Re: Laxdaela Saga 54 end + 55 part 1 -- Rob's Translation

> Halldór sendir orð Þorsteini svarta og Helga mági hans.

> Halldor sends word to Thorstein black and his in-law
> Helgi.

> Halldor sent word to Thorsteinn the black and Helgi his
> in-law.

> Halldór sent word to Þorsteinn (the) black and Helgi his
> (ie Þorsteinn´s) male-in-law.

Rob's right: <sendir> is present tense. Past would be
<sendi>.

> Þorgerður húsfreyja var og mikill hvatamaður að þessi ferð
> skyldi takast, kvaðst aldrei hefnt þykja Kjartans nema
> Bolli kæmi fyrir.

> Thorgerdur, a housewife, was also a great prompter that
> this journey take place, stated for herself never to have
> thought of Kjarta except Bolli was equivalent.

> Wife Thorgerd was also a great advocate that this journey
> should take place, said never to think Kjartan avenged
> unless Bolli (be) destroyed??

> Þorgerðr (his) wife was also a great prompter that this
> journey should take-place (begin), declared-for-herself
> (it) to-seem never (completely) avenged (pp of hefna) for
> Kjartan unless Bolli should-come as payment (see koma
> fyrir, CV A.ii) (presumably a dead Bolli).

Þorgerð is Halldór's mother; I think that <Þorgerður
húsfreyja> is more or less 'Mistress Þorgerð'.

> Ljárskogar (New-mown-grass-wood).

It's actually 'Ljá-river-wood'. According to
<http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=55502> and
<http://arnastofnun.is/page/ornefni_lja> there have been a
number of serious proposals for the etymology of the
river-name. K. Rygh thought that it was related to <lé> or
<ljár>; Ásgeir Bl. Magnusson thought that improbable
preferred to relate it to the words <löður> and <laug>.
Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson maintained that the sense was 'little
river'; the river is very little, but there are difficulties
with this suggestion. Gösta Franzen thought a relationship
with <ljá> doubtful and pointed instead to OIc. <læ>
'damage, destruction; fraud, treason; venom, bane',
referring to large spring floods. He also suggested <ljá>
'new-mown grass' as a possibility, from meadows along the
river. (I'm not sure what to make of Franzen's apparently
contradictory positions on <ljá>: the first one isn't
glossed, so it may refer to a different word.)

> Selin stóðu við ána þar sem nú heita Bollatóftir.

> The shed stood by the river there now where it is called
> Bollatoftir.

> The sheiling stood along the river there where now (it) is
> called Bolli’s Tuft?

> The-shielings (plural, I´m not sure why) stood by
> the-river there (ie at that spot) which now (they)
> are-called Bollatóftir (tóptr?, Bolli’s-Homesteads? cf
> English toft?)

There was more than one building: according to one of my
editions, the ruins were still visible in the late 19th
century, and for all I know they still are. As for the
place-name, my other two editions have <Bollatoptir>, which
would make it the plural of ON <topt> 'a toft, a homestead',
of which English 'toft' is a borrowing. In the modern
language <tóftir> is 'ruins, broken down walls showing the
outline of a former building'; however appropriate this may
be now, I doubt that it was the original intent!

> Milli hlíðarinnar og holtsins er engi mikið er í Barmi
> heitir.

> Between the mountainsides and the hillock is a large
> meadow called Barmi.

> Between the sides and the wood is a great meadow which is
> called Barm.

> Between the-mountainside and the-stony-ridge is a great
> meadow which is-called in Barmr.

On the face of it the meadow gets its name by virtue of
being within the rim formed by the ridge (and perhaps the
mountainside).

> Þeir Halldór og hans förunautar riðu að Öxnagróf, yfir
> Ránarvöllu og svo fyrir ofan Hamarengi.

> They, Halldor and his companions, rode to Oxnagrof, over
> Ranarvollu and so above Hamarmeadow.

> They, Halldor and his comarades, rode to Oxen Ravine, over
> Ranar Plain and also down Hamar Meadow.

> They Halldór and his travelling-companions road to
> Öxnagróf (Ox-pit), over Ránarvellir (Fields of Rán) and so
> down Hamarengi (Hammer-meadow).

I expect that that's <hamar> 'crag', so 'crag-meadow'.

Brian