> En er sendimaður kom til þings að segja Gunnari vígið þá mælti Gunnar:

"Þetta er illa orðið og eigi kæmu þau tíðindi til eyrna mér að mér þættu
verri.

'kæmu' is the modern spelling for ON 'koemi', past subjunctive plural
3rd person of 'koma'. Similarly 'þættu' = ON 'þoetti' (inf. ''). I
think the subjunctive is used here to give it a hypothetical sense,
the past to indicate unreality: "This has happened badly (this is a
bad thing to happen), and there would not come to my ears [any]
tidings which would seem worse to me."

'orðið' = 'orðit', past participle, neuter, of 'verða'.

'vænti mig' "I hope" or "I expect" (infinitive 'vænta') with
accusative subject.

> að honum fari enn vel þó að hann sé mjög að þreyttur.

I think Grace has the right idea here: "he will continue to do well
[by us], to behave decently, even though he be sorely tried" -- see
Zoega 'fara' (10) and 'þreyttr' adj., where this example is quoted.

> fyrst

Yes, "at first", the strong neuter nom/acc form of the adjective used
adverbially here.

> víg Þórðar

Patricia: "the death of Þorð". More specifically, "the killing of Þórð".

> En þó er eigi örvænt að eg hafi ámæli af konu minni

Grace: "unusual? (or unlikely?)"

'örvænt' "unlikely, not to be expected", so 'eigi örvænt' "likely, to
be expected". The prefix ör- is in origin the same as the preposition
'ór', 'úr' (sometimes even 'ýr') "from, out of" -- the different forms
are due to the effect of different degrees of stress in the period
before writing in books began. The negative use presumably comes from
the metaphor of something being "out of" or "away from" what might be
expected or hoped for.

Patricia: "But even though I am certain to have words from my wife".

Yes, "Nevertheless it is not unlikely / it will come as no surprise if
I have reproach from my wife"

> En þó mun eg á það hætta því að eg veit að eg á við dreng um.

I'm sure Patricia's "thought" is just a typo. "And yet I'm going to
take that chance (risk that), because I know that I'm dealing with a
man of honour" (i.e. Gunnar).

> "Vilt þú nokkuð sonu þína við láta vera?"

Patricia: "Will you want any one of your sons to be present?"

I think 'nokkuð' here is being used adverbially to add a feeling of
tentativeness to the question: "Do you perhaps want to have your sons
present?" MM & HP translate 'nokkuð' "...at all?" Notice that it's
neuter, rather than masculine to agree with 'sonu'.

> En ef þeir eru við staddir þá munu þeir ekki saman draga.

Patricia: "but if they were here present they would not take part"

Literally "if they are present", with future meaning "if they are
present [when we conclude this deal], then they won't be party to it."
Does Zoega have this idiom? I could only find mention of an
impersonal 'dregr saman (með þeim)' with the same meaning of
concluding a deal.

> Sjá þú einn fyrir.

Grace: "You see one before???"

Imperative: "(you) see to it alone", "you alone see to it". 'sjá
fyrir e-u' "to take care of something". I wonder if there's a play on
words here with 'sjá e-t fyrir' "to foresee"? But presumably "see to,
take care of" is the main meaning; this seems to have been how MM & HP
took it.

> og höfum við Gunnar nú sæst á málið

Patricia: and with Gunnar we (?) have made a settlement

'við' = ON 'vit' "we two", "Gunnar and I have come-to-a-settlement
(sæzt) regarding this case".

> Mikils þótti þeim við þurfa

"they thought they needed much (i.e. a lot of men to kill just one
man). 'þurfa' "to need" takes genitive for the thing that's needed.

> hvar skal þá komið

"where must it have got to then" (with 'vera' understood), i.e. "how
far must things go".

> og munt þú þá eigi þess lattur

"and you will not be dissuaded (held back) from that", again with
'vera' "be" understood. Genitive of 'þat' for the thing someone is
held back from. 'lattur' = ON 'lattr', past part. masc. nom. of 'letja'.

> Engis mun eg þá um beiða,

'beiða' "to ask" takes genitive for the thing which is requested (and
either accusative or dative for the person to whom the request is
directed), thus: "I will ask for nothing then (in that eventuality)."
I think 'um' here = "about, in respect of" with "this matter"
implied, unless it's just being used as often in poetry with no
specific meaning.

LN