Re: Kjalnesinga Saga 4 part 2 - Rob's Translation

> Hann kallar og á Þorstein son sinn og fannst hann hvergi.

> He also calls to Thorstein his son and (his son) was not
> found anywhere.

> He also calls to Thorstein, his son and he is nowhere to
> be found.

> He calls also to Þorsteinn, his son, and finds him
> nowhere.

I'm with Rob on the second clause: 'and he was found
nowhere'.

> Urðu þeir að brjóta upp hliðið því að garðurinn var svo
> hár að hvergi mátti að komast.

> They were forced to break down the gate because the fence
> was so high that (they) could not get at (i.e., over) it.

> They were obliged to break up the gate because the fence
> was so high that no one was able to get over (it).

> They were-forced (see verða + inf, Z7) to break up
> the-gate because the-wall was so high that nowhere might
> (they) get-through.

Here <brjóta upp> is 'to force or break open', as also in
the next sentence.

> Brutu þeir þá upp hliðið.


> Voru þá gervir til krakar og varð dregið í sundur hofið og
> náðist við það nokkuð afviðinum.

> Then were (gervir?) to stakes and were dragged the temple
> cut in pieces and that was reached with quite
> (afviðinum?).

> Then (they) use poles and the temple was dragged apart and
> by that means was accessed some of the wood??

> (They) were then prepared to (make use of) poles (?) and
> the-temple became drawn asunder and (it) was-reached with
> that some of the-timber (?).

Here <kraki> is 'a drag, a boat-hook'; CV use this sentence
to illustrate the sense. <Krakar> can only be nom. plural,
so it must be the subject of <váru>. <Gervir> is the masc.
nom. plur. of the past participle of <gøra> ~ <gera>; here
<gervir til> seems to be 'ready at hand' (CV F.I.2). <Af
viðinum> should be two words. 'Boat-hooks were then at hand
and the temple was drawn asunder and thereby some of the
wood was got' i.e., salvaged from the flames.

> Nú er að segja frá Búa að hann kom á þann bæ er heitir í
> Hólum.

> Now it is (time) to tell about Bua, that he came to that
> farm which is called Holum (praises/flatteries?).

> Now is to tell of Bui that he came to that farm which is
> named in Hol.

> Now (one) is to say about Búi that he came to that farm
> which is-called in Hóll.

Rob: <Hóll> = <hváll> 'a hill, hillock, knoll'.

> Lýsti hann þar vígi Þorsteins sér á hönd, gekk eftir það
> heim.

> He made it known there Thorstein's homicide was by his
> hand, (and) after that went home.

> He announced there Thorsteins slaying at his hand, went
> home after it.

> He declares there (the) slaying of Þorsteinn by his-own
> hand (declares himself to be the cause of Þorsteinn’s
> death), went after that home.

<Lýsti> is past tense.

> Hún mælti: "Hefir þú nokkuð eltur verið í morgun af
> Þorsteini eða hefir nokkuð nú tekið brýningunni?"

> She said: "Have you been quite pursuing Thorstein this
> morning or have now quite taken egging on? (?)

> She said, “Have you been pursuing something in (the)
> morning from Thorstein or have (you) now taken some
> incitement??”

> She spoke: „Have you been pursued at-all this morning
> on-account-of Þorsteinn or have (you) now taken the
> egging-on (?) (CV cite another instance of this phrase in
> Heimskringla but I am none the wiser as to its meaning)?“

Note that <brýningunni> is *dative* singular (with article).
The only sense of <taka> with which the dative seems to
occur with any frequency is 'accept, receive', as if it were
elliptical for <taka við>. I *think* that <at Þorsteini> is
'by Thorstein', the agent of a passive construction, not 'on
account of Thorstein', and that she's saying 'Have you been
pursued at all this morning by Thorstein, or have [you] now
to some degree accepted the egging-on', i.e., 'or have you
finally got up the gumption to do something about it/him'.

> Búi kveðst nú ekki þræta að þeim Hofverjum þætti í orðið
> nokkuð svarf.

> Bua stated for himself no quarrel with them, the
> Hofverjum, became in parts quite a hard fray. (?)

> Bui said he (would) not now contradict them in (the)
> temple-crowd, ?? some tumult happened.

> Búi declared-of-himself now not to deny that (it)
> would-seem to them, (the) Templars, (that) some robbery
> (affray) (had) occurred (verða í).

In this case <Hof> is a place-name, and the <Hofverjar> are
the 'Hof-men' (cf. <Rómverjar> 'Romans'); <verjar> is the
plural of <verr> 'a man, a husband', cognate with Latin
<vir>.

Brian