On Mon, Nov 11, 2002 at 10:09:00PM -0000, Haukur Thorgeirsson wrote:

>
> Unfortunately I still haven't gathered the time to
> make a 'solution' to last week's text. I hope I'll
> be forgiven for a few days' delay.
>
> This week's text is up, however. Enjoy :-)
>
> http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/reader/faerey2.html

Phew. This started out grammatically easy, though with lots of familiar
vocabulary. (It might also have helped if I'd ever looked at comparatives
before.) Then it got harder, until I was hitting words not found in the
dictionaries I have. (As always, I like to translate before looking
at anyone's messages about the text.)

Here's what I got ....

Vocabulary question:

I guessed borinn for a past participle of bera. That didn't entirely
make sense.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Þorbjörn hét maðr; hann var kallaðr Götuskeggr.
A man was named Þorbjörn: he was called Götuskeggr. (Gata(???)'s Beard?)

Hann bjó í Austrey í Færeyjum. Guðrún hét kona hans.
He lived in Austrey in the Faroes. His wife was named Guðrún.

Þau áttu tvá sonu; hét Þorlákr inn ellri, en Þrándr inn yngri.
They had two sons. The elder was called Þorlákr, and the younger
(was called) Þrándr.

Þeir váru efniligir menn.
They were promising men.

Þorlákr var bæði mikill ok sterkr;
Þorlákr was both big and strong;

Þrándr var ok með því móti þá er hann þroskaðisk, en miseldri þeira broeðra var mikit.
Þrándr was the same (lit. "also along with that manner") when he had grown
to full strength (þroskaðisk could be simply "was fully grown", but strength
seems implied), and the disparity of age between the brothers was large.

Þrándr var rauðr á hár ok freknóttr í andliti, fríðr sýnum.
Þrándr was a handsome looking redhead with a freckled face
(more lit.: Þrándr was red of hair and freckled in face, handsome to sight.)

Þorbjörn var auðigr maðr ok var þá gamall, er þetta var tíðenda.
Þorbjörn was a rich man and was then old, when that (there? ??þetta??)
was news.

Þorlákr kvændisk þar í eyjunum ok var þó heima með föður sínum í Götu.
Þorlákr married there in the islands and was nevertheless at home with his
father at (in) Gata (???).

Ok bráðliga er Þorlákr var kvæntr andaðisk Þorbjörn Götuskeggr,
But soon after (then) Þorlákr was married Þorbjörn Götuskeggr died,

ok var hann heygðr ok út borinn at fornum sið,
and he was buried and carried out according to ancient customs

því at þá váru heiðnar allar Færeyjar.
because at that time all in the Faroes were heathen.

Synir hans skiptu arfi með sér,
his sons divided (the) inheritance among themselves,

ok vildi hvártveggi hafa heimabólit í Götu,
and each one wanted to have the homestead in Gata (???),

því at þat var in mesta gørsimi.
because it was the most valuable.

Þeir lögðu hluti á, ok hlaut Þrándr.
They divided (the inheritance) into shares [prepared to a portion?]
and Þrándr won it by lot.

--
Arlie

(Arlie Stephens arlie@...)