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

From: Eysteinn Bjornsson

To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 11:34 PM

Subject: [norse_course] Re: Njall Chapter 24 Patricia's Effort

--- "Patricia" wrote:
>
> 24. kafli

Just a few comments on basics:

> Þeir Hrútur og Höskuldur riðu og til þings og fjölmenntu mjög.
> Hrut and Hoskuld also rode there and many others

The effect is closer to "WITH many others". The implication
is that they brought many men with them.

> Njáll var eigi við dóminn.
> Njall was not with (Gunnar) at court

Við dóminn = "at the court" ('Gunnar' is not understood here).
You have a tendency to always translate VIÐ as WITH, which is
quite often not the case. To be with someone = að vera MEÐ
einhverjum (if we ignore a few rare examples mostly from poetry).

> "Heyra megum við," segir Hrútur,
> "(We) hear you well " says Hrut

"Við" here is = "we". He just says "við megum heyra" = we
can hear (there is no "well").

> En ef þú vilt eigi berjast þá greið þú út féið allt
> But if you will not fight, then prepare to pay up all the money

"Prepare" is superfluous, "greiða" means "pay".

> Síðan gekk Gunnar frá dóminum ... Höskuldur og Hrútur gengu ...
> Then Gunnar left the Court ... Hoskuld and Hrut also went ...

Note "gengu" in both cases - this definitely says "walked". It
is perhaps nicer to have more variation, but saga-language is
very much defined by such repetition and a spare vocabulary. For
me, the actual picture of the characters is much clearer if you
definitely see them walking. But that may be just me.

> Það hefir mig aldrei hent að sá nokkur maður
> That to me has never been to see that some man

"Sá" here is the pronoun, not the verb. This means
literally: "It has to me never happened (hent) that
this some man ..." - but in English you would just
say "some man" or "any man".

> að eg hafi undan gengið."
> and I have gone down/under (refused)

"Ganga undan" means literally "to walk from under",
or "to walk away from", i.e. (here) "to decline".
Remember "undir" = under, while "undan" = from
under, away from.

> en eigi skal það ef eg ræð
> and neither shall you - if I advise

Actually: "but not shall that (happen) if I have control
(if I'm the boss)", i.e. "but not if I have anything to
say about it"

> að þeir mundu til leggja slíkt sem Hrútur vildi.
> they would contribute as Hrut wanted.

The force of "slíkt sem" is pretty much = "whatever",
or "however much".

Hope this is not too nitpicky for you :-)

Best,
Eysteinn