At 1:01:46 PM on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, Fred and Grace
Hatton wrote:

> I had several major problems with this section and would
> welcome any help.

On a quick look I think that Alan's translation answers most
of the outstanding questions, but I do have one comment.

> Og er svo sagt að honum hafi flestir hlutir höfðinglegast
> gefnir verið.

> (Grace) And so is said that he had been given most of the
> noblest qualities??

> (Alan) And so (it) is said that by him have most things
> been given most-nobly.

Grace is right in making <honum> the indirect object rather
than the agent: 'to him have ... been given'. But
<höfðingligast> can't be an adjective modifying <hlutir>: it
would have to be <höfðingligastir> (nom. pl. masc.). It
must instead be the adverb, 'most nobly, most generously, in
most chieftain-like manner', as Alan has it. But I wonder
if the sense isn't something like 'And it is said that he
was in most respects most nobly endowed', with the adverb
indicating more the nature of the gifts than the manner of
their giving. (That does seem to be more or less the view
taken by MM&HP.)

Brian