> Kjartan svarar og heldur seint: "Það var orð á þá er eg
> var á Íslandi að þar færu aðrar eftir.

> Kjartan answers also rather slowly: "That was a message to
> them that I was at Iceland to there would go back again.

> Kjartan answers and rather slowly, “It was (the) word then
> when I was in Iceland that there others went behind (me?).

> Kjartan answers and rather slowly: “That was (the) word
> (report) on (it) then when I was in Iceland that there
> other (sports) went (subjunctive of fara) after (? perhaps
> accordingly, ie in like manner; or maybe, behind, ie not
> as good) .

This appears to be <fara eptir> 'conform to'. <Þá> is
plural, so I make it: 'That was [the] word on them when I
was in Iceland that there other [sports] conformed [to
swimming]'. In other words, people said that he was just as
good at other sports.

> En nú er lítils um þessa vert."

> But now this is of little worth."

> But now this is worth little.”

> But now (there) is little of worth concerning this (ie
> that´s nothing to write home about).”

I think that the emphasis is on 'now', the sense being that
his old reputation in Iceland means little now, isn't worth
much now.

> Konungur var þá mjög klæddur.
> The king was then very-much dressed.
> (The ) king was then very well dressed.
> (The) king was then (by that time) much clothed.

This is <mjök> (3) 'almost, very nearly'.

> Veðráttu gerði harða um haustið.

> The weather became severe during the fall.

> The state of the weather was hard during the fall.

> (it) made (the) state-of-the weather severe (ie the
> weather turned nasty, see göra, Z12) during the-autumn.

If I were translating into reasonably colloquial English,
I'd say something like 'The weather became severe in the
fall', but Alan is correct in observing that in the ON
version <veðráttu> is the object of <gerði>, not the
subject: <veðráttu> is the oblique case, not the nominative.

> Voru frost mikil og kuldar.

> (There) was much frost and cold.

> There was much frost and cold.

> (There) were great frosts (plural) and
> continued-cold-weather (plural).

<Frost> is ambiguous in number, but <mikil> can only be
plural. Zoëga s.v. <frost> actually translates this phrase
simply as 'much frost and cold'.

> Heiðnir menn segja það eigi undarlegt að veðrátta léti
> illa: "Geldur að nýbreytni konungs og þessa hins nýja
> siðar er goðin hafa reiðst."

> (The) pagan men said that (it was) not wonderful that the
> weather misbehaved: "It is a punishment for the King's
> innovations (i.e., new faith) and this the new faith that
> the heathen-priest has become angry (about). (Z. gjalda -
> geldr at nýbreytni (gen.) konungs, it is a punishment for
> the king's innovations.)

> Heathen men say it not surprising that the weather was
> bad, “It is punishment (Z) for the kings innovation and
> this the new faith which has angered the gods.”

> Heathen folk (men) say that (to be) not extraordinary that
> (the) state-of-the-weather behaves badly: “(it) repays
> (it´s payback time) for (the) innovation-of-the-king and
> this the new faith at which the-gods (neut nom pl + def
> art suffixed) have-become-angry.”

<Þessa hins nýja siðar> really just corresponds to English
'this new faith'.

> Íslendingar voru allir saman um veturinn í bænum.

> (The) Icelanders were all together in the village during
> the winter.

> The Icelanders were all together during the winter in
> (the) town.

> (The) Icelanders were (stayed) all together during
> the-winter in the-town.

Since this is Trondheim, 'town' is definitely better than
'village'.

> Veðrátta batnar og komu menn fjölmennt þá til bæjarins að
> orðsending Ólafs konungs.

> The weather improves and many people came then to the
> village on the summons of King Olaf.

> The weather improved and people came in great crowds then
> to the town at a message from King Olaf.

> (The) state-of-the-weather improves and people (men) came
> in-large-numbers then to the-town at (the) message
> (behest) of King Ólafr.

In this case 'summons' seems a good tranalation of
<orðsending>.

> Þrændir höfðu her manns og buðu konungi bardaga í mót.

> The Thronds had a people's army and proclaimed to the king
> a fight against.

> Trondheimers had men? here and offered (boda?) to fight
> against the king.

> (The) Trondites (people of Trondheim) had a man´s crowd
> (host of men, see herr, Z1) and offered to (the) king a
> battle in return.

'Trondheimers' is a reasonable English choice: the modern
Norwegian term for the inhabitants of Trondheim is
<trondhjemmer>. I've also seen <Tronds> used to translate
the ON word.

> Konungur kvað þá vita skyldu að hann þóttist átt hafa við
> meira ofurefli en berjast þar við þorpara í Þrándheimi.

> The king told them (they they) should know that he thought
> a family is a match more superior strength than to fight
> there against (the) villages in Trondheim.

> (The) king said they should know that he thought himself
> to have had (dealt with) a more overwhelming force than to
> fight there with peasants in Trondheim.

> (The) King declared those (ie that they) should know that
> he bethought-himself to have had-to-deal with (eiga við,
> Z10) greater overwhelming forces than to fight there
> against cotters (þorpari, peasant-scum) in Trondheim.

<Kvað þá vita skyldu> is the accusative + infinitive
construction, <skyldu> being the past infinitive of <skulu>;
Grace's 'said they should know' is probably the most
straightforward English equivalent. <Þóttist átt hafa> is
essentially another, except that the accusative 'subject'
has been absorbed into the verb by making it an <-sk> form:
'... that he thought he had dealt with ...'. <Meira
ofrefli> can only be singular: the acc. plural would be
<meiri ofrefli> (weak declension of comparatives).

> Skaut þá bóndum skelk í bringu og lögðu allt á konungs
> vald og var margt fólk þá skírt.

> The villagers were panic-stricken and placed everything in
> the king's power and many people were then cleansed from
> guilt.

> (The) farmers were seized with fear (Z) and gave up all to
> the king’s power and many folk then were cleansed.

> The farmers were seized with fear and placed everything in
> (the) king´s power and many folk were then baptised.

Everyone forgot <þá> 'then'! (I like the idiom: '[It] then
shot fear into [the] peasants' breast', 'fear was then shot
into the peasants' breast'.)

Brian