> Spyr hún mjög margs af Írlandi, fyrst að föður sínum og
> öðrum frændum sínum.

> She asks very many (a thing) about Ireland, first of her
> father and her other relatives.

> She asks him very much about Ireland, first about his
> father and others of his kinsmen.

The reflexive pronoun normally refers to the subject, which
in this case is <hún>, so Rob and Alan are right: it's 'her
father' and 'her other kinsmen'.

> She asks very many (a thing) of (about) Íreland, firstly
> regarding her father and her other kinsmen.


> Ólafur kvað hana að vísu lifa.
> Olaf told her that (she) certainly lived.
> Olaf said of her certainly to be living.
> Ólafr declared her certainly to be-living.

Or simply 'Ólaf said that she certainly lived.' This is the
so-called accusative and infinitive construction, in which
the accusative, here <hana>, is the subject of the
infinitive, here <að lifa>. It's common after verbs of
saying, thinking, and experiencing. It corresponds to
English 'I saw her open the present' and 'I think (that) she
is ill' (for unidiomatic 'I think her to be ill').

> Þá svarar Ólafur: "Ekki fýstu menn þess móðir að eg flytti
> fóstru þína af Írlandi."

> Then Olaf answers: "Men didn't wish that, mother, that I
> convey your nurse from Ireland.

> Then Olaf answers, "Mother, people did not urge this, that
> I convey your nurse from Ireland."

> Then Ólafr answers: “Men (persons) urged not that, mother,
> that I convey your nurse from Ireland.”

I think that this is an instance of deliberate
understatement for effect: 'People did not encourage me to
take your nurse from Ireland, mother', really meaning that
they were strongly opposed to the idea. This sort of
effect, including litotes (<Úlfr inn óargi> 'Úlf the
un-cowardly', i.e., 'the ferocious') was not uncommon in Old
Norse.

> Það fannst á að henni þótti þetta mjög í móti skapi.

> It could be perceived that she thought this much against
> (her) mind. (Z. finna 8 - fann þat á, it could be
> perceived)

> It seemed that to her this seemed greatly contrary to
> (her) mind.

> That was noticed that this seemed much against her heart
> (ie it was clear that she was not amused)

Although the idiom that Rob found is given for <finna>, not
for <finnask>, I think that it's probably the right
interpretation here.

> Þau Melkorka og Þorbjörn áttu son einn og er sá nefndur
> Lambi.

> They, Melkorka and Thorbjorn had a son also who is named
> Lambi (Lamb).

The name <Lambi> presumably derives from <lamb> 'a lamb',
but it's not the same as the common noun.

> They, Melkorka and Thorbjorn, had a son and that one is
> called Lambi.

> They, Melkorka and Þorbjörn, had one son and that-one (he)
> is named Lambi.


> "Það vildi eg Ólafur," segir Höskuldur, "að þér væri ráðs
> leitað og tækir síðan við búi fóstra þíns á Goddastöðum,
> er þar enn fjárafli mikill, veittir síðan umsýslu um bú
> það með minni umsjá."

> "I wanted that, Olaf," says Hoskuld, "that you had sought
> advice and then receive your foster household at
> Goddastan, there is a great property, grant then
> assistance concerning the farm with my supervision."

> "I would want it, Olaf," says Hoskuld, "that you had?
> sought a plan for an abode?? and receive your foster
> father's farm At Goddasteads, where there (is) still much
> property, afterwards give help concerning (the) farm with
> my oversight."

> ”I would-want that, Ólafr,” says Höskuldr, “that (there)
> were sought a match (marriage, ráða, Z8) for you and (you)
> would-receive after-that (the) farm of your foster-father
> at Goddastaðir – is (?) there still great property, (you)
> would-sustain (veita, Z6?) after-that occupation around
> that farm with my supervision.”

In view of the rest of the conversation, I agree that it's
about marriage, but <ráðs> here must be sense (6) of the
noun <ráð> in Zoëga, 'marriage, a match', not from the verb.
(Zoëga also seems to indicate that 'to seek advice' would
normally use the genitive plural, <leita ráða>, rather than
the genitive singular, <leita ráðs>.) Here I'd translate
<taka við> as 'take up' or 'take over': 'I would want,
Ólaf,' says Höskuld, that a marriage were sought for you and
[you] then take over your foster-father's farm at
Goddastaðir; [there] is still much property/wealth there;
then [you] would assist [in/with] management of [the] farm
with my supervision'. (CV is more helpful than Zoëga
concerning <umsýsla>, since it offers the gloss
'management', though one might also guess this possibility
from <umsýslumaðr> 'steward, manager'.)

> Ólafur svarar: "Lítt hefi eg það hugfest hér til.

> Olaf answers: "Little have I that
> to-make-up-one's-mind-about hereto.

<Hugfest> is the past participle, so that would be 'Little
have I made-up-my-mind-about that hereto'.

> Olaf answers, "I have little fixed in (my) mind up to now?

> Ólafr answers: “I have little hereto (up til now)
> put-my-mind-to that.

But I agree with Alan that the intended sense is more like
'put one's mind to' than 'make up one's mind about'. We'd
say something like 'I really haven't given it much thought'.

> Veit eg eigi hvar sú kona situr er mér sé mikið happ í að
> geta.

> I don't know how such a woman stays which to-me see much
> good luck in to get.

> I know not where that woman sits who to me be great luck
> to get.

> I know not where that woman sits (exists) who would-be
> much good luck for me to obtain (get).

I'm not sure that any of these really accounts for the <í>.
If we're going to be literal, it's probably something like
'I know not where that woman sits who for/to me would be
great good luck in getting'.

> Máttu svo til ætla að eg mun framarla á horfa um
> kvonfangið.

> Was-able so to think that I would fully to turn concerning
> marriage.

<Máttu> is a contraction of <mátt þú>.

> You can also expect it that I will much ?? concerning
> getting a wife.

> You might so expect that I will turn to near-the-front (ie
> focus on quality, cherry-pick) concerning
> the-taking-of-a-wife.

<Horfa á> can also be 'to turn to look at/to' and, with a
shift in emphasis, simply 'to look at/to'. In fact, CV
s.v. <framarliga> actually has this bit, glossing it 'will
look high': 'You can expect that I will look high in taking
a wife.' (Which is of course essentially Alan's
interpretation.)

> Þessarar konu ætla eg þér til handa að biðja því að þessi
> kostur er albestur í öllum Borgarfirði og þó að víðara
> væri.

> I intend this woman for you to ask-in-marriage because
> this match is (the) most-perfectly-good in all Borgarfird
> and still to more-widely be.

> Of this woman I intend to ask for you to (your) hand
> because this choice is very best in all Borgarfjord and
> still to further ??.

> I intend to ask for (the hand of) this woman on your
> behalf because this match (kostr, Z4) is (the) very-best
> in all Borgarfjörðr and even wider abodes? (further
> afield) (but why would you bother to look beyond
> Borgarfjörð? :-)).

<Og þó að víðara væri> seems to be another example of
omission of an understood verb after <vera>; <þó að víðara
væri leitað> 'and even if were sought further afield' would
do, for instance.

> Er það og vænna að þér yrði þá efling að mægðum við þá
> Mýramenn."

> That is also likely that to you then happen support then
> to marry into the Myramen family."

> It is also likely to happen that to you happens then aid
> by affinity by marriage with those Myra-men."

> That is also likely that for you would-become (happen)
> then increase-in-strength (personal-standing) by-means-of
> affinity-by-marriage with those men-of-Mýrar.”

It's probably easiest to make sense of this if you translate
<þér yrði> as 'would happen to you', using the second gloss
in Zoëga. It seems to me that the most straightforward
interpretation of <að> here is Zoëga s.v. <at> (A.IV.8),
indicating the source of the increase: 'It is also likely
that increase in strength would then happen to you from
relationship by marriage with the Mýramenn'.

> Höskuldur segir: "Til þess munum vér ráða að bera þetta
> mál upp."

> Hoskuld says: "To that we will plan to mention this case."

> Hoskuld says, "We will plan on this to present this case."

> Höskuldr says: ‘To this (end) (with this in mind?) we will
> resolve (ráða, Z6) to bring this matter up.”

<Ráða til e-s> 'to set about something, to try something, to
make an attempt at something' is in there amongst the
various prepositional idioms with <ráða>. <Til þess munum
vér ráða> is more or less 'We'll give that a try', where
'that' is <að bera þetta mál upp> 'to bring up this matter'.

Brian