Re: [norse_course] Auðun part 7/ feedback Patricia

Hi Patricia and a happy new year to you!

Plus loads of apologies for taking sooooo long to get back to you. I promise I will get back into the swing of things properly again now.

Anyway, if you can still remember back that far, perhaps I can help unravel some of the knots in this section...

Auðun kvesk ekki til hafa fyrir at gefa

Auðun (declared) he had nothing in hand to give

This is correct without the "in hand". Hafa is to have. Audun says himself not there/existing to have to give - is a very literal translation. Kveðja+sk. This -sk form can have either passive, reciprocal or reflexive meaning. You're right, "declares" is a good English translation.

OK. This next bit is tricky...

at þetta kvæmisk til leiðar

Here Audun is expressing a wish and he is therefore using the subjunctive (one of the few - maybe only - true form of that which we still have in English is "if I were you") but Old Norse has the full set of subjunctives!!! So this kvæmisk is the past subjunctive of koma+sk (reciprocal/reflexive/passive ending). And til leiðar is literally the preposition til which governs the genitive and the noun leið meaning way, road, path, course. However, that doesn't really help you a whole lot because the whole thing put together is an expression meaning "to bring about"!!! Don't you just love languages :-)

at ek mætta dýrit fra Konungi

This is still using the subjunctive, expressing his (as yet) unfulfilled desire of bring his bear before the king. So mætta

is another subjunctive, infinitive mega. dýrit the animal. fra to bring, send or present.

Ek mun fá þér vistir. sem it þurfuð

Your translation of this was correct, except "it" is the dual form of the 2nd person plural - you.

This next bit was virtually correct...

en þar i móti vil ek eiga hálft dýrit

but there in return want I to own half animal-the

You had a query about this bit -

ok máttu á þat lita

and may you at it look

You had the rest of the sentence ok.

This little bit wasn´t quite right, but the rest was -

en fé sé farit

but money is gone. Here sé is the present subjunctive of vera, so to give that impression of possibility we have to use an auxiliary verb - such as "the money may be gone"

You´ve done really well with this. I hope you´ve got your books now and I´m sure yu will find the next bit easier :-)

Cheers,

Sarah.

----- Original Message -----

From: Patricia

To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 10:38 PM

Subject: Re: [norse_course] Auðun part 7

I agree Sarah, Aki is a greedy pig

Áki lézk selja mundu honum vistir ef hann vildi

Aki would sell (/) to him provisions if he wished it

Aki offered to sell him provisions if he wanted them (mundu ?)

Auðun kvesk ekki til hafa fyrir at gefa "en ek vilda þo" segir hann ( kvesk - kveða ?)

Auðun (?kveða) nothing to have in front that to give "but I would nevertheless" said he

Auðun (declared) he had nothing in hand to give him "but I sould nonethe less " he said

"at þetta kvæmisk til leiðar at ek mætta dýrit fra Konungi

that this ? (kvæmisk) to lead that ? a costly animal and bring it to the King

that this ( no idea ) to lead this costly animal and give it to the King

Ek mun fá þér vistir. sem it þurfuð

I am able ( ) food such as it needs

I can give you food such as it needs

Til kinungs fundar en þar i móte vil ek eiga halft dyrit

to the Kings meeting but therefore in ( exch?) will I possess half animal

to meet with the King, but therefore I will own half of the animal

ok máttu á þat lita, at dýrit mun deyja fyrir þér, þars it

and ( ??) so that consider the animal is able to die before you where it

and ( ??) consider the bear could die on you because it

þurfuð vistir miklar, en fé sé farit ok er búit við at þú hafir þa ekki dyrsins

needs food much but money is needed and it may be ( ) that you have thus no Bear

needs a lot of food, but you need money and it may be you will have no bear at all

Aki is a mean beast to take such advantage, they had no NSPCA in those days, but

I hope he does not get the money, it was most like his Boss's food and not his to give

or withhold

Patricia @}--{---

----- Original Message -----

From: Sarah Bowen

To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 5:56 PM

Subject: [norse_course] Auðun part 7

Enter Evil Aki to throw a spanner in the works!!

Áki lézk selja mundu honum vistir, ef hann vildi. Auðun kvezk ekki til hafa fyrir at gefa; "en ek vilda þó", segir hann "at þetta kvæmisk til leiðar at ek mætta dýrit foera konungi." "Ek mun fá þér vistir, sem it þurfuð, til konungs fundar; en þar í móti vil ek eiga hálft dýrit. Ok máttu á þat líta, at dýrit mun deyja fyrir þér, þars it þurfuð vistir miklar, en fé sé farit, ok er búit við at þú hafir þá ekki dýrsins."

A Norse funny farm, overrun by smart people. Homepage: http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ To escape from this funny farm try rattling off an e-mail to: norse_course-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

A Norse funny farm, overrun by smart people. Homepage: http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ To escape from this funny farm try rattling off an e-mail to: norse_course-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com