There were some parts of this weeks translation that were VERY difficult and I still really am not sure about a few things in this one. Since I have not read the other translations or any of the replies to them (except for Konrad’s vocabulary) if I ask a question that has already been answered feel free to ignore it, I’ll catch up to it when I read everyone else’s attempts and the replies to them.
Þorbjörn hét maðr; hann var kallaðr Götuskeggr.
Thorborn was called, a man; he was called Gate-beard.
Hann bjó í Austrey í Færeyjum. Guðrún hét kona hans.
He lived in Austrey in the Faroes. Gudrun was called, wife his.
Þau áttu tvá sonu; hét Þorlákr inn ellri, en Þrándr inn yngri.
They had two sons; called Thorlakr the elder and Thrandr the younger.
Þeir váru efniligir menn. Þorlákr var bæði mikill ok sterkr;
They were promising men. Thorlakr was both tall and strong;
Þrándr var ok með því móti þá er hann þroskaðisk,
Thrandr was also in that degree, as him, grown up,
******This was a difficult part. I noticed that in the vocabulary “með því móti” was given as “in that way.” Would “in that degree” be a possible translation here at all? Was I close at all in translating “er” as “as”?
en miseldri þeira broeðra var mikit.
but the disparity between the brothers was great.
Þrándr var rauðr á hár ok freknóttr í andliti, fríðr sýnum.
Thrandr was red of hair and freckled of face, handsome showing (looking?).
Is Fríðr sýnum usually just translated as “handsome”? Is handsome-looking a possibility here at all?
Þorbjörn var auðigr maðr ok var þá gamall, er þetta var tíðenda.
Thorbjorn was a rich man and was then old, when these were tidings.
Þorlákr kvændisk þar í eyjunum ok var þó heima með föður sínum í Götu.
Thorlakr was married there on the island and was yet home with father his in Gate.
Ok bráðliga er Þorlákr var kvæntr andaðisk Þorbjörn Götuskeggr,
But soon after Thorlakr was married, breathed his last Thorbjorn Gate-Beard,
ok var hann heygðr ok út borinn at fornum sið,
and was he buried in a mound and out carried in the old way,
því at þá váru heiðnar allar Færeyjar.
because then were heathens all of the Faerings.
Synir hans skiptu arfi með sér, ok vildi hvártveggi hafa heimabólit í Götu,
(To) sons his divided the inheritance for each, and willed each of the two to have the homestead in Gate,
því at þat var in mesta gørsimi. Þeir lögðu hluti á, ok hlaut Þrándr.
because that was of the greatest value. They cast lots about it, and it was acquired by Thrandr.
******These last two gave me the most trouble. Especially lögðu, can you talk about this one a bit? I never did figure out lögðu out and ended up referring to the translation at the Northvegr site, on it. Is this a form of leggja? From the vocabulary and since the other words I could figure out, I think it must be, yes? Also I was not really sure about how exactly to translate “á” in this sentence. I was kind of disappointed with how I did on this last sentence because the rest I was able to get somewhat, after enough work but this last sentence gave me a really rough time.
******Anyway that is my attempt on this one. I would have had it sooner but the three or four hard parts really took me a lot of time to figure out (I hope I figured them out!) Below is a Normal Translation as well.
- Alfta
Northvegr: The Northern Way
There was a man named Thorbjorn Gate-Beard. He lived in Austry which was in the Faroes. His wife was called Gudrun. They had two sons, the elder was called Thorlakr and the younger was called Thrandr. They both were very promising. Thorlakr was tall and strong; Thrandr was as well yet there was a great disparity between them. Thrandr had red hair and a freckled face and was handsome. Thorbjorn was a rich man and was old when these things happened. Thorlakr married there in the island but yet he lived at his father’s home in Gate. Soon after Thorlaker was married his father, Thorbjorn Gate-Beard died and was carried out and buried in a mound in the old way, as the Faerings were still Heathen at that time. His sons each received a share of the inheritance and both were given the homestead in Gate, because it was of the greatest value. The brothers cast lots for it and it was acquired by Thrandr.