Re: Laxdaela Saga 24 end - - Grace's translation

> Gætti annar geldneyta en annar kúneyta.

> Some tended barren-cattle and others productive-cows.

> One cared for the steers and heifers and (the) other (the)
> cows (which are pregnant and need better feed hence the
> need to care for them separately).

> One took-care-of (the) barren-cattle (steers) but (and)
> another of (the) milch-cows.

I tried to find out more about the term <geldneyti>.
Íslensk orðabók gives the following definition for the
modern language: 'nautgripir sem ekki mjólka (naut, kálfar,
óbornar kvígur)', which I make out to be 'cattle that do not
give milk (bulls, calves, heifers who have not given birth'.
According to <http://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautgripur>,
kvígur are older (female) calves, especially after they have
conceived. Kvígur that have given birth once are called
<fyrsta-kálfs-kvígur> 'first-calf's <kvígur>', but after a
second birth they fall into the category <kýr> 'cows'. I
don't think that the sense has changed much, so this is
probably more or less what is intended here.

Apparently in Old Norse <geld-> can signify either of two
kinds of unfruitfulness, sterility or inability to give
milk.

> Fjósið var brott í skóg eigi allskammt frá bænum.

> The cow-house was away in (the) forest, not a
> short-distance from (the) farm-houses.

The base of <bœr> is <bœ->, which has no <n>, so <bœnum>
must contain the definite article. It's clearly a dative,
but you might wonder whether it's singular or plural. The
dative plural of <bœr> is <bœjum>, so with the article it
would be <bœjunum>, and <bœnum> must be the singular.

> The cow shed was away in (the) forest not a short way from
> the farm.

> The-cow-house (byre) was away in (the) forest not a
> very-short-distance from the-farmstead.

Or as we might say, 'some distance from the farmhouse'.

> Eitt kveld kom sá maður að Ólafi er geldneyta gætti og bað
> hann fá til annan mann að gæta nautanna "en ætla mér önnur
> verk."

> One evening such a man who tended barren cattle came to
> Olaf and asked him to get another man to tend the the
> cattle “and set-before me another job.”

> One evening that man who cared for the steers and heifers
> came to Olaf and asked him to make another man care for
> the cattle “and I intend other work for myself.”

> One evening came that man to Ólafr who took-care-of (the)
> barren-cattle (steers) and bade him to get another man
> to-take-care-of the-cattle “but (and bade him) to intend
> (propose) for-me (to do) other tasks.”

> * If the servant was doing the intending, I suspect the
> pronoun would have been sér (reflexive) rather than mér.

That would be true in indirect discourse, though I think
that the servant would still have to appear as the explicit
subject (e.g., <því at hann ætla sér>). Here, with the
direct discourse, I think that it would have to be something
like <en ætla ek mér>.

> Ólafur svarar: "Það vil eg að þú hafir hin sömu verk þín."

> Olaf answers: “I want that, that you have that, your same
> work.”

> Olaf answers, “I wish it that you have your very same
> work.”

> Ólafr answers: “I want that, that you have those same
> tasks of yours.”

Alan's right about the plural: <hin> can only be neut. nom.
or acc. plur., and an acc. is wanted here for the direct
object of <hafir>. As a double check, <sömu> is correct for
the acc. plur. of the weak adjective declension in all
genders, and the weak declension is needed after the
definite article.

> "Ábóta þykir þér þá vant," segir Ólafur.

> “You then think imperfect,” says Olaf. (Closest I could
> find in Z. was: ábóta-vant, a. n. in need of improvement,
> imperfect)

> “Then (it) seems to you (something is) in need of
> improvement,” says Olaf.

> “Wanting-of-improvement seems for you then (it seems you
> feel like doing something better?),” says Ólafr.

I'll go with Grace: 'Then [something] seems to you in need
of improvement'. CV has a fem. noun <ábót> used only in the
plural, <ábœtr>, of improvements, especially on a farm or
estate; it must be related to <bót> 'cure, rememdy'. The
inflection must be like that of <bók>, which is given in the
table in Zoëga; <ábóta> will be the genitive plural, which
is exactly what's wanted with <vant> 'wanting, lacking'.

> "Nú mun eg fara í kveld með þér er þú bindur inn naut og
> ef mér þykir nokkur vorkunn til þessa þá mun eg ekki að
> telja ella muntu finna á þínum hlut í nokkuru."

> “I will now go tonight with you when you tie-up the cattle
> and if (it) seems to me some excuse for this then I will
> not find fault, otherwise would find to your lot somewhat
> (??).

> “Now I will go with you in the evening when you tie up
> (the) cattle and if it seems to me something in this to be
> excused, then I will not blame (you) otherwise you will
> pay dearly (finna CV 3) in your place?? in something.

I don't think so: that discussion is specifically for <finna
sik fyrir>.

> “Now I will go this evening with you when you tie in
> (enclose, round up?)

I think that he's talking about tying them in their places
in the byre.

> (the) cattle and if (there) seems to me some excuse in
> this, then I will not find fault (blame you, see telja at,
> Z5), otherwise you-will find fault with (cf finna at e-u,
> Z8) your (own) position somewhat. (not be totally happy
> with your situation)”

I think that in <finna á þínum hlut í nokkuru> we're dealing
with a somewhat idiomatic expression. In 'Kjalnesinga saga'
I find <Skaltu þá vel við honum taka en ef þú gerir ei svo
þá muntu á þínum hlut kenna> 'You shall receive him well,
and if you do not do so, you will <kenna á þínum hlut>'.
By context alone this must be expressing the same basic
idea, but with <kenna> instead of <finna>. The literal
sense seems to be 'you will find/feel a fate/lot/condition
on you', with the unstated implication that it won't be a
pleasant one. CV s.v. <hlutr> actually has a gloss for
<muntú finna á þínum hlut>: 'thou shalt find it to thy
cost'. I'm not entirely sure what sense is added by <í
nokkuru>, but I suspect that it's more or less 'in one way
or another'.

> Ræddi Ólafur að húskarl skyldi inn ganga "en eg mun reka
> að þér nautin en þú bitt eftir."

> Olaf said that (the) house-servant should go in “and I
> will drive to you the cattle and you (bitt?) after.”

<Bitt> is the imperative of <binda>: strong verbs whose
roots and in <-(n)d> have <-(t)t> in the imperative.

> Olaf tells (the) servant (he) should go in, “and I will
> drive the cattle to you and you tie (them) after.

> Ólafr spoke that (the) manservant should go inside “but
> (and) I will drive the-cattle to you but (and) you tie
> (them) after (that).


> Spyr Ólafur hví hann færi svo fæltilega.

> Olaf asks why he went so (fearfully?).

> Olaf asks why he goes so fearfully.

> Ólafr asks for-what (reason, ie why) he moves so fearfully
> (from fæla?)

Yes, <fæltilega> is from <fæla>. According to one editor,
this is the only place in the ON corpus in which the word
appears.

> Ólafur vill þá renna á Hrapp en Hrappur fór þar niður sem
> hann var kominn.

> Olaf wants then to thwart Hrapp but Hrapp then goes down
> where he had come.

> Olaf wants then to run to Hrapp, but Hrapp went (back)
> down there as he had come.

> Ólafr wants then to run at (attack) Hrappr but Hrappr went
> down there where he was come (ie the ground?).

Yes. At least I take it that he had risen from the ground
and now returned to it.

Brian