I find sincerely - these comments to be of value - but have a sneaking leaning to the supposition that Bergthora an astute "Manager" of the household - would not have given really Great Gifts but might have given something Bright and sparkly - a trifle flash which the travellers would prize and wear as a "show off" point -they pointed out Thrain as a Boaster - a show-off,   but when questioned by Bergthora they gave the information out in snippets - as it were they were enjoying their brief time "Center Stage"  Njal might have seen through the act - his wife did not
Patricia
I may be reading into the story more than actually meets the eye - it is a Patricia Thing (those old Gals were stirring)
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: llama_nom
Date: 11/03/2008 15:07:38
Subject: [norse_course] Re: Njall 92 part 2 - - Grace's translation (gýligjafar?)
 
--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Fred and Grace Hatton"
<hatton@...> wrote:
>
> og er það líkara að hér dragi öðrum hvorum til
> bana."
>
> when Gunnar at Hlidarend died and it is more likely? here drags each
the
> other to death."
 
 
Yes: it's more likely that it will lead to death for one side of the
other.
 
 
> gýligjafar
> golden? gifts
 
 
I don't know.
 
 
The Orðabók Háskólans Ritmálsskrá has some examples of the word in
later Icelandic [
]. Some of them, where there's a scathing connotation, call to mind
the English word "blandishments" (e.g. Gýligjafir munu ekki blekkja
hann.), although this is presumably too abstract and negative a
translation for all of these examples (e.g. the first).
 
It appears here in a list of semantically related words [
], gifts and precious objects.
 
But I can't find it in Fritzner or CV or Zoega. CV has a word 'gýll'
"mock sun, parhelion", 'gýla-ferð' being the incidence of such a
phenomenon [
don't see how this would relate to gifts. In 'gull' "gold" (neuter),
both 'l's belong to the root. So 'gýli-' would appear not to be
etymologically related to 'gull' (the same goes for 'gylla' "to gild",
including the expression 'gylla hóli' "to flatter", as this verb is
derived from 'gull').
 
Müller just has 'ok gaf Bergþóra þeim gjafir' [
'gýligjafar' does appear at the corresponding point in Konráð Gíslason
and Eiríkur Jónsson's edition [
].
 
('gjafir' and 'gjafar' are just alternate forms of the plural.)
 
 
 
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