Re: Laxdaela Saga 27 End + Beginning 28 - Rob's Translation

> Þeim fannst fátt um og þótti ærið mikið við haft.

> They were little pleased concerning (this) and thought it
> sufficient made a great display. (???) (Z. hafa 14 - h.
> mikit (lítit) við, to make a great (little) display)

> They were little pleased about (it) and (it) seemed more
> than enough.

> Little about (this) pleased (finnast, Z9) them and (it)
> seemed much (a great quantity) had been made sufficient
> (oerinn? + hafa mikit við, Z14 ?)

It's definitely the neuter of <œrinn>. According to
Fritner, it can mean not just 'sufficient', but 'so much
that one could not desire more', which could mean 'verging
on too much'. Moreover, he gives <hölzti fjölmennr> as a
variant reading of <œrit fjölmennr>, and <hölzti> = <helzti>
is 'far too'. Putting these together with the idiom that
Rob noted: '... and thought far too great a display made'.
Grace's version probably captures the sense pretty well.

> Þessi hefir önnur veisla fjölmennust verið á Íslandi en sú
> önnur er Hjaltasynir gerðu erfi eftir föður sinn.

> This has(?) another feast been well attended in Iceland
> and the other which Hjalt's sons did honor with a funeral
> feast in memory of their father.

> There has been another well attended feast in Iceland and
> that other funeral feast which Hjalti’s sons made in their
> father’s honour.

> This feast has been one of the (two) most-numerous-with
> people in Iceland (and) that other one (of the two) when
> (the) sons of Hjalti made a funeral-feast for (in honour
> of) their father (?).

After a good bit of digging through the entry for <annarr>
in Fritzner, I managed to verify that <annarr ... en> can be
'next best to, second-best to'; a straightforward example is
<Ívarr var annarr mestr höfðingi í Borgarfirði en Þórsteinn>
'Í. was [the] second greatest chief in Borgarfjörð after
Þ.'. This appears to be how the first <önnur> is being
used; the second <önnur>, on the other hand, seems to be
simply 'other': 'This has been the second-best-attended
feast in Iceland after that other [feast] that Hjalt's sons
gave ['made'] in their father's memory' (or simply 'after
their father').

> Þessi veisla var hin skörulegsta að öllu og fengu þeir
> bræður mikinn sóma og var Ólafur mest fyrirmaður.

> This feast was the most magnificent of all and the
> brothers got much honor and Olaf was most a person who
> excels others.

> This feast was the most imposing of all and those brothers
> got great honour and Olaf was the greatest excelling all
> others.

> This feast was the most magnificent in-all (respects) and
> they, (the) brothers received great honour and Ólafr was
> (the) greatest person-excelling-all-others.

Rob & Grace: <at öllu> 'in all respects' can be found in
Zoëga s.v. <allr> (5).

> Ólafur gekk til móts við báða bræður sína um fégjafir.

> Olaf went to meet with both his brothers concerning
> gifts-of-value(?).

> Olaf went to meet with both his brothers regarding the
> gifts.

> Ólafr went in common (equal shares, see mót, Z4) with both
> his brothers concerning the gifts-of-money.

I can't decide whether <til móts við báða brœður> is to be
understood as 'equalled each brother' or as 'equalled both
brothers combined', i.e., whether he paid a third of the
costs of the gifts, or half; at least one editor has adopted
the second interpretation, though M&P seem to favor the
first.

> Þorleikur tekur þessu vel og sagði sem satt er að þetta er
> sæmilega boðið.

> Thorleik received this well and said as truth is that this
> is the honorable offer.

> Thorleik received this well and said that truly this is an
> honourable offer.

> Þorleikr takes (present tense) this well and said that
> (it) is true that this is honourably offered.

So far as I can see, two grammatically distinct readings
of <þetta er sæmilega boðið> are possible, though both give
the sentence essentially the same meaning. One is Alan's
reading, which makes <boðið> a past participle (of <bjóða>)
in a passive construction; this works, because <boðið> is
neut. nom. sing. to match the subject <þetta>. On this
reading <sæmilega> is the adverb 'honorably'. The other is
Rob's reading (and almost Grace's), which makes <boðið> the
noun <boð> with the definite article. This also works:
<boð> is neuter, so the article is correct, and <sæmilega>
has the right ending for the neuter weak declension of the
adjective <sæmilegur> 'honorable'. I don't see any purely
grammatical basis for choosing between 'this is honorably
offered' and 'this is the honorable offer'.

> Þeir Bolli og Kjartan voru mjög jafngamlir.
> They, Bolli and Kjartan were very-much the same age(?).
> They Bolli and Kjartan were almost the same age.
> They, Bolli and Kjartan, were very similar-aged.

Rob: See <mjök> (3) 'almost, very nearly' in Zoëga;
<jafngamall> 'of the same age' isn't in Zoëga, but it is in
CV.

> Enn áttu þau fleiri börn.
> Yet, they had several children.
> They had yet more children.
> Yet, they had other children.

I think that Grace's version is comes closest, but <fleiri>
is probably a bit stronger than just 'more', since it's the
comparative of <margr> 'many'.

> Son þeirra hét Steinþór og Halldór, Helgi, og Höskuldur
> hét hinn yngsti son Ólafs.

> Their son was named Steinthor, also Halldor, Helgi, and
> Hoskuld was the name of Olaf's youngest son. [Do I
> understand this correctly that both instances of "son" are
> in the singular?]

> Their sons were called Steinthor, Halldaor and Helgi. And
> Hoskuld was the name of the youngest son of Olaf’s.

> Their son (sg as far as I can tell) was-called Steinþór
> and Halldór, Helgi and Höskuldr was-called the youngest
> son of Ólafr.

<Son> is indeed singular, as is confirmed by the singular
verb <hét>. (Similarly with <dóttir> in the next sentence,
which I've omitted.)

> Öll voru börn þeirra mannvæn er þau óxu upp.

> All their children were promising when they grew up.

> All those children were promising when they grew up.

> Their children were all promising when they were-growing
> up.

I'm with Alan here, for two reasons. First, it makes much
better sense to speak of someone as promising *before* he or
she reaches adulthood. Secondly, if 'when they were grown
up' could more clearly be expressed by <er þau váru upp
vaxnir>.

Brian