Hi Mona,
 
Good to have you with us and good to read your more literal translation.  I think it is important to try to show what the individual words mean.  I don't know whether or not you are bilingual with English, but we are all aiming to learn to translate Old Norse here, not to polish up our English!!  :-)
 
I agree with all of your translation and all of your points.  Great stuff :-)
 
Cheers,
Sarah.
 
----- Original Message -----
From: mona striewe
To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 7:19 PM
Subject: Re: [norse_course] Þáttr Auðunar part I + II

hi there,
finally i had some time for a translation myself. i must admit i have not read through all of the discussion so far, so i don't know what special conclusions you have come to already.
i've tried to translate more literal than literary ;-) to show what the single words mean, and i have put in some footnotes to explain certain constructions.
 
a man is called (1) auðun, from the west fjords and poor. he went out to the west there in the fjords under guidance of the good farmer Þorstein, and the steersman Þóri, who there had accepted provision (lodging) over the winter with torstein. auðun was as well there and worked for that (2) Þóri, and accepted this reward (3) from him, the travel out and the provision. this (2) auðun laid the most part of wealth, which he owned (4), for his mother, before he stepped on the ship, and it was there declared on three winters provision.
 
and now the go out from here, and it goes well with them (5), and auðun was over the the nex winter with tóri the steersmann, he had a farm on moeri. and in the next summer they go out to greenland, and are there over the winter. this is reported (6), that auðun buys there one polar bear, a great treasure, and gave for (it) all his possession. and now over the next summer they go again to norway and have a good travel.
 
1. the verb heita is difficult to translate directly to english, because english uses passive constructions like "is named", "is called". in german we have "heißen", which is an active verb much like in icelandic and old norse.
 
2. pronouns used in this way in front of personal names are simply a means of stress.
 
3. actually a genitive construction "accepted of this reward", but better to translate as accusative in english.
 
4. i think this genitive is similarly to latin, an expression of ownership
 
5. fersk is a mediopassive from fara, a reflexive or impersonal use of the verb, so "they went themselves well" or "it happened to them well"
 
6. this is a common idiom, literally "of this is spoken", this is reported, this is told
mona
 


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