There was a part in Alan's translation that I appreciate better now - it is where the very idiomatic phrase of Hallgerd  putting a fly in his ear/mouth or whatever -  was that a kind of proverb I saw the word of - fly - and was so convinced that I had it all wrong - I "cribbed" from MM&HP and forgot to mention it in my translation.

Could Alan please explain how he got round that - it is the more literal translation s that 

I am finding sticky

Kveðja

Patricia

We have such proverbs - what about - send him with a flea in his ear - similar 

 

 

 

> Svo varðist (varðast) hann vel.
> Thus he defended-himself well.

Yes, "defended himself", but I'm fairly sure this is the past tense of
'verjast'. 3rd person past indicative of 'varðast' would be
'varðaðist', wouldn't it? I don't know if 'varða' is used in that
sense though with the reflexive suffix. No middle voice paradigm is
given here [ http://www.lexis. hi.is/beygingarl ysing/so/ vb/vard1a. html
]. Googling for 'varðaðist' I found just one (modern) example.

> Bergþóra kvaðst ekki mundu berja Hallgerði illyrðum um slíkt, kvað

það enga hefnd fyrir svo mikið mál.

> Bergþóra declared (that she) would not throw bad-words (ie abusive

language) Hallgerð about such, declared that nothing avenged
(vengeance was inadequate) for so great a matter

Accusative-and- infinitive construction, I think, with 'vera' "to be"
unstated: "declared that [to be] no vengeance for so great a matter"
(i.e. sharp words are not enough; this calls for action!).

það = the abusive language

hefnd = "vengeance", the feminine abstract noun, rather than the past
participle of 'hefna' (which would presumably have to be neuter if it
was to agree with 'það').

enga = feminine accusative to agree with 'hefnd'