Re: Laxdaela Saga 37 end + 38 beginning - Rob's Translation

> Þá mælti Hallbjörn: "Ekki var oss það tímadagur er vér
> frændur komum á Kambsnes þetta til móts við Þorleik.

> Then Hallbjorn said: "That was not a day of bliss (for) us
> when we kinsmen came to Combs-ness this to a meeting with
> Thorleik.

> Then Hallbjorn spoke, “It was not a day of bliss for us
> when we, kinsman, came to this Kambsness to meet with
> Thorleik.

Rob's right about 'we kinsmen': H. is referring to himself
and his parents and brother, not addressing Hrút, so
<frændur> shouldn't be set off with commas.

> Það mæli eg um," segir hann, "að Þorleikur eigi þar fá
> skemmtanardaga héðan í frá og öllum verði þungbýlt þeim
> sem í hans rúm setjast."

> I would say concerning that," he says, "that Thorleik
> didn't get there a day of enjoyment hence from (it) and
> all had troublesome neighbors, they who were set in his
> place." (Z. þung-býlt - e-m verðr -býlt, one has
> troublesome neighbours

> I say it regarding,” says he, “that Thorleik does not get
> days of enjoyment henceforward there and (he will) have
> troubles with his neighbors from all those who settled in
> his area.”

<Mæli> is subjunctive, and <mæla um> is 'to use an
expression, to utter, to say solemnly', generally referring
to a spell or the like (according to CV). Presumably the
subjunctive is used because this is a sort of wish -- a
curse, really -- and hence has a somewhat hypothetical
character. Although <fá> is formally a present tense, the
sense here is future. Note that in the idiom <e-m verðr
þungbýlt> 'one has troublesome neighbors', the semantic
subject, 'one', is expressed by the dative <e-m>: this is an
impersonal construction with no grammatical subject. In our
sentence the semantic subject is therefore <öllum ... þeim
sem í hans rúm setjast> 'all those who make their abode
('settle themselves') in his place'; they are the ones who
will have troublesome neighbors. (<Þungbýlt> is literally
something like 'heavy-living': their living will be
oppressive on account of their neighbors.)

'That I pronounce,' he says, 'that Þorleik will not get
days [plural] of enjoyment henceforth, and all those who
make their abode in his place will have troublesome
neighbors.'

I think that 'his place' is fairly narrowly defined, so that
'those who make their abode in his space' are not his
neighbors generally, but those living at Kambsnes. I see
that M&P explicitly describe it as a curse and interpret
'those who make their abode in his space' as his successors
at Kambsnes; the latter makes sense, since it appears to be
talking about the future. And now that I look further, I
see that another editor takes 'his place' to be 'his
position as owner of Kambsnes', which is essentially the
same interpretation.

> Litlu síðar fer Hrútur á fund Ólafs frænda síns og segir
> honum að hann vill eigi hafa svo búið við Þorleik og bað
> hann fá sér menn til að sækja heim Þorleik.

> A little later Hrut goes to meet Olaf his kinsman and
> tells him that he will not have so resided with Thorleik
> and asked him (to) get himself men to seek Thorleik at
> home.

> A little later Hrut goes to a meeting with Olaf, his
> kinsman, and tells him that he will not have matters stand
> thus with Thorleik and bade him give him men to visit
> Thorleik at home.

Rob: You'll find a number of related constructions with <svá
búit> under <búinn> in Z; <sér> is most likely to refer to
the subject of the sentence, which in this case is the
<hann> that precedes <vill> and refers to Hrút. In other
words, Grace is right: Hrút is asking Ólaf to provide him,
Hrút, with men.

> Ólafur svarar: "Þetta samir eigi að þér frændur leggist
> hendur á.

> Olaf answers" This doesn't befit that you (and your)
> relative lay hands on one another.

> Olaf answers, “This does not suit, kinsman, that you have
> a hand in (this)?

Rob's mostly got it: 'This is not fitting, that you kinsmen
[plural] lay hands on one another'. The idiom <leggjast
hendr á> is near the end of Z's article on <leggja>.

> Hefir þetta tekist ógiftusamlega Þorleiki til handar.
> Has been taken inauspiciously into Thorleik's hands (?).
> This evil boding has taken place on Thorleik’s hands.

<Þorleiki> does indeed appear to be a dative of respect
functioning as a possessive, but I think that <tekist> is
simply 'happened': 'This has happened haplessly/unluckily at
Þorleik's hands', i.e., Þ. has been responsible for a great
deal of misfortune.

> Viljum vér heldur leita um sættir með ykkur.
> We would rather try to get a reconciler with you two.
> We want rather to seek reconciliation between you.

I agree with Grace.

> Hefir þú oft þíns hluta beðið vel og lengi."
> You have often waited for your case well and long."
> You have often waited well and long for your part.”

Here I think that <hlutr> is 'share, what is due one': 'You
have often waited well and long (i.e., very patiently) for
your due'.

> Hrútur segir: "Ekki er slíks að leita.
> Hrut says: "Such is not to try.
> Hrut says, “Such is not (what I choose) to seek.

'Such is not to be sought'; see <vera> (Z6) for the
construction with an infinitive.

> Aldrei mun um heilt með okkur gróa og það mundi eg vilja
> að eigi byggjum við báðir lengi í Laxárdal héðan í frá."

> We will never be reconciled and I would want that, that we
> don't both live long in Laxardal from now on. (Z. gróa 3 -
> g. um heilt, to be quite healed; fig. to be reconciled
> (grœr um heilt með þeim))

> Never will healing grow between us and I would want that
> no settlement with both long(er) in Salmon River Dale
> henceforward.”

I'm with Rob here: <byggjum> is the verb, <við> the dual
pronoun. 'We will never be reconciled, and I would wish
that we two don't both reside long in Laxárdal hereafter.'

> Ólafur svarar: "Eigi mun þér það verða hlýðisamt að ganga
> framar á hendur Þorleiki en mitt leyfi er til.

> Olaf answeres: "That will not become suitable to you to go
> further to Thorleik's hands than is my permission to
> (this).

> Olaf answers, “It will not become suitable for you to go
> further against Thorleik but which is allowed by me to.

Rob: <á hendr> 'against' is a little less than halfway down
the first column on p. 226 of Z. <Vera til> is 'to exist',
so it can be understood as 'to go further against Þ. than my
permission exists', i.e., 'to go further against Þ. than I
allow'.

> En ef þú gerir það þá er eigi ólíklegt að mæti dalur
> hóli."

> And if you do that then (it) is not unlikely that dale
> would meet hill (more colloquially, mountains would be
> moved)." (c CV dalr - the proverbial saying, láta dal mæta
> hóli, let dale meet hill)

> But if you do do it then is not unlikely that dale meets
> hill.”

I did a bit of digging on that last bit, and there seems to
be some disagreement as to the sense. CV takes it to be
equivalent to 'diamond cut diamond', phrase referring to
opponents who are an equal match in wit, cunning, or
strong-mindedness, so that any conclusion reached is not
without mutual injury. This fits the context and makes
sense on its own terms: if hill truly meets valley, both
cease to exist, since the one fills in the other.

M&P take it as a reference to Isaiah 40:4, 'Every valley
shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made
low'; according to them, Ólaf is saying that Hrút's pride
will be made low by the strength of Ólaf's humility if they
insists on pursuing the matter. For what it's worth, my
feeling is that M&P are over-interpreting it, but I disclaim
any expertise in Old Norse literary interpretation!

> Hrútur þykist nú skilja að fast mun fyrir vera, fer heim
> og líkar stórilla.

> It seems to Hrut now to firmly part will be over (?), goes
> home and he doesn't like it big time.

CV s.v. <fastr> has <e-t er fast fyrir> 'a thing is hard to
win, difficult'. Here the subject is merely implied, but
this is pretty clearly the right idiom: 'Hrút now thinks
that he knows that it will be hard to win [this argument
and] goes home greatly displeased'. Note that it isn't
<Hrútur ... líkar stórilla>: with <líka> the person who is
(or isn't) pleased or satisfied is in the *dative*, and the
grammatical subject is the thing that does or doesn't please
him, e.g., <Hrúti líkar þat stórilla> or <þat líkar Hrúti
stórilla> 'that displeased Hrút very much'.

> Og er kyrrt að kalla.

> And it is quiet, so to say. (Z. kalla 3 - at kalla, so to
> say)

CV is a little clearer on <at kalla>, glossing it 'so to
say, nominally, not really'; elsewhere I found the example
<H. var kristinn at kalla, ok blandinn mjök í trúinni> 'H.
was nominally Christian, and very mixed in his faith'. In
this case something like 'at least on the surface' seems to
be intended.

> Hann bjó í Hundadal.
> He lived in Hundadal (dog valley?).
> He lived in Hunda Dale.

In principle it could be 'hounds' valley', <hunda> being the
genitive plural, but Landnámabók says that it's 'Hundi's
valley', given by Auðr in djúpúðga Ketils dóttir to her
freedman Hundi. Back in Ch. 6 Laxdœla saga told the same
story, though it calls her Unnr rather than Auðr. It's
plausible enough. He is supposed to have been Scottish, and
<Hundi> could be a translation of his original name: both
Early Irish <cuilén> 'a whelp' and <matad> 'a dog, a
mastiff; a cur' were used as masculine names.

> Það varð til nýlundu um sumarið í Hundadal að fé nytjaðist
> illa en kona gætti fjár þar.

> That came forth to do a novelty during the summer in
> Hundadale that the cattle gave milk poorly and a woman
> took care of the cattle there.

> It happened as a curiousity? during the summer in Hunda
> Dale that the livestock gave little milk, and a woman
> watched (the) livestock there.

Near as I can tell, something must be both new and strange
to qualify as a <nýlunda>. 'A new and strange thing
happened that summer at Hundadal: [the] ewes gave little
milk, but a woman tended [the] sheep there' isn't literal
but captures the idea, I think.

> Það fundu menn að hún varð gripaauðig og hún var löngum
> horfin svo að menn vissu eigi hvar hún var.

> Men found that, that she was rich in precious things and
> she was mostly abandoned so that people didn't know where
> she was.

> People found that she became rich in valuables and she was
> missing for long so that people knew not where she was.

Although <varð> is a simple past tense, the sense seems to
be 'that she had become rich in valuables'. Rob: Here
<horfit> is simply the past participle of <hverfa> in sense
(Z2), and <löngum> 'long, continuously' is an adverb with
its own entry in Z. In idiomatic English: 'and she was
forever disappearing, so that people didn't know where she
was'.

> Þórður bóndi lætur henni nauðga til sagna og er hún verður
> hrædd þá segir hún að maður kemur til fundar við hana, "sá
> er mikill," segir hún, "og sýnist mér vænlegur."

> Farmer Thord causes her to confess by torture and when she
> becomes afraid, then she says that a come comes to meet
> with her, "he is big," she says, "and seems to me
> promising."

> Farmer Thord has her forced to tell and when she becomes
> afraid then she tells that a man comes to meet with her,
> “that one is large,” says she, “ and seems to me
> promising.”

<Sagna> is the gen. plur. of <sögn> 'tale, story, report',
making it literally 'Yeoman Þórð has her forced to reports',
but both Z and CV s.v. <sögn> turn this into English by
glossing <nauðga e-m til sagna> 'to force someone to
confess', indicating that torture is generally implied. I'd
probably go with 'has her forced to talk'. <Mikill> here is
probably 'tall', and 'fine' makes better sense than
'promising' for <vænlegur>: she thinks him a fine figure of
a man.

> Þá spyr Þórður hversu brátt sá maður mundi koma til fundar
> við hana.

> Then Thord asks how soon that man would come to meet her.

> Then Thord learns how soon that man would come to meet
> with her.

I'm with Rob: I think that the context pretty clearly
requires 'asks'.

> Hún kvaðst vænta að það mundi brátt vera.

> She stated for herself to give hope that that would be
> soon.

> She said she expected that it would be soon.

But here Grace has it.

> Eftir þetta fer Þórður á fund Ólafs og segir honum að
> Stígandi mun eigi langt þaðan í brott, biður hann til fara
> með sína menn og ná honum.

> After this Thord goes to meet Olaf and tells him that
> Stigand will not long from there (be) away, asks him to go
> with his men and get hold of him.

> After that Thord goes to a meeting with Olaf and tells him
> that Stigandi will not (be?) far away from there, invites
> him to go with his men and catch him.

This is <mun> 'must': 'and tells him that Stígandi must not
be far away', the verb <vera> being understood. Translating
it simply as 'invites him to go' doesn't take into account
the <til>, which emphasizes a destination; I'd make it
'invites him to go there'.

> Ólafur bregður við skjótt og fer í Hundadal.
> Olaf starts off at once and goes to Hundadal.
> Olaf set off without delay and goes to Hunda Dale.

Rob's right about the tense of <bregður>.

> Er þá ambáttin heimt til tals við hann.

> When the concubine asks for an interview (i.e., to talk)
> with him. (Z. heimta 3 - h. e-n á tal við sik, to ask for
> an interview with one)

> Then the concubine returns? to talk with him.

I think that it's <heimta> 'brought back' (Z2): 'Then the
bondwoman is brought back for a talk with him'. In other
words, Ólaf wants to question her further.

> Spyr þá Ólafur hvar bæli Stíganda væri.
> Olaf then asks where Stigandi's lair would be.
> Olaf asks then where ?? Stigandi is.

Grace: It's <bœli> 'den, lair; farm, dwelling'. It was
originally 'farm, dwelling', and CV indicates that it kept
that sense in Norway; in Iceland, however, it was apparently
almost exclusively 'den, lair'.

> Ólafur bauð að kaupa að henni ef hún kæmi Stíganda í færi
> við þá.

> Olaf asked to make an agreement with her if she makes
> Stigandi come in few with them.

> Olaf offered to bargain with her if she brought them an
> opportunity to attack? Stigandi.

<Kæmi> is (unsurprisingly) subjunctive after <ef> 'if', and
it's 'to make to come, to bring' (Z3), with (dative)
<Stíganda> as object. <Færi> is Z's <fœri>, but the sense
here is more easily understood from CV, 'a being within
reach': 'if she would bring Stígandi within reach of them'.
(Of course the implication is that they're going to attack
him.) <Kaupa e-t at e-m> is 'to buy a thing from someone';
here <henni> 'her' is the someone. The thing bought doesn't
appear as a noun or pronoun, but is implicit in the <ef>
clause: he's offering to buy her assistance. Probably the
simplest way to translate it is 'Ólaf offered to pay her if
she would bring Stígandi into their grasp'.

Brian