Re: Kjalnesinga Saga 7 end + beginning 8 - - Grace's translation

> Þorgrímur goði spyr nú athæfi Búa og atferði en sakir þess
> að hann hafði nær höggið honum í drápi föður hans þá gerði
> hann nú eigi til hans og hefir þetta nú svo liðið nokkura
> stund.

> Chieftain Thorgrim asks now (about) Bui’s behavior and
> conduct for the sake of this that he had nearly slain him
> in the killing of his father then he did not do (it) to
> him and this has now lead thus to a rather (difficult)
> exertion (situation).

> Þorgrímr priest-chieftain now hears of (spyrja, Z4) (the)
> behaviour of Búi and (his) conduct but (and), because
> (sakir e-s = fyrir sakir e-s, sök, Z4) he had struck near
> to him (note: dative) ((?)not sure what this means) in
> (the) killing of his father, then he now made not
> (preparations) for him (see göra til e-s, Z12 ((?) not
> sure about this either) and this has now thus drawn-on
> (lasted, continued, cf líða, Z4, nú líðr svá dögum) for
> some time.

My reading:

Þorgrím goði now hears of Búi's behavior and conduct, but
because he [= Þorgrím] had struck near him [= Búi] in
[the] killing of his [= Búi's] father, he does nothing now
to him [= Búi], and this has now continued so for a while.

Apparently Þorgrím feels that he's done Búi enough harm for
now. I'm taking 'struck near him' to be more or less like
'struck close to home'.

> Hann mælti svo: "Hér horfði til þess Kolli," sagði hann,
> "að hér mundu verða góð híbýli og það eina leiðir af þér
> til er vel er.

> He spoke thus, “Here (it) turned to this, Kolli,” said he,
> “that here would be a good household and it results from
> you (that?) it is good.

> He spoke so: “Here (for me) was-prospect of that (see
> horfa, Z2), Kolli,” said he, “ that here would be a good
> home and that alone leads (leiða, Z2) from you to (it) (ie
> you are the sole reason for this) which is well (fine).

I make it 'and only that results from you that is well',
i.e., what you do is always just fine.

> En það má þykja mikil ófyrirsynja er þessir tveir menn
> hafa vanið hingað komur sínar og þykir mér það þolanda ef
> illa skal vera að Búi hafi slíka meðferð en hit óhræsi er
> þar situr og hlýðir til tals manna þá er eg á enda kljáður
> að þola það lengur."

> But it may seem a lack of foresight when these two men
> have diminished?? (your household?) (in) their coming?
> hither and it seems to me suffering if evil shall happen
> that Bui has such intercession than the filthy fellow who
> sits there and listens to those men’s talk when (Z) ‘I can
> bear it no longer.’”

> But that may seem a great want-of-foresight (úfyrirsynja)
> that these two persons (men) have hither made-a-habit-of
> their arrivals (ie visit habitually, see venja, Z3) and
> that seems to me a suffering (unbearable) if, sadly
> (shamefully), (it) shall be that Búi has such behaviour
> (ie behaves thus, see meðferð, Z3) but (and) that-other
> mean-fellow who sits there also listens to (the)
> conversation of persons (men), then I am done (ie I am
> come to the end (of my tether), see kljá,Z1) to bear
> (endure, suffer) that longer.”

The present participle <þolanda> is 'tolerable': 'and that
seems to me tolerable, if [it] shall be sad, that Búi should
have such behavior, but that filthy fellow who sits there
and listens to people's conversation ...'. I think that
<þá> isn't 'then' or even 'when', but simply indicates that
what follows somehow depends on what went before. The idea
seems to be something like this:

'You're a great guy, Kolli, but you may have slipped up in
letting these two fellows visit here habitually; it's
tolerable, if sad, that Búi behaves so, but that jerk who
sits there and listens to people's conversation -- I've
had it!'

> Þenna sama aftan bað Örn svein sinn taka vopn þeirra og
> ganga með suður úr túni og bíða sín þar.

> That same evening Orn bade his servant to take their
> weapons and go south out of the field and await him there.

> This same evening Örn bade his servant (attendant) to take
> their weapons and go with (them) south out-of (the)
> home-meadow and await him (why reflexive pronoun?) there.

The reflexive pronoun is often used simply to refer to the
subject of the sentence.

> En með því að þys var mikill en margir menn bjuggust ...

> But since that noise was great then many men were getting
> ready, ...

> But because the noise was great and many persons (men)
> readied-themselves (to depart?) ..

Probably to depart: it makes the most sense, and we have
been told that it was already evening (Þenna sama aftan).

> Kolfinnur varðist með lurkinum og barði vopnin fyrir þeir.

> Kolfinn defended himself with ?? and smote (with his)
> weapon before them.

> Kolfinnr defended-himself (verjast) with (a) cudgel and
> they smote the weapons before.

Grace: <lurkr> 'cudgel'. But here it's with the postposed
article: 'with the cudgel' -- presumably the one that he
picked up when he left home back in Ch. 7. <Barði> is
singular, so its subject should be <Kolfinnur>; <þeir>
appears to be an error for <þeim> (which indeed appears in
another edition that I have). <Vopnin> is acc. neut. plur.
with the article, so it can't be an instrumental dative; it
must rather be what he's striking. I could be missing some
idiomatic sense, but a straightforward locative sense of
<fyrir> seems possible here: 'and struck the weapons [that
they held] in front of them'.

> Í því raknaði sveinninn við og vildi Kolfinnur ekki gera
> honum meira.

> The servant ?? in it and Kolfinn did not want to harm him
> more.

> In that (moment) the servant (attendant)
> recovered-his-senses (see rakna við, Z3) and Kolfinnr
> wanted not to deal (göra, Z?) with him more.

I think that it's 'did not want to do more to him' --
probably more or less 'chose to let him go'.

Brian