Re: Njall 153 end + 154 beginning / Alan's Translation

At 4:29:10 AM on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, AThompson
wrote:

> En þó kom svo um síðir við umtölur góðra manna með
> Þorsteini, því að hann var vel vinum horfinn (hverfa) og
> gengu margir til að flytja með honum,

> But nevertheless, it came-about thus at last (see um
> síðir, under síð) with (the) talk (persuasions) of good
> men (along) with Þorstein, because he was well backed with
> friends (see under hverfa, Z4) and many (people) went up
> to side (plead?) with him,

I read it as 'plead with him' in the sense of 'join with him
in his plea'.

> Hún var allra kvenna fegurst og best að sér orðin um það
> allt er henni var ósjálfrátt en það er mál manna að henni
> hafi allt verið illa gefið það er henni var sjálfrátt.

> She was of all women fairest and at her best concerning
> all that which was not in her own power but that is the
> talk of men that all that which was within her power has
> been ill-given to her.

Zoëga s.v. <úsjálfráða> actually has <bezt at sér um þat
allt, er henni var úsjálfrátt> 'best gifted in everything
that was not in her own power'. <Bezt at sér> 'most gifted,
most accomplished', often extended with <(gör) um alla
hluti> or with <(gör) um allar íþróttir>, seems to be
fairly common.

CV s.v. <gefa> (C, just before C.1) has <at henni hafi allt
verit illa gefit þat er henni var sjálfrátt>, glossed 'that
she was a bad woman in everything of her own making' (but
well gifted by nature); I suppose that one might say that
she had been 'ill-gifted' in all that was under her control
-- a nasty piece of work in a lovely and talented package.

Brian