Re: Laxdaela Saga 20 Part 2 -- Rob's Translation

At 10:36:59 PM on Monday, September 13, 2010, rob13567
wrote:

> Hefir hún það í hug sér að gera þá hluti nokkura er honum
> þætti eigi betur.

> She has that in her mind to do then some things which
> to-him was thought not better.

> She has in her mind to do then some things which to him
> seemed not better.

> She has that in her mind to do then certain things which
> would-seem to him not better (ie that he would rather she
> did not do).

Rob & Grace: The <-i> ending of <þætti> combined with the
front umlaut of <ó> in <þótta> to <æ> (ON <œ>) shows that it
has to be a subjunctive, specifically, the past subjunctive,
Alan's 'would-seem'.

> Skip stóð uppi á Borðeyri í Hrútafirði.

> A ship was-laid-up-ashore at Plank-gravelbank in
> Hrut's-firth.

> A ship was laid up at Bordeyri in Hrut's Firth.

> A ship was-laid-up ashore at Borðeyrr in Hrútafjörðr
> (Rams’ Fjord).

If it were 'Hrút's firth', the first element would have to
be the genitive of the name <Hrútr>, which is <Hrúts>.
<Hrúta> is, as Alan translated it, the gen. plur. of the
common noun <hrútr> 'a ram'. An explanation of both names
is given in 'Vatnsdæla saga':

Hann fór norðr um sumarit í landaleitun, ok fór upp
Norðrárdal ok kom ofan í eyðifjörð einn; ok um daginn, er
þeir fóru með þeim firði, þá hlupu ór fjalli at þeim tveir
sauðir. Þat váru hrútar. Þá mælti Ingimundur: 'Þat mun
vel fallit at þessi fjörðr heiti Hrútafjörðr'. Síðan komu
þeir í fjörðinn ok gerði þá þoku mikla. Þeir komu á eyri
eina, fundu þeir þar borð stórt nýrekit. Þá mælti
Ingimundr: 'Þat mun ætlat at vér skylim hér örnefni gefa,
ok mun þat haldast, ok köllum eyrina Borðeyri'.

In the summer he travelled north on a voyage of discovery,
and went up Norðrárdal and came down into a certain
desolate fjord; and during the day, when they travelled
along the fjord, two sheep ran towards them from a fell.
They were rams. Then Ingimund said: 'It would be fitting
that this fjord be called Rams' Fjord'. After that they
came into the fjord, and then a great fog came up. They
came to a certain gravel-bank and found there a large
plank recently drifted ashore. Then Ingimund said: 'That
will signify that we should bestow a place-name here, and
it will last, and we'll call the gravel-bank Plank Bank'.

Of course it's not at all unlikely that the explanations
were devised after the fact to explain the names.
(<Borðeyri> certainly sounds better than 'Plank Bank'!)

> Melkorka talar við Ólaf son sinn þá er þau finnast að hún
> vill að hann fari utan að vitja frænda sinna göfugra "því
> að eg hefi það satt sagt að Mýrkjartan er að vísu faðir
> minn og er hann konungur Íra.

> Melkora speaks with her son Olaf then when they
> meet-one-another that she wants that he go away to visit
> his noble kinsmen "because I had that true said that
> Myrkjartan is surely my father and he is an Irish king.
> (Z. vitja - v. frænda sinna, to visit one's kinsmen)

> Melkorka talks with Olaf her son then when they meet that
> she wants that he go abroad and visit his more noble
> kinsmen "because I have told truly that Myrkjartan is
> certainly my father and he is king of Ireland.

The <r> in <göfugra> is inflectional, not a sign of the
comparative: in this usage <vitja> takes the genitive, and
<göfugra> is the masc. gen. plur. of <göfugr>. The
comparative shows syncope (of the <u>): <gofgari>.

> Melkorka talks to Ólafr, her son, when they
> meet-each-other that she wants that he goes abroad to
> visit his noble kinsmen “because I have truly said that,
> that Mýrkjartan is assuredly my father and he is King of
> (the) Irish.


> Og ef það nemur við förinni að þú þykist hafa fé of lítið
> þá mun eg heldur það til vinna að giftast Þorbirni ef þú
> ræðst þá til ferðar heldur en áður því að eg ætla að hann
> leggi fram vöruna svo sem þú kannt þér þörf til ef hann
> náir ráðahag við mig.

> And if that is-a-hindrance-to that it seems to you (to)
> have too little money then I will get-married to Thorbirn
> if you are resolved then to journey previously so that I
> intend that he put forward wares so that you can need to
> if he get marriage with me.

> And if it is a hindrance (Z nema 8) with the journey that
> you think yourself to have too little money, then I will
> rather that to work to marry Thorbjorn if you decided then
> for (the) journey rather than before?? because I intend
> that he pays for the wares in advance?? such as you know
> you (have) need of if he gets marriage with me.

> And if that is a hindrance to the journey that you
> bethink-yourself to have too little property, then I will
> be all-the-more ready to marry Þorbjörn if you then
> undertake (the) journey than before, because I expect that
> he would-put forward the wares (goods) such as you know of
> a need for yourself (?), if he gets marriage with me.

I'd go with Rob's and Grace's 'money' for <fé> here, or
possibly a more general 'means'.

The part starting with <þá mun eg heldur> is a bit of a
bear. Another edition of the saga punctuates it like this:

... þá mun ek heldr þat til vinna at giptast Þorbirni, ef
þú ræðst þá til ferðar, heldr en áðr; ...

Here the editor seems to take <heldr en áðr> as a repetition
and extension of the earlier <heldr>:

... then I will be more ready to do that, to marry
Þorbjörn, if you then undertake [the] journey, more
[ready] than before; ...

This makes sense, since she refused him before. The rest:

því at ek ætla at hann leggi fram vöruna, svá sem þú kannt
þér þörf til, ef hann náir ráðahag við mik; ...

Zoëga s.v. <kunna> (6), <kunna sér e-t> 'to understand, have
clear knowledge of (something as concerning oneself or
touching one's own interest)', does seem to fit here, though
I'd translate that bit a little differently even when trying
to be pretty literal:

for I expect that he would put forward [= supply] such
wares as you know for yourself a need of, if he obtains
marriage with me.

More idiomatically, 'for I expect that he would supply
whatever you know yourself to need'.

Brian