Re: Star Wars XVII beginning -- Rob's Translation

At 7:20:35 PM on Thursday, November 18, 2010, rob13567
wrote:

> Hann vas góðr maðr, víkingr mikill; menn flestir kölluðu
> hann Hólmgöngu-Hana.

> He was a good man, a great Viking; most men called him
> Island-goer(?) Han.

A <hólmganga> (borrowed into English as <holmgang>) is a
duel fought on an islet.

> Vel samir at segja frá yfirlitum Hana.
> It befits well to say from looks of Han.

<Segja frá> is more like 'speak of'.

> Jabba konungi líkaði vel sjá skattr, ok hann gaf
> Hólmgöngu-Hana øxi mikla, ok vas sú øx snaghyrnd ok
> gullbúin, upp skellt skaftit með silfri, ok vas sú inn
> virðilegsti gripr.

> King Jaba liked well such treasures, and he gave
> Hana-Holmongu a great ax, and that ax was snag-cornered
> and gold-inlaid, the handle smitten up with silver, and
> that was the most-worthily valuable-treasure.

<Skattr> is singular; 'treasure' is a possible translation,
but 'tribute' is probably closer to the mark. For <upp
skellt> see my comment to Grace.

> ... á Kesseley.
> ... at Kesseley.

Or simply 'at Kessel Island'.

> Hólmgöngu-Hana fylgði maðr frískr, es Tsiubakka hét.
> Holmgongu-Han led a Frisian man, who was-named Chewbaca.

Your translation makes <maðr frískr> the object of the verb
<fylgði>. However, <maðr frískr> is nominative case, so it
can't be the object. <Hólmgöngu-Hana>, on the other hand,
is not nominative case: that would be <Hólmgöngu-Hani>.
Thus, it must be the other way round: 'A Frisian man
accompanied Hólmgöngu-Hani'.

> Tsiubakka kunni eigi at tala norrœnu, en hann skilði þau
> orð es menn sögðu, ok kunni Hólmgöngu-Hani frísku.

> Chewbaca could not speak Norwegian, but he explained(?)
> those words that men said, and Holgongu-Han knew Frisian.

It's sense (6) of <skilja> in Zoëga, 'to understand'.

> Einhverju sinni, bar svá til at þeir Hólmgöngu-Hani
> höfðu herjat í Noregi, ok þá es þeir váru búnir
> til hafs, riðu þar nekkverir norrœnir höfðingjar.

> Once, (it) happened so that they, Holmgongu-Han (and
> Chewbaca) had harried in Norway, and then that they were
> ready to sea, rode there any(?) Norwegian chiefs.

<Þá es>, later <þá er>, is simply 'when': 'and when they
ready to put out to sea, several Norwegian chieftains rode
there'.

Brian