Re: Laxdaela Saga 25 end + 26 beginning -- Rob's Translation

> Sá sveinn var vatni ausinn og nafn gefið og kallaður
> Bolli.

> The son was sprinkled with water and given a name and is
> called Bolli.

> That boy was sprinkled with water and a name given and
> (he) was called Bolli.

> That boy was sprinkled with water and given a name and
> (was) called Bolli.

The finite verb <var> actually goes with all three of the
past participles: 'boy was sprinkled', 'name was given',
'boy was called'. (Note that <ausinn> and <kallaður> agree
with <sveinn>, while <gefið> agrees with <nafn>.) I suppose
that literally it's something like 'The boy was sprinkled
with water and a name [was] given and [the boy was] called
Bolli', where the bits in square brackets repeat elements
that are actually present in the sentence as written but are
required by English syntax to be repeated.

> Hann sendi eftir sonum sínum og öðrum frændum sínum og
> vinum.

> He sent after his sons and his other relatives and
> friends.

> He sent for his sons and other kinsmen and friends.

> He sent after (for) his sons and other kinsmen and
> friends.

Just in case Rob's wondering, it does say 'his other
relatives', though omitting the second 'his' certainly
doesn't hurt the sense.

> Hefir þú faðir þar marga þína muni til gefna og lengi mjög
> misjafnað með oss bræðrum.

> Father, have you there many your would to give and very
> long shared-unequally with us brothers.

> You, father, have given there much of your means to (him)
> and for a very long time (there has been) unequal sharing
> with us brothers.

> You, father, have given much of yours in things (munr,
> dat, Z6?) thereto (ie to him) and for a long-time
> very-much shared-unevenly with us brothers (we´ve been
> left the scraps).

<Muni> can also be the acc. pl. of <munr>, and here it has
to be (as are <marga>, <þína>, and <gefna>): it's the object
of 'have given'. But I agree that it's Z6: 'many things of
yours'.

> ... kvaðst eigi fyrir því þetta mæla að eigi vissi hann að
> hún hafði þar staðar numið.

> ... stated for himself not before therefore this he speaks
> that certainty that she(?) had there taken place. (???)

> ... said of himself not for this to speak that he knew not
> that it had stopped there?.

> ... declared-of-himself not to speak this before that,
> that he knew not that it (ie the good luck, feminine) had
> stopped (found its rightful resting place, nema staðar,
> Z1) there (ie he would not have declared the ‘good luck’
> as Ólafr´s inheritance if he wasn´t certain that it was
> already with Ólafr).

I take <fyrir því> here to mean 'for that [reason]': '[he]
said that he said this not for that [reason], that he did
not know that it had stopped there'. That is, he said that
his gift to Ólaf of the family luck wasn't the result of his
not realizing that Ólaf already had it.

Brian