I'll get to Eyrbyggja saga, but I thought that I'd get
caught up with this one first.
> Þetta undrast Grímnir, hverju gegna muni, at faðir hans
> var veginn, en sér engan mann, stökkr upp ok lætr sópa
> greiprnar um allan hellinn.
> Grimnir wonders at this, what (this) would mean, that his
> father was slain, but (he) sees no man, leaps up and makes
> a clean sweep of all the cave. (Z. sópa 1 - láta greipr s.
> um e-t, s. höndum um e-t, to make a clean sweep, carry off
> all)
> Grimnir was astonished at that, who (he) would go against
> that his father was slain, and sees no man, sprang to his
> feet and made a clean sweep about the whole cave.
Grímnir wonders at this, what would cause [this], that his
father was slain, but sees no man, [and] springs up and
makes a clean sweep of the whole cave.
<Gegna> 'to mean, to signify' can also be 'to be caused by';
see the glossary, _A New Introduction to Old Norse III_.
> Þetta þykkir Jökli allmikit gaman, tekr af sér gullit ok
> vill eigi leynast lengr.
> Jokull thinks this great sport, takes off the gold ring
> and no longer wants to hide himself. (Z. leyna 2 -
> leynast, to hide oneself, be concealed)
> That seems to Jokull a great amusement, (and he) takes off
> the gold ring and doesn’t want to hide himself any longer.
Jökul thinks the great sport [and] takes off the ring and no
longer wishes to hide himself.
> Þat sér Grímnir ok ræðr á hann, ok takast þeir fangbrögðum
> ok glíma allsterkliga, svá flest hlýtr upp at ganga.
> Grimnir sees that and gets angry at him, and they take to
> wrestling and wrestle very strongly, so most gets torn up
> (?).
> Grimnir sees it and attacks him and wrestling takes place
> and very intense grappling, so most is obliged? to go up??
Grímnir sees that and attacks him, and they take to
wrestling and wrestle very strongly, so [that] most gets
torn loose.
We had something like this back in Ch. 1, part 3:
Varð flestallt, sem fyrir var, upp at ganga.
Almost everything that was present came to be torn loose.
Grace: <glíma> here is the verb (3rd plur. pres.), not the
noun, and <allsterkliga> is the adverb, not the adj.
Rob: It's <ráða á e-n> 'to attack someone'.
> Verðr þat um síðir, at Grímnir fellr.
> At last it happens that Grimnir falls.
> It happens after a while that Grimnir falls.
It happens at last that Grímnir falls.
> Þetta sér Gnípa, skellir upp ok hlær ok mælti: "Nú gerði
> gæfumuninn, sem betr var, ok mundu, Jökull minn, hverju þú
> hefir lofat."
> Gnipa sees this, bursts out laughing and says: "Now the
> difference in luck did, as better was, and would, my
> Jokull, what you have promised."
> Gnipa sees this, bursts out with roaring laughter and
> laughing, speaks, “Now a difference in luck happens, as
> was better and would, my Jokull, you who have praised.” (I
> couldn’t figure this part out at all)
Gnípa sees this, bursts out laughing, and said: 'Now this
makes the turn of luck that was better, and remember, my
Jökul, what you have promised.'
<Gæfumuninn> is acc.; the nom. would be <gæfumunrinn>.
Thus, it must be the object of <gerði>, which then has no
expressed subject. I'm taking its implied subject to be the
events just recounted and their outcome.
<Mundu> is the 2nd sing. imperative of <muna> 'to remember'.
> Jökull mælti: "Góðs ertu maklig af mér.
> Jokull said: "You are properly good to me.
> Jokull spoke, “You are properly good to? me.
Jökul said: 'You are deserving of good from me.
This is <makligr> Z2; you can tell by the genitive <góðs>.
> Nú eru tvenn kostaboð, Grímnir, sá eini ek drep þik nú
> þegar í stað, sá annarr, at þú eigir Gnípu, vinkonu mína,
> ok skaltu vera konungr yfir Jötnaheimi, sem faðir þinn
> var.
> Now there are two favorable choices, Grimnir, the one that
> I kill you on the spot, the other, that you marry Gnipa,
> my woman friend, and you shall be king over Jotnaheim, as
> your father was.
> Now are two options, Grimnir, the one: I kill you now at
> once in place; the other: that you marry Gnipa, my
> female-friend, and you shall be king over Giantland, as
> your father was.
Now there are two splendid choices, Grímnir: the one, [that]
I kill you on the spot; the other, that you marry Gnípa, my
(female) friend, and you shall be king over Jötunheim, as
your father was.
> Vil ek ok gefa þér allan auð eftir föður þinn."
> I will also give you all the uninhabited wilderness as
> your father (had)."
> I also want to give you all wealth after your father.”
I will also give you all [the] wealth that was your
father's.'
Rob: You were thinking of <auðn>, but that would be <allt
auðn>.
> Grímnir játar þessu.
> Grimnir agrees to this.
> Grimnir agrees to this.
Grímnir agrees to this.
> Lætr Jökull hann nú upp standa, ok ganga innar eftir
> hellinum.
> Jokull now lets him stand up, and (they) go inward along
> (i.e., through) the cave.
> Jokull lets him stand up now and (they) go futher inside
> back in the cave.
Jökul lets him stand up now, and [they] go further into the
cave.
> Þar var fagrt um at sjást, gull ok silfr nóg ok góð klæði.
> It was beautiful there to look about: enough gold and
> silver and good clothes.
> There was fair to look about, gold and silver enough and
> good clothing.
It was beautiful to look about there: gold and silver in
abundance and good clothing.
> Hann skimast um hellinn ok sér, at þar eru tveir menn,
> lítt haldnir, karlmaðr ok kona.
> He looks all around the cave and sees that there are two
> people there, in poor condition, a man and a woman.
> He looks around the cave and sees, that there are two
> people in poor condition, a man and a woman.
He looks all around the cave and sees that there are two
people in poor condition, a man and a woman.
> Sitja þau bæði á einum stól ok eru strengd niðr við
> stólinn með járnhlekkjum sterkum.
> They both sit on one stool and are tied down to the stool
> with strong iron links.
> They both sit on one stool and are fastened down to the
> stool with strong iron chains.
They both sit on one stool and are bound down to the stool
with strong iron chains.
> Þau váru bæði mögr ok þó fögr at áliti.
> They were both a son (?) and yet fair in appearance.
> They were both young and still fair of face.
The were both lean and yet fair in appearance.
<Þau> is neut. plur., so <mögr> must be a neut. plur. The
noun <mögr> is masc., and its nom. plur. is <megir>, so we
must be dealing with some other word here. Neither Z nor CV
shows anything useful in <mö->, so the next place to look is
under <ma->, where we find <magr> 'meagre, lean', fem.
<mögr>; this must inflect like <fagr>, so <mögr> is also the
neut. nom./acc. plur. The meaning also fits the context
well, so this looks like a safe bet.
> Jökull gekk at stólnum ok spyrr þau at heiti.
> Jokull went to the stool and asks them their names.
> Jokull went to the stool and asks them their names.
Jökul went to the stool and asks them their names.
> Hann segir: "Ek heiti Hvítserkr, sonr Soldáns konungs af
> Serklandi, en systir mín Marsibilla.
> He says: "My name is Hvitserkr (White-shirt), son of
> Soldan, king of Serklandi (Shirt-land?), and my sister
> (is) Marsibilla (Horse-something?).
> He says, “I am named White Shirt, son of King Soldan of
> Serk Land, but my sister, (is named) Marsibilla.
He says: 'I am called Hvítserk [White-shirt], son of king
Soldán of Serkland, and my sister [is called] Marsibilla.
Here Serkland probably refers to northern Africa, to the
extent that it has any real referent at all. The name
<Marsibilla> isn't originally Old Norse: it's a borrowing of
<Marsabil(l)e>, the daughter of the sultan of Babylon in the
chanson de geste 'Florent et Octavien' and the romance
'Octavien'; <Soldán> is undoubtedly just <sultan> turned
into a name. In the form <Marsibilia> the name has been
borne by real Italian women; as <Marsibil> it's found in
Germany and Iceland.
> Skrámr jötunn heillaði okkr hingat.
> Skramr (Scarer), a giant bewitched us here.
> Skram, (the) giant bewitched us hither.
Skrám [the] giant enchanted us hither.
> Ætlaði hann Grímni, syni sínum, systur mína.
> He intended Grimni, his son, (for) my sister.
> He intended Grimnir, his son, (to marry) my sister.
He intended my sister for Grímnir, his son.
Note that <systur mína> is acc. and <Grímni, syni sínum>
dat.
> Höfum vit verit hér fimm vetr.
> We have been here five years.
> We have been here five winters.
We have been here five years.
> Er ek nú fimmtán vetra, en systir mín þrettán vetra.
> I am now fifteen years old, and my sister 13 years old.
> I am now fifteen years old, and my sister thirteen years
> old.
I am now fifteen years old, and my sister thirteen years
old.
> Hefir því valdit Marsibilla, at ek hefi svá lengi lifat,
> því at hon sagði þeim feðgum, at nornir hefðu spát henni,
> at hon mundi deyja þegar í stað, ef ek væra í hel sleginn,
> en þeir trúðu því.
> Marsibilla has caused that, that I have lived so long,
> because the told them, father and son, that witches had
> foretold her, that she would die at once, if I were struck
> dead, and they believed it. (Z. staðr 2 - í stað, þegar í
> stað, on the spot, at once)
> Marsibilla has caused it that I have lived so long because
> she told them, father and son, that the norns have
> foretold to her that she would die at once in place, if I
> were struck in hel, and they believed it.
It is thanks to Marsibilla that I have lived so long, for
she told them, father and son, that [the] Norns had foretold
to her that she would die on the spot if I were struck dead,
and they believed it.
I went with idiomatic English rather than a literal
translation.
> Nú ef Skrámr vissi þat þú værir hér, mundi hann láta drepa
> þik ok hafa þik í spað, því svá hefir hann fleirum gert."
> Now, if Skramr saw that you were here, he could have you
> killed and have you in a soup made from flesh, as he has
> done that to many."
> Now if Skram knew it that you were here, he would have you
> killed and have you in soup as he has done to others.”
Now if Skrám knew that you were here, he would have you
killed and have you in a meat soup just as he has done to
many others.'
Brian