Whee! The semester's over, and I've a month's break, so I
had a go at the whole passage this time.

> Hann kvað vísu þessa:

He spoke this verse:

(The punctuation of the verse didn't fit my reading, so I
changed it; it's editorial anyhow.)

> Vask þars bragnar börðust [berja];
> brandr gall á Írlandi
> margr, þars mœttusk törgur;
> málmr gnast í dyn hjálma.
> Sókn þeira frák snarpa;
> Sigurðr féll í dyn vigra --
> áðr téði [tjá] ben blœða.
> Brjánn fell ok hélt velli [völlr].

I was there where men battled;
sword-blade screamed in Ireland,
many, there where targes met one another;
metal clashed in helms' din.
I learned of their furious battle;
Sigurð fell in spears' din --
Already wounds 'showed to bleed'.
Brján falls and held (the) field.

Less literally:

I was there where men battled;
many a sword-blade screamed in Ireland,
there where targes met one another;
metal clashed in helms' din.
I learned of their furious battle;
Sigurð fell in spears' din,
wounds already running bloody.
Brján falls but held the field.

The word's not well-known except perhaps to historical
re-enactors, but I couldn't resist using <targe> 'a light
shield or buckler' to translate ON <targa>: the English word
is from late OE <targe>, which is probably a borrowing of
the ON word anyway.

I decided to read the penultimate line as referring to
Sigurð, suggesting that before he died he fought on after
being severely wounded. The more general interpretation
implied by the punctuation in Grace's source also seems
possible, however. Zoëga s.v. <tjá> mentions its use as
an auxiliary verb -- <sól tér sortna> 'the sun grows dark'
-- but at least in this verse it seems to me to be a little
stronger than a simple auxiliary: the wounds weren't just
bleeding, but bleeding very obviously.

Note that Sigurð <féll> 'fell', but Brján <fell> 'falls'.

> Þeir Flosi ok jarl töluðu margt um draum þenna. Viku síðar
> kom þar Hrafn hinn rauði ok sagði þeim tíðindin öll úr
> Brjánsorrostu, fall konungs ok Sigurðar jarls ok Bróður ok
> allra víkinganna.

Flosi and the earl spoke much about that dream. A week
later Hrafn the red came there and told them all the tidings
of Brján's battle, the fall of the king and earl Sigurð and
Bróðir and all of the vikings.

> Flosi mælti: "Hvat segir þú mér til manna minna?"

Flosi said: 'What (can) you tell me of my men?'

> "Þar féllu þeir allir," segir Hrafn, "en Þorsteinn mágr
> þinn þá grið af Kerþjálfaði ok er nú með honum. Halldórr
> Guðmundarson lézk þar."

'They all fell there,' says Hrafn, 'but Þorstein, your
brother-in-law, received quarter from Kerþjálfað and is now
with him. Halldór Guðmundarson died there.

> Flosi segir jarli at hann mundi í braut fara -- "eigum vér
> suðrgöngu af höndum at inna."

Flosi tells the earl that he would go away -- 'we have to
make for our sake a pilgrimage to Rome.'

> Jarl bað hann fara sem hann vildi ok fékk honum skip ok
> þat sem hann þurfti ok í silfr mikit. Sigldu þeir síðan
> til Bretlands ok dvölðusk þar um stund.

(The) earl bade him go as he wished and gave him a ship and
that which he needed and much in silver. Afterwards they
sailed to Wales and dwelt there a while.

> 158. kafli

> Kári Sölmundarson sagði Skeggja bónda at hann vildi at
> hann fengi honum skip. Skeggi bóndi gaf Kára skip
> alskipat. Stigu þeir þar á með Kára Dagviðr hvíti ok
> Kolbeinn svarti. Sigldu þeir Kári nú suðr fyrir
> Skotlandsfjörðu. Þá fundu þeir menn úr Suðreyjum. Þeir
> sögðu Kára tíðindin af Írlandi ok svá þat at Flosi var
> farinn til Bretlands ok menn hans. En er Kári spurði þetta
> þá sagði hann félögum sínum at hann vill halda suðr til
> Bretlands til móts við þá Flosa. Bað hann þá þann skiljask
> við sitt föruneyti er þat þœtti betra ok kvazk at engum
> manni vilja vél draga at hann lézk enn á þeim hafa óhefnt
> harma sinna. Allir vildu honum fylgja. Siglir hann þá
> suðr til Bretlands ok lögðu þar at í leynivág einn.

Kári Sölmundarson told Skeggi (the) yeoman that he wanted
him [= Skeggi] to get him [= Kári] a ship. Skeggi (the)
yeoman gave Kári a fully-manned ship. Dagvið (the) white
and Kolbein (the) black went aboard there with Kári. Kári &
Co. now sailed south along the Minch [lit. 'Scotland's
firths/fjords']. Then they met men from the Hebrides. They
told Kári the tidings from Ireland and thus that Flosi and
his men had gone to Wales. And when Kári learned this, he
told his comrades that he wants to steer south to Wales to
meet Flosi & Co. He then asked him [= anyone] to leave his
[= Kári's] company to whom that seemed better and said that
he wished to trick no man, that he professed himself yet
unavenged on them of his sorrows. All wanted to accompany
him. He then sailed south to Wales and put in to a certain
hidden creek there.

> Þenna myrgin gekk Kolr Þorsteinsson í borg ok skyldi
> kaupa silfr. Hann hafði mest hæðiyrði við af
> brennumönnum. Kolr hafði talat margt við frú eina ríka ok
> var mjök í gadda slegit at hann mundi fá hennar ok setjask
> þar.

That morning Kol Þorsteinsson went into town and was to buy
silver. He had been the freest of (the) Burners with gibes.
Kol had spoken much to a certain rich lady and (it) was all
but settled that he would marry ['get'] her and settle
there.

> Þenna hinn sama morgin gekk Kári í borgina. Hann kom þar
> at er Kolr taldi silfrit. Kári kenndi hann ok hljóp at
> honum með sverð brugðit ok hjó á hálsinn en hann taldi
> silfrit ok nefndi tíu höfuðit er þat fauk af bolnum.

That same morning Kári went into the town. He came there to
where Kol counted the silver. Kári recognized him and
attacked him with drawn sword and hewed at the neck, but he
[= Kol] counted the silver, and the head said ['named']
'ten' as it flew from the trunk.

> Kári mælti: "Segit þat Flosa at Kári Sölmundarson hefir
> vegit Kol Þorsteinsson. Lýsi ek vígi þessu mér á hendr."

Kári said: 'Tell Flosi that Kári Sölmundarson has killed Kol
Þorsteinsson. I declare myself the cause of this death.'

> Gekk Kári þá til skips síns. Sagði hann þá skipverjum
> sínum vígit. Þá sigldu þeir norðr til Beruvíkr ok settu
> upp skip sitt ok fóru upp í Hvítsborg í Skotlandi ok váru
> með Melkólfi jarli þau misseri.

Then Kári went to his ship. He then told his crew (about
the) killing. Then they sailed north to Beruvík [North
Berwick, Scotland?] and drew their ship ashore at travelled
up to Hvítsborg in Scotland and were with earl Melkólf that
year.

Brian