Re: Njall 157 part 5

> Vindum, vindum
> vef darraðar,
> þann er ungr konungr
> átti fyrri.
> Fram skulum ganga
> og í fólk vaða
> þar er vinir vorir
> vopnum skipta.

> Let us wind, let us wind
> (the) weft of war,
> that which (the) young king
> fought? before.
> Let us go forward
> and wade into the folk
> there where our friends
> share (blows?) of weapons.

> Let us wind, let us wind
> (the) web of spears (woof of war),
> that which (the) young king
> fought (see eiga, Z5) before (earlier).
> We shall go (on foot) forward (ie advance)
> and rush (vaða, Z2) into battle (see fólk, poet, Z5)
> there where our friends
> ’bandy’ (cf skipta orðum við e-n, Z6) weapons

Wind, wind
(the) weft of (the) spear,
that which (the) young king
had before.
Forward we shall go
and rush into battle [or 'into (the) host'],
there where our friends
exchange weapons [= blows].

I'm reading this as an incitation, something like a sea
chantey or work song: the valkyries are urging one another
on in their mutual labor. For that interpretation the
simple 'Wind, wind' seems best, but it's not really much
different from 'let us wind'. Zoëga to the contrary
notwithstanding, <darraðar> has to be a genitive *singular*.
This <átti> isn't similar to the expressions in Zoëga s.v.
<eiga> (5), and I see no reason not to take it in its usual
sense. In the last line <vápn> 'weapons' must be metonymic
for 'blows'.

> Vindum, vindum
> vef darraðar
> og siklingi
> síðan fylgjum.
> Þar sjá bragna
> blóðgar randir
> Gunnr og Göndul
> er grami hlífðu.

> Let us wind, let us wind
> (the) weft of war,
> and afterwards let us help the king.
> There to see bloody shields of heroes
> Gunnr and Gondul
> who protected the king.

> Let us wind, Let us wind
> (the) web of spears (woof of war),
> and
> after-that let us follow (accompany, fylgja + dat) (the) king.
> There see
> (the) made-bloody shields of men*
> Gunn and Göndul
> who protected (hlífa + dat) (the) king.
> (Gunn and Göndul see there the bloodied shields of men who
> protected the king)

Wind, wind
(the) weft of (the) spear
and (the) king
afterwards follow [and afterwards follow the king].
Gunnr and Göndul
see there warriors'
bloody shields
that protected (the) king.

For clarity I moved the penultimate line up to the beginning
of the second half of the strophe. Note that it's literally
the shields that protected the king, not the warriors
bearing them.

> Vindum, vindum
> vef darraðar
> þar er vé vaða
> vígra manna.
> Látum eigi
> líf hans farast,
> eiga valkyrjur
> vals um kosti.

> Let us wind, let us wind
> (the) weft of war
> there where ?? wade
> of men in fighting condition.
> Let us not allow
> his life to perish?
> valkyries have
> (the) choice of the slain.

> Let us wind, let us wind
> (the) web of spears (woof of war),
> there where (the) standards
> of men skilled-at-arms rush-through* (see vaða, Z2)
> Let us not allow
> his life to perish (see farast, Z17),
> (The) Valkyrie (slain-choosers) have
> (the) choice of (the) slain (have the slain in their power).

Wind, wind
(the) weft of (the) spear,
there where advance (the) banners
of fighting men.
Let not
his life perish;
(the) valkyries have
(the) choosing of (the) slain.

Since the valkyries determine who is slain, they can protect
him.

> Þeir munu lýðir
> löndum ráða
> er útskaga
> áðr um byggðu.
> Kveð eg ríkum gram
> ráðinn dauða.
> Nú er fyrir oddum
> jarlmaðr hniginn.

> Those men will
> rule lands
> which distant headlands
> before (the lands?) are settled.
> I declare king (has?) dominion
> determined? (over?) the dead.
> Now is by (spear) points
> the earl fallen dead.

> Those men (lýðr, Z3) will
> govern (rule, see ráða + dat, Z8) (the) lands
> who inhabited* (the) outlying-nesses
> before.
> I declare (a) king with kingdoms
> (to be) certain (see ráðinn, Z2) of death
> Now by spears (or spear points) is
> (the) earl’s follower fallen-dead.

Those people will
rule lands
that outlying headlands
previously inhabited. [*]
I say to the powerful king
(a) certain death;
now by spears is
(the) earl fallen.

[*] Those people who previously inhabited (only) outlying
headlands will rule lands.

<Ríkum gram> is the dative of <ríkr gramr> 'powerful king'.
I deliberately used the somewhat unidiomatic 'to say one a
certain death', because I think that it captures at least
some of the ambiguity that I perceive in the original,
between prediction and causation. In context <jarlmaðr>
must be 'earl' here; see CV. (CV indicates that <jarlmaðr>
'earl-man' does also have the sense 'earl's follower', but
the more usual word for that seems to be the genitival
compound <jarlsmaðr>.)

Brian