> "Þar er sá maður," svarar Starri, "er mér þykir ekki
> vinsæll og óvíst að honum fylgi hamingja.

> “There is the man,” answers Starr, “who does not seem to
> me popular and un-wise that luck follows him.

> “There (ie He) is that person (man),” answers Starri, “who
> seems to me not popular and uncertainly (ie it is not
> likely that) good-fortune would-accompany him.

I read <óvíst> as an adjective, 'uncertain': ‘and [it seems
to me] uncertain that luck would accompany him’.

> En sakir okkars vinskapar þá vil eg við honum taka."

> But for the sake of our friendship, then I will receive
> him.”

> But (for) reasons of our friendship then I want to receive
> him.”

I think that <vil> here is closer to 'willing to' than to
'want to'.

> Hann býst heiman og fer norður til Skagafjarðar við þrjá
> tigi manna.

> He gets ready for a journey from home and goes north to
> Skajafiord with 29 men.

> He readies-himself (to go) from-home and journeys north to
> Skagafjörðr with thirty (three tens of) men.

Rob: Note that it’s ‘with 30 men’, not ‘with the 30th man’.

> Arnór svarar: "Ekki þykir mér þú Bolli vænt stefna út er
> þú sækir norður hingað, við slíka ójafnaðarmenn sem hér er
> að eiga.

> Arnor answers: “It doesn't seem to me, Bolli, (that) you
> expect a summons out (?) when you visit north here, which
> such overbearing men as here is to have. (?)

> Arnórr answers: “You, Bolli, do not seem to me likely
> (vænn) to summon out (support) when you seek (it) (or
> come) hither (to the) north, against (?) such
> overbearing-men as (one) is to have (encounter) here.



> En er þetta sér Arnór gengur hann í milli með sína sveit
> og mælti: "Það er mönnum einsætt að færa hér eigi svo
> marga góða menn í vandræði sem á horfist að menn skuli
> eigi ná lögum um mál sín.

> And when Arnor sees this, he goes in between with his body
> of men and said: “It is clear to people that few here not
> so many good men in difficulty as it looks that men should
> not get a lawful trial concerning his case. (Z. einsætt -
> clear, evident, only in the phrase, e-t er einsætt, is the
> only thing to be done) [However, I didn't see how“is the
> only thing to be done” fit, here, so I went with “clear.”]

> And when Arnórr sees this he goes (on foot) in between
> with his body-of-men and spoke: “That is evident to men to
> (ie the only thing to be done is) not to bring (færa) here
> into trouble (conflict) so many good persons (men) as it
> would-turn out that persons (men) shall not get by law (ie
> have a lawful trial) concerning this case.

<Sín> in <mál sín> must refer to <menn>: ‘It is evident to
people [that what ought to be done is] not to bring so many
good people into difficulty here that it would turn out that
people would not obtain law concerning their cases.’ Note
that <ná> takes a dative object, hence <lögum>.

> Muntu Þorvaldur og óliðdrjúgur verða ef reyna skal."

> Thorvaldr, you will also become clumsy if (you) shall
> try.”

> You-will, Þorvaldr, also become (ie be)
> without-support-ample (ie have insufficient backing?) if
> (it) shall become-a-trial (of force?).

CV and Zoëga gloss <liðdrjúgr> as 'strong, powerful', but
Baetke makes it 'mit starker Mannschaft', which makes better
sense here: Þorvald will have too few supporters.

I found one other parallel example of <ef reyna skal>, in
Þórðar saga hreðu:

Þórhallr er engi áhlaupamaðr ok forsjáll, en mun vera inn
vápndjarfasti, ef reyna skal.

Þórall is no impetuous person, and (but) prudent, and will
be the most gallant <ef reyna skal>.

I think that this pretty clearly supports the sense ‘if it
should come to a trial of force’.

Brian