Thanks, Sarah. I'm not quite at the translation stage yet. I've only practised doing nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the Barnes. So, I am picking out those items, seeing if I can identify the root or dictionary listing of the word, and then what part of speech, etc. it might be. I'm guessing at the verbs. So here is what I have so far:
1. Síðan fór Bơðvarr leið sína til Hleiðargarðs.
Boðvarr = masc. name, subject
leið=noun, fem. sing., nom. acc. or dat.=way, journey
okay, ruling out nom. here and can't see why it would be dat., so acc.
sína=pron., masc. refl.. gen.=his
Hleiðargarðs=place name, masc. sing. gen. of Hleiðargarðr (with til=prep. w. gen.)
Afterwards - went - Boðvarr - way - his - to - Hleiðargarðr
Afterwards Boðvarr went his (own) way to Hleiðargarðr.
or went on his journey?, or maybe, continued his journey?
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2. Hann kømr til konungs atsetu.
Hann=pron. masc. sing. nom.=he
konungs=noun, masc. sing. gen. of konungr=king's
atsetu=noun, fem. sing. (gen.?) of atseta=residence (with til=prep. w. gen.)
He - came - to - king's - residence
He came to a king's residence.
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3a. Bơðvarr leiðir síðan hest sinn á stall hjá konungs hestum hinum beztum ok spyrr engan at,
Boðvarr (as above)
hest=noun, masc. sing. acc. of hestr=horse
sinn=pron. refl. masc. poss.=his
stall=noun, masc. sing. dat.? (with á=prep. w. dat.)=stall
konungs (as above)=king's
hestum=noun, masc. plur. dat. of hestr (with hjá=prep. w. dat.)=horses
hinum=pron. dat.=that
beztu=adj.=best
spyrr engan at=asks no one about it, asks leave of none (from Gordon's glossary under spyrja)
Boðvarr - to lead (don't know tense here) - afterwards - horse - his - into - stall - beside - king's - horses - that - best - and - asks - none - (about it?)
Boðvarr then leads his horse into a stall beside that king's best horses and asks no one for permission,
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3b. gekk síðan inn í hơllina, ok var þar fátt manna.
[gekk, from ganga, no idea of tense again]
inn í=into
hollina=noun + def. art., fem. sing. (dat. ?) (with í=prep. w. dat.)= the hall
fátt=noun of fár=a few
manna=noun, masc. plur. gen. of maðr= of men
he goes - afterwards - into - the hall - and - were - there - a few - of men
then he went into the hall, and there were a few men there.
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4a. Hann sezk útarliga, ok sem hann hefir verit þar lítla hríð, hann (as above)
útarliga=far out (from Gordon: setjask ú.=sit near the door
sem=when
hefir verit= (guessing) from hafa and vera? = had been?
þar=there
lítla=adj. fem. sing. acc.=little
hríð=fem. sing. acc.=while
he - sat himself - far out - and - when - he - (had been?) - there - little - while
He sat himself by the door, and when he had been there a little while,
I don't know why this needs to be "by the door." (according to Gordon's glossary). I would rather say something like "he sat himself at a distance (i.e. from the men)
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4b. heyrir hann þrausk nơkkut útar í hornit í einhverjum stað.
heyrir=(guessing) to hear
þrausk=noun, neut. sing. acc.?= a rummaging
nokkut=as adv.?=somewhat
útar=farther out
hornit=noun + def. art., neut. sing. acc. from horn=the corner (with í=prep. w. acc.)
einhverjum=adj. and pron., dat. from einhverr=a certain (with í=prep. w. dat.)
stað=noun, masc. sing. dat.?= place
he - heard - a rummaging - somewhat - farther out - in - a corner - in - a certain - place
he heard a rummaging noise somewhat farther out in a certain place in a corner.
or, in a particular corner?
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5a. Bơðvarr lítr þangat ok sér at mannshơnd kømr upp ór mikilli beinahrúgu,
Boðvarr (as above)
þangat=thither
mannshond=noun, fem.=a man's hand
mikilli=adj., fem. sing. dat.?
beinahrúgu=noun, fem. sing. dat? (with ór=prep. w. dat.)
Boðvarr - looked - thither - and - saw - (at=rel. that?) - a man's hand - was coming? - up - out of - large - heap of bones
Boðvarr looked over there and saw that a man's hand was coming up out of a large heap of bones.
or refuse pile?, heap of garbage?
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5b. er þar lá, hơndin var svơrt mjơk.
er=rel. = which?
lá= from liggja=to lie
hondin=noun + def. art., fem. sing.= the hand
svort=adj., from svartr=black
mjok=adv.=much, very
which - there - lay - the hand - was - black - very
which lay there, the hand was very black.
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To recap and rephrase into "normal" English (sorry this is so long...):
Then Boðvarr continued his journey to Hleiðargarðr. He came to a king's residence. Boðvarr then led his horse into a stall beside that king's best horses, asking no one for permission, then he went into the hall, where there were a few men. He seated himself at a distance, and when he had been there a little while, he heard a rummaging noise somewhat more distant in a particular corner. Boðvarr looked over there and saw that a man's hand was coming up out of a large heap of garbage (lit. bones) which lay there, the hand was very black.
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That was fun! How did I do?
Laurel
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