Re: Laxdaela Saga 19 beginning -- Rob's Translation

> Margir menn mæltu það að nokkuð mundu ganga skorbíldar í
> fé Höskulds ef hann skyldi vandlega út gjalda móðurarf
> hans.

> Many men said that to some would go scoring-axes in
> Hoskuld's wealth if he should carefully repay out his
> maternal inheritance.

> Many people said it that some of Hoskuld's wealth would be
> shaved off if he should fully pay out his mother's
> bequest.

> Many men (persons) spoke that, that the scoring-axes would
> go (ie cut) somewhat (see nökkurr, Z2) into Höskuldr’s
> property (wealth) if he he should (ie were to) exactly (ie
> completely) pay out his mother’s-inheritance.

'Completely' needn't be inferred as an extension of
'exactly'; Zoëga gives it as a sense of <vandliga> (2).

> Hélt það mest til þess að hann gafst best í öllum
> mannraunum.

> There were many reasons for this that he was proven best
> in all trials. (Z. halda III - heldr þar margt til þess,
> there are many reasons for this)

> Most considered it for this that he proved best in all
> adversity.

> That held (was attributed, see halda til, Z.III) mostly to
> that, that he proved-himself best in (the face of) all
> personal-danger.

Here <halda til> seems to be 'to be the cause of': 'That was
mostly because he proved best in all perils.'

> En þó að mannjafnaður væri hafður og til ágætis manna
> talað þá var það öllum mönnum auðsætt að Gunnhildi þótti
> hyggjuleysi til ganga eða öfund ef nokkurum manni var til
> Hrúts jafnað.

> And/but although comparison-of-men were had and to an
> excellent man spoken that that to all men evident that
> Gunnhild was thought thoughtlessness to go or envy if some
> man was to Hrut's equal. (huh?)

> But still to comparison of men were ??? and to excellence
> of man then were counted it clear to all people that
> Gunnhild thought thoughtlessness or ill will to be in play
> if any man were equal to Hrut.

> But even though a comparison-of-men should-be had (ie
> held, conducted, hafa, Z2) and (there should-be) talked
> (ie discussions-held) about (the) excellence of men , then
> (ie nevertheless) that was to all men (persons)
> easily-seen that (it) seemed to Gunnhildr (either)
> thoughtlessness to be the reason (cf ganga til, Z15) or
> ill-will if (there) was-a-comparison of any men with
> Hrútr.

There's an example in CV (<þó> B.II.) showing <þó at> in the
sense 'when': <eigi vanntú framarr en þú áttir, þó at þú
hefndir föður þíns> 'thou didst not more than what was right
when thou didst avenge thy father' (or as I might make it,
'you did no more than was your right when you avenged your
father'). That seems to make more sense here than 'even
though, although'. I'm not sure, but I think that the
subjunctive <væri> is used here to indicate that the writer
is speaking of all such discussions that might have taken
place and not of some particular discussion or discussions.
The same idea might be conveyed in English by using
'whenever' instead of 'when'. In any case <væri> is the
auxiliary not only for <hafður>, but also for <talað>.
<Jafna til e-s> is 'to compare or liken to something'.

But whenever comparison of men was had [i.e., made] and
of men's excellence spoken, it was clear to all men that
Gunnhild thought thoughtlessness the reason, or ill-will,
if any man was likened to Hrút.

> Með því að Hrútur átti að vitja til Íslands fjárhlutar
> mikils og göfugra frænda þá fýsist hann að vitja þess, býr
> nú ferð sína til Íslands.

> In case that Hrut had to go to Iceland much property and
> noble relatives then desired him to go thus, (he) prepares
> now his journey to Iceland. (Z. með 9 - m. því at, in case
> that)

But <með því at> is also 'because, as', which is the sense
wanted here. Note that <fjárhlutar mikils> is a genitive,
as is <göfugra frænda>. This is an instance of the
so-called genitive of respect, whose general sense is 'as
regards, 'with respect to', etc. Here 'on account of'
captures it pretty well. (The dative is also used this
way.)

> Because Hrut had to visit Iceland due to (his) great
> properties and noble kinsmen then he was eager to visit
> that, readies now his journey to Iceland.

> With that that (Because) Hrútr had to go to (visit)
> Iceland for (reasons of) property much and noble kinsmen,
> then he desired to visit that (ie go there), prepares now
> his journey to Iceland.

<Fýsist> is present tense, 'is desirous, is eager'; the past
would be <fýstist>. <Þá> is pleonastic: it doesn't really
add anything, since the sense 'then, therefore' is already
present in 'because'. The eagerness is because of his
reason for having to go:

Because [it was] on account of a large property and noble
kinsmen [that] Hrút had to go to Iceland, he is eager to
visit that [i.e., to go there], [and he] now prepares his
journey to Iceland.

> Konungur gaf honum skip að skilnaði og kallaðist hann
> reynt hafa að góðum dreng.

> (The) king gave him a ship at (their) parting and said
> that he had found him a good and brave fellow. (Z. kalla 6
> - konungr kallaðist hann reynt hafa at góðum dreng, the
> king said that he had found him a good and brave fellow)

> (The) king gave him a ship at parting and said him to have
> proven (himself to be) a noble minded man.

> (The) King gave him a ship at parting and said-of-himself
> to have proven him for (ie found him to be. This is not
> reflexive, ie it´s the king doing the proving, just as in
> the example immediately below) a good fellow.

To try to clear up a possible confusion, it's <reynt hafa>
that isn't reflexive. <Kallaðist> is reflexive in the sense
that the king is speaking of himself, which is why <reynt
hafa> 'to have proved/experienced' refers to what the king
has done, not to what Hrút has done, and <hann> is
accusative, not nominative. This is possibly a little
clearer in the example at <reyna> Z2: <hefi ek þik reynt at
góðum drengi> 'I have proved (found) thee to be a good
fellow', where <þik> is clearly accusative, and it's clearly
<ek>, not <þik>, who has done the proving. And as Alan
says, the same is clear in the next sentence (<eg hefi þig
reyndan>).

> Höskuldur kvaðst ekki fé eiga að gjalda, kvað eigi móður
> sína hafa farið félausa af Íslandi þá er hún kom til móts
> við Herjólf.

> Hoskuld stated for himself not to have money to give, said
> his mother didn't have gone penniless from Iceland then
> when she met Herjolf. (Z. mót 4 - til móts við e-n, to
> meet one)

> Hoskuld said he did not have (the) money to pay, said his
> mother did not go pennyless from Iceland then when she
> came to meet with Herjolf.

> Höskuldr declared-of-himself to have no property to give,
> declared his mother not to have gone property-less from
> Iceland when she came to (the) meeting with Herjólfr.

Here <eiga> is 'to have to, to be obliged to': 'Höskuld said
that he had to pay no wealth', i.e., he said that he owed
Hrút nothing. The rest of the sentence gives his
justification: because 'their mother did not go penniless
from Iceland when she met Herjólf'. Presumably he's saying
that Hrút's share should come out of what their mother took
from Iceland. Of course this is specious, since she took
her wealth back to Iceland when Hrút's father died.

Brian