> Hann hélt sig og þar að engu óríkmannlegar en þá er hann
> var í Noregi.
> He comported himself there to no parsimonious (my guess,
> as the word looks like “un-rich-man”) than when he was in
> Norway. (Z halda 5 - h. sik, to comport oneself)
'not-powerful-man-ly'
> He comported himself thereat no more humbly than when he
> was in Norway.
> He comported himself (see halda sik, Z5) also there in
> nothing (ie in no wise) more-humbly (úríkmannliga) than
> when he was in Norway.
> Hann var litla hríð þar áður hann kom sér í Væringjasetu.
> He was there little time before he himself came into the
> guard of the Vaerings.
> He was there a little while before he brought himself into
> favor in the seat of the Varangians.
> He was (stayed) a little while there before he brought
> (the) Varangian-guard.
He was there a little while before he joined [‘brought
himself into’] [the] Varangian guard.
I suspect that we’re to interpret this as ‘only a little
while’.
> Höfum vér ekki heyrt frásagnir að neinn Norðmaður hafi
> fyrr gengið á mála með Garðskonungi en Bolli Bollason.
> We have never heard the accounts that any Norwegian has
> previously gone in the pay with the King’s Guard than
> Bolli Bollason.
> We have not heard talk that any Northman had gone to speak
> with the the king of Constantinople before Bolli Bolli’s
> son.
> We have not heard accounts that any Norseman would-have
> taken service (see ganga á mála, undir máli, Z2) with
> (the) Greek-emperor before (fyrr…en, earlier than) Bolli
> Bolli´s-son.
I’m pretty sure that <hafi> is subjunctive only because the
content of <frásagnir> is in effect just reported speech,
not because any conditional flavor is intended; I’d go along
with Grace and make it simply ‘had gone’.
> Það er sagt eitt sinn að Þorkell sagði Guðrúnu draum sinn.
> It is said one time that Thorkell told Gudrun his dream.
> It is said one time that Thorkell told Gudrun his dream.
> That is said one time that Þorkell said to Guðrún his
> dream.
The word order is misleading: <eitt sinn> modifies <sagði>,
not <sagt>, and the sense is ‘It is said that one time
[i.e., on one occasion] Þorkell ...’.
> "Það dreymdi mig," segir hann, "að eg þóttist eiga skegg
> svo mikið að tæki um allan Breiðafjörð.”
> “I dreamed (literally, ‘It dreamed me’),”he says, “that it
> seemed to me I had a beard so large to take hold of all
> Broad-fiord.”
> “I dreamt,” says he, “that I thought to have a beard so
> great as to take up all of Breidafjord.”
> bethought-myself to have a beard so great that (it)
> would-reach (stretch, taka, Z3) across all Breiðafjörðr.”
I think that ‘reached’ or ‘stretched’ is a more accurate
translation of this subjunctive.
Brian