--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, joran@... wrote:

>
> "equipped" sounds phonetically similar to "búit".

If they do, I'm sure it's a coincidence. But interesting you should
mention the English word 'equip'. According to one theory, its
French precursor 'équiper' was originally a loan from the Old Norse
verb 'skipa'--lots of meanings, but I don't think exactly
overlapping with "equip", unless maybe sometimes in Zoega's sense
3 "assign something to someone". But the Old French 'esquiper' is
only recorded in the sense of "to put/go on borad a ship", according
to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), and so might be separately
derived from ON 'skip' "ship".

> >Eptir þat ríða þeir alla ina sömu leið,
> After that they ride all in "single-line formation",
> or
> After that they ride back the way they come.
>
> "i samma led" is a military term still in use in Sweden.

I reckon it's "the same way" (they came). The SAOB (Svensk
Akademiens ordbok)--if I've understood it right--considers 'led' in
the sense you mention to be a special usage of 'led' "joint" = OIc.
liðr, m. u-stem "limb, joint", rather than Sw. led = OIc.
leið "way". It suggests that the meaning "a line/column of people"
may have been derived from the German cognate 'glied'.

http://g3.spraakdata.gu.se/saob/

Notice also that the Icelandic expression is accusative with the
definite article but no preposition. 'í' "in" usually takes dative
for position (being in), and accusative only for movement into. But
thanks for teaching me a new Swedish expression!

>
> >Þá spyrr Þorgeirr, hversu mætti helzt á óvart koma.
> Then asks Þorgeirr, how might preferably (Hrafnkell be) taken by
> surprise.
>
> "Helst" is still in use in Swedish, meaning preferably.

Exactly the same word. Gwyn Jones translates: "how they might BEST
take them by surprise." Compare: þykkir mér þat ráð helzt til "that
seems to me the best thing to do". Other meanings:

helzt "(most) preferably; especially, most of all".
einkum helzt "most especially, most of all"
'helzt til', 'helzti' "far/much too"

>
> >Sámr kvazk mundu kunna ráð til þess.
> Sam said (he) might be able to advise on this.
>
> "råda" is old Swedish for "give advice".

Yes, this is the Swedish cognate for the Icelandic
verb 'ráða'. 'ráð' is here a neuter noun related to this verb.
Both the noun and the verb have a lot of other meanings besides
advice. Gwyn Jones translates it "Sam reckoned he would know a plan
for this", i.e. Zoegas 3rd definition, he knew what to do. But see
also Zoega's 2nd sense: "expedient, means". I suppose it might be
impossible to separate these senses in the context. They probably
add up to the same: whether he knew what to advise, or what was
advisable, what to do, or how to solve the challenge set. But I
think I would take this example as somewhere in the region of
Zoega's definitions 2 and 3 both of which could be summed up: "Sam
reckoned he knew what to do about that." Or something like that.

> >Þeir skutu stokki á hurð ok hlupu inn.
> They pushed the bar on the door aside and ran inside.
> or
> The rammed the door with a ram and jumped in.
> you decide youself.

I think your second suggestion is right: "they rammed the door with
a ram". Gwyn Jones: "They dashed a beam against the door and rushed
inside." If there was a bar on the door, surely that would be on
the inside where they couldn't reach! We have the expression "to
shoot the bolt" on a door (=lock it), cf. ON skjóta loku fyrir, but
I don't think that's what's happening here. 'skjóta', + dative for
the weapon or implement, "shoot; shove, push, etc."

>
> >Af því ok heim á skálavegginn var skotit váðási einum.
> From it to the main house was a clothesbeam.
>
> But don´t listen to me. I only have Zoega and a Swedish

upbringing. (c:

> Jöran Omark

Yes, I think that's right. Some interesting grammar here (which
Alan may have covered already in UNICODE!). váðási, the passive
subject of 'var skotit' "was put/set" (Gwyn Jones "extended"), is
dative because the verb 'skjóta' takes a dative object. Accusative
objects become nominative in the passive, but the dative stays
dative:

skjóta e-u "shoot/shove something" (e.g. an arrow).
e-u var skotit "something was shot/shoved" (or in this case put).

bjarga e-m "to save someone"
e-m var/varð borgit "someone was saved"

Incidentally, the English cognate of 'váð' survives in the fixed
expression "widow's weeds" [
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19971208 ].

Llama Nom