> Re: gollnir -I can´t find it in my dictionaries.

MM & HP give the nominative Gollnir, and it gets lots of hits on
Google. Re. Patricia's suggestions, the German Wikipedia entry for
Odin suggests a meaning "the golden one" for two of the god's
by-names: Gollnir and Gollorr [ http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin ].
But a lot of online sources about Odin's names define Gollnir as
"screamer, yeller" (relating it to the verb 'gjalla'). I see that
'gollorr' also appears in a list of poetic name (heiti) for mind/heart
[ http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin ]. These editions at least give
the name other name as Göllnir; so too [
http://www.skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=verses&id=1152 ].

'goll' is an alternative form of 'gull' "gold" (cf. goð : guð "god").
I've heard that 'goll' was more common in the oldest texts.

> Re: á ráði - from the examples you give, it would suggest that the
specific phrase á raði indicates that it is something in one´s
make-up, or is one's lot, rather than a deliberate decision, plan.

Yes.

>> Enda er sá engi minn frændi að gangi í þetta mál ef þú hefir eigi
>> þrek til.
>>
>> MM & HP: "There is no one else in my familiy to undertake this claim
>> if you haven't the courage for it."

> sá engi minn frændi - is this all nominative sg and thus some form
of complex construction for the subject of the sentence?

Yes, I think that's right. We had a similar example not long ago: og
eigi var sá leikur að nokkur þyrfti við hann að keppa "and there
wansn't a sport that anyone needed to compete with him at" (since he
was obviously the best). Faarlund: Old Norse Syntax 5.1.1, pp. 85-86:
"Demonstratives do not necessarily give a unique or specific
reference. [...] A noun modified by a relative clause may have an
indefinite reading even if it is combined with a demonstrative."

er nöllurr sá maðr á þingi, er þat kunni at segja
is there any man at the assembly who can tell (us) that

Old Norse Online: "The two particles 'er' and 'at' sometimes overlap
in sense, so that either is possible. For example, er sá engi minn
frændi, at gangi í þetta mál 'there is no kin of mine who would enter
into such a deal.'" [
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/norol-7-X.html ].
Likewise Cleasby/Vigfússon, under 'sá' (1): "There is none of my
kinsmen that..."

There are some similar examples here [
http://runeberg.org/anf/1885/0364.html ] illustrating the use of the
subjunctive with demonstrative + at, or svá (...) at.