the noun is 'only' (Z. s.v. <einn> (7)).

> Þykkir mér þat allfýsiligt at koma í þeira sveit, ef þeir
> vilja við mér taka.

> It seems to me very desirable to come into their company
> if they want to accept me.

'If they will accept me' is probably closer to the intended
sense.

> Eru þeir menn haldnir miklu betr en allir aðrir í þessu
> landi.

> They are men in much better state than all others in this
> country.

I take <þeir> to modify <menn>: 'Those men are in much
better state than all others in this land'.

> Er mér svá frá sagt konungi, at hann sé inn mildasti af
> fégjöfum við menn sína ok eigi síðr þess örr at gefa þeim
> framgang ok veita ríki þeim, er honum þykkja til þess
> fallnir.

> (It) is told to me so of the king that he is the most kind
> (in terms of) gifts of money to his men and not ?? this
> open handed to give advancing in battle? and give them
> power which to him seem suited to this.

Here <mildasti> is 'most liberal' (Z. s.v. <mildr> (2)), and
<eigi síðr örr> is 'not less ready, just as ready', with the
adverb <síðr> 'less' and the adjective <örr> 'ready,
willing': '... that he is the most liberal with gifts of
money to his men and no less ready to give them success
[i.e., promotion or preferment] and to grant them power who
seemed to him suited for this', i.e., '... no less ready to
give advancement and power to those who seemed to him suited
for it'.

> En mér spyrst á þann veg til um alla þá, er bakverpask
> vilja við honum ok þýðask eigi hann með vináttu, sem allir
> verði ekki at manna, stökkva sumir af landi á brott, en
> sumir gerask leigumenn.

> And to me seems in this way concerning all those who wish
> to disregard him and do not attach themselves to him in
> friendship as all ?????????????????? some flee away from
> (the) country and some become tenants.

Z. s.v. <spyrja> (5) actually has <mér spyrst á þann veg>:
'it seems to me'. 'And I have heard concerning all those
who wish to turn away from him and do not attach themselves
to him in friendship that they become nothing as men: some
flee abroad, and some become tenants.'

> Þykkir mér þat undarligt, faðir, um svá vitran mann sem þú
> ert ok metnaðargjarnan, er þú vildir eigi með þökkum taka
> vegsemð þá, er konungr bauð þér.

> It seems to me remarkable, father, concerning such a wise
> man as you are and ambitious, when you do not wish with
> thanks to take glory then when (the) king asks you.

<Vildir> is a subjunctive, both instances of the relative
particle <er> are better translated 'that', and <bauð> is
from <bjóða> 'to offer': 'It seems remarkable to me, father,
for so wise a man as you are and [so] ambitious, that you
would not take with thanks the honor that [the] king offers
you'.

> En ef þú þykkisk vera forspár um þat, at vér munim hljóta
> af konungi þessum ófarnað ok hann muni vilja vera várr
> óvinr, hví fórtu eigi þá til orrostu í móti honum með
> konungi þeim, er þú ert áðr handgenginn?

> But if you think to be foreseeing concerning it, that we
> will suffer misfortune from this king and he will wish to
> be our enemy, why did you not go then to battle against
> him with that king, when you are previously a retainer?

More trouble with <er>: '... with that king whose retainer
you were before'. (CV glosses <handgenginn> 'a king's
officer, belonging to the king's household'.)

[...]

Brian