> Það var einn dag að Björn fór til Fróðár.
> It was one day that Bjorn went to Frodr.
> It was one day that Bjorn went to Frod River.

One day Björn went to Fróðá.

> Og um kveldið er hann bjóst heim að fara var þykkt veður
> og regn nokkuð og var hann heldur síðbúinn.

> And during the evening when he had prepared to go home, it
> was thick weather and somewhat rain(y), and he was rather
> slow in getting ready.

> And during the evening when he prepared to go home the
> weather was thick and somewhat rainy and he was rather
> late underway. (Couldn’t tear himself away.)

And in the evening, when he prepared to go home, there was
‘thick’ weather and some rain, and he was rather late
getting ready.

> En er hann kom upp á heiðina kólnaði veðrið og dreif.

> And when he came up to the district, the weather became
> cold and it drifted (snow).

> And when he came up to the heath the weather became cold
> and it sprinkled.

And when he came up on the heath, the weather grew cold and
there was a great snowstorm.

I take <veðrit dreif> to be equivalent to <veðr var
drífanda>.

> Var þá svo myrkt að hann sá eigi leiðina fyrir sér.

> It was so dark that he didn't see the path in front of
> him.

> It was then so dark that he could not see the way before
> him.

It was then so dark that he did not see the path before him.

> Eftir það laust á hríð með svo miklu hreggi að hann fékk
> varla stýrt sér.

> After that a storm let loose with so great a blast that he
> scarcely was able to guide (literally “steer”) himself.

> After that (he) was caught by a storm so great that he was
> barely able to steer himself.

After that [the] storm struck with such a great blast that
he could hardly steer himself.

> Tók þá að frysta að honum klæðin er hann var áður alvotur.

> Then his clothes began to freeze to him which he was
> previously (alvotur?).

> Then his clothing began to freeze when he was already all
> wet?

Then his clothes began to freeze, when he was already
thoroughly wet.

<Alvotur> is the modern spelling of <alvátr>, which is in
Zoëga in the paragraph under the headword <alvaskligr>; it’s
an intensive form of <vátr> 'wet', modern <votur>.

> Fór hann þá og svo villur að hann vissi eigi hvert hann
> horfði.

> He then so lost his way that he didn't know where he was
> turning.

> Then he went (on) and (was) so bewildered that he knew not
> where he turned.

Then he also went so far astray that he did not know whither
he turned.

> Hann hitti um nóttina hellisskúta einn og fór þar inn í og
> var þar um nóttina og hafði kalda búð.

> He found during the night a jutting cave and went inside
> there and stayed there during the night and had a cold
> dwelling place. (pseudo-scholarly note: Some linguists
> translate “og hafði kalda búð” as “and had a cold Bud” and
> think it is a reference to the popular American beer,
> which would date the text after the first Viking voyages
> to America)

> During the night he found a certain jutting cave and went
> inside there and stayed there during the night and had a
> cold shelter.

In the night he found only a jutting cave and went inside
and stayed there during the night and had a cold abode.

My impression is that a <helliskúti> isn’t so much a real
cave as a somewhat cave-like hollow formed and protected by
jutting rocks, and that <einn> has it’s usual post-nominal
sense of 'only, just': he didn’t come upon any better
shelter than this very mediocre one.

> Þá kvað Björn:
> Then Bjorn said:
> Then Bjorn recited:

Then Björn spoke:

> Myndit Hlín of hyggja
> Myndit Hlin thinks too
> Hlin shapes to think too (much?)

<Myndit> is a compound, <myndi-t>; the <-t> is a negative
suffix used in poetry, discussed in CV on p. xxvi. <Of> is
a meaningless adverbial particle attached to <hyggja>; I’m
not sure whether it ever occurs in prose, but it’s fairly
common in early verse.

> hafleygjar vel þeygi,
> godess's (?) well yet not,
> ?? well conceal

<Hafleygjar> is the genitive of <hafleygr>, a compound of
<haf> 'sea' and <leygr> 'fire, flame'; the latter is in CV.
<Hafleygjar Hlín> 'sea-flame’s Hlín' is a kenning: sea-flame
is gold, and gold’s Hlín is gold’s goddess, i.e., a woman.
<Þeygi>, from <þó eigi>, is 'yet not'; like the <-t> from
<myndit> it negates the verb <myndi hyggja>.

> sú er ber í vá víða
> that one is carried in woe far and wide
> that one who carries in weighed (down?) widely

<Vá> is 'corner, nook'; for explanation see below.

> váðir, mínu ráði
> clothes, my advice
> clothes, by my plan

Here <váðir> is just the plural, 'woven cloths', not the
specialized plural 'clothing', and <ráð> is Z7 'condition,
lot'.

> ef eld-Njörun öldu
> if fire-Njoru of men
> if fire-Njorun ??

<Öldu> is the genitive of <alda> 'a heavy, swelling wave, a
roller'; on the face of it <eld-Njörun öldu> is ‘wave’s
fire-Njörun’, but it’s to be understood as <öldu-eld-Njörun>
'(wave’s-fire)-Njörun’, i.e., gold’s Njörun. Since Njörun
is an <ásynja> or a <dís> and therefore feminine, this
kenning is equivalent to <hafleygjar Hlín>: ‘gold’s
goddess’, or a woman.

> ein vissi mig steina,
> one would know stains me,
> alone knew me of stones

<Ein> is 'alone' here, but it actually goes with <mig>, not
<eld-Njörun>. <Steina> modifies <helli> in the next line.

> hirðiþoll, í helli,
> king's-tree, in a cave
> ?? in a cave

<Hirðiþoll> is half of the kenning <hafviggs hirðiþoll>
'guardian-fir-tree of the sea-steed', to be understood as
‘ship’s man’, a seaman, referring to Björn himself.

> hafviggs, kalinn liggja.
> Sea-horse, lies froxen
> ?? to lie cold.

Myndit Hlín of hyggja
hafleygjar vel þeygi,
sú’s berr í vá víða
váðir, mínu ráði,
ef eld-Njörun öldu
einn vissi mik steina
hirðiþoll í helli
hafviggs kalinn liggja.

Would think Hlín
of sea-flame not well,
she who bears into [the] wide corner
woven cloths, of my condition,
if wave’s fire-Njörun
knew me alone, stones’
cave within, watch-fir-tree
of sea-steed, frozen to lie.

Myndit hafleygjar Hlín, sú’s berr váðir í víða vá, of
hyggja þeygi vel mínu ráði, ef öldu eld-Njörun vissi mik,
hafviggs hirðiþoll, liggja einn kalinn í steina helli.

Sea-flame’s Hlín [= gold’s Hlín = woman], she who bears
woven cloths into a wide corner [= spreads covers in a
spacious bed, as the poet is spread in the cave], would
not think well of my state, if wave’s-fire-Njörun [=
gold’s Njörun (an ásynja or dís) = woman] knew me,
sea-steed’s guardian-fir-tree [= ship’s man = seaman], to
lie alone, frozen, in a cave of stones.

> Og enn kvað hann:
> And he still recited:
> And still he recited:

And then he said:

> Sýlda skar eg svana fold
> súðum því að gæibrúðr
> ástum leiddi oss fast
> austan með hlaðið flaust.

> (Sýlda=horse?) I rake thus south because (something)-bride
> we love led us quickly east with loaded ship.

> Stiff with ice I cover closely earth of a swan
> with overlapping edges of boards because ??
> by love led us hard
> from the east with laden ship.


> Víða gat eg vosbúð,
> víglundr nú um stund
> helli byggir hugfullr
> hingað fyr konu bing.

> I got far and wide toil from bad weather, (CV cites
> “Víglundr” as a name, but if it's a name, why isn't it
> capitalized here?) now for a while a cave dwells full of
> courage to here for a woman a bed.

There is a masculine name <Víglundr>, but that’s not what we
have here. Here we have a compound <víg-lundr>
'battle-tree', a kenning for ‘warrior’ (with the rare sense
'tree' of <lundr> instead of the more common 'grove').

> Widely I get fatigue,
> ?? now for a time
> (I) settle in a cave mindful
> hither for a bed of a woman.

Sýlda skark svana fold
súðum, þvít gæibrúðr
ástum leiddi oss fast,
austan með hlaðit flaust;
víða gatk vásbúð;
víglundr nú um stund
helli byggir hugfullr
hingat fyr konu bing.

I cut swans’ ice-covered land
with overlapping strakes, for heed-bride
by love ’twixt man and woman drew us hard
from the east with laden ship;
far and wide I got cold, wet shelter;
now for a while battle-tree,
full of courage, occupies a cave
here instead of woman’s bed.

I cut swans’ ice-covered land [= icy sea] with overlapping
strakes, for heed-bride [= attentive woman] by love
between man and woman drew us hard from the east with a
laden ship; far and wide I got gold, wet shelter; now for
a while the brave battle-tree [= warrior, i.e., Björn]
occupies here a cave instead of a woman’s bed.

I went with the extended ‘love between man and woman’ to
acknowledge that <ástum> is plural. <Hingat> is usually
'hither' rather than 'here'; if it can go with <gatk>
instead of <byggir>, it could have that meaning here. (But
overall the syntax in this one is fairly straightforward.)

Brian