Hinn 20. November 2003 lét Alfta þetta frá sér fara:

> Greetings,
>
> I am wondering if anyone could explain the use of the word "upp" in the following sentence.
>
> Hér hefur upp og segir frá þeim manni er Sigi er nefndur og kallaður að héti son Óðins.

When you see a preposition seemingly inexplicably following a verb like this you
often have what's called a phrasal verb. It's a good idea to look up the verb in
the dictionary. The last part of a verb's entry often is "with preps."

This is indeed the case here:

http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/189.php

- - -
hefja e-t upp, to begin (= hefja 3)
Egill hóf upp kvæðit, E. began his poem
- - -

> For that matter, the whole of the this first part of the setence is
> a bit difficult and I would be interested in hearing some thoughts
> on the construction of it.

Well, 'segja frá' is another phrasal verb meaning "tell, relate".
Although active in Old Norse we'll probably have to translate it
with an English passive, something like:

"Here begins and is related [a story] about the man who was named Sigi and..."

Kveðja,
Haukur