I was puzzled over þess koma sér, but I think he is
definitely wondering where to sit,
Zoëga is very specific with the hvar = where - in what place
(says so) and the skyldi is from
skulu - ought - in the sense to be obliged ought or should -
could fit.
and he has been in trouble before you say so I'm sure he is
trying to place himself conveniently out of trouble in case he gets thrown
over board (??perhaps??)
Subject: [norse_course] "at því
hugði...at" + "koma sér e-s"? + reflexive pronouns
Could anyone clarify this sentence for
me:
"Fóru þeir þá út á skip, en at því hugði Án, hvar hann skyldi
þess koma sér, at öllum þætti sér mest mein at."
It's from Áns
saga bogsveigis. The context is that Án, a typically troublsome
young man, and bourgeoning saga hero, has just convinced his more
upstanding but conventional elder brother to let him come along to visit
the king.
"Then they went out onto the ship," is easy enough,
"and/but An wondered..."
But what exactly is "hvar hann skyldi
þess koma sér"? At a guess, could it be that he "wondered where to
put himself" on the ship? What does the genitive 'þess' relate
to?
Does the first 'at' go with 'hugði'--"he wondered [about the
following thing]"--or is 'at því...at' equivalent to 'því...at' "for
this reason...because"?
In other words, is An (a) wondering where
he should put himself, given that everyone thinks he's trouble? Or
(b) is he wondering where to go "so as to / in order to" make everyone
think the worst of him?
Or is he wondering why they think this
about him, what he's done to get this reaction? I'm a bit
confused...
Can the second 'sér' in theory refer to either An or the
sailors?