Re: Eyrbyggja Saga 45 part 3 -- Rob's Translation

> Þorleifur kimbi mælti þá er hann sá að Steinþór brá
> sverðinu: "Hvítum ræður þú enn hjöltunum Steinþór," sagði
> hann, "en eigi veit eg hvort þú ræður enn deigum brandinum
> sem á hausti í Álftafirði."

> Thorleifr Kimbi said then when he saw that Steinthor drew
> his sword: “White (ræður? Intends?) you still the hilt,
> Steinthor,” he said, “and I don’t know if you still intend
> cowardly the sword as in the fall in Alftafrith.”

Þorleif kimbi said, when he saw that Steinþór drew his
sword: ‘You still have the white hilt, Steinþór,’ he said,
‘but I don’t know whether you still have the soft blade that
as in the fall at Álptafjörð.’

This must be <ráða> Z10 'to have, possess, be master of'.
The editor of my German edition says that ‘white’ refers to
the fact that there’s no blood on it yet. A ‘soft’ blade is
a useless one.

> Steinþór svarar: "Það vildi eg að þú reyndir áður við
> skildum hvort eg hefði deigan brandinn eða eigi."

> Steinthor answers: “I wanted that, that you previously try
> with we separate or if I have fear of the sword or not.”

Steinþór answers: ‘I wanted you to experience before we part
whether I have the soft blade or not.’

> Sóttist þeim seint skerið.

> They fought slowly (on) the skerry.

Their attack on the skerry went slowly.

In other words, they weren’t making much if any progress in
attacking it.

> Og er þeir höfðu langa hríð við ást gerði Þórður blígur
> skeið að skerinu og vildi leggja spjóti til Þorleifs kimba
> því að hann var jafnan fremstur sinna manna.

> And when they had dealt with each other for a long time,
> Thordr Bligr gets time on the skerry and wanted to thrust
> a spear at Thorleifr Kimbi because he was always most in
> front of his men.

And when they had fought for a long while, Þórð blígr made a
run at the skerry and wanted to thrust at Þorleif kimbi with
a spear, because he was always foremost of his men.

<Skeið> is Z1 'a race, a run'.

> Lagið kom í skjöld Þorleifs.

> The thrust landed on Thorleif’s shield.

The thrust hit Þorleif’s shield.

> En með því að hann varði sér mjög til spruttu honum fætur
> á jakanum þeim hinum halla og féll hann á bak aftur og
> renndi öfugur ofan af skerinu.

> And as he exerted himself greatly, his feet slipped on the
> ice (glossed under Z. “verja” 3), the (ice) that inclines,
> and he fell backwards and slipped backwards from the
> skerry.

But because he put so much into it, his feet slipped on the
sloping ice floe, and fell backwards and slid head first
down from the skerry.

This is the second meaning of <með því at> in Zoëga s.v.
<með> Z9. <Jakanum> is the dat. sing. of <jaki> 'broken
ice, ice floe' with the def. art. ‘Backwards’ for <öfugr>
is fine; since he’s fallen over backwards, that happens to
be head first, and I chose the more graphic description.

> Þorleifur kimbi hljóp eftir honum og vildi drepa hann áður
> hann kæmist á fætur.

> Thorleifr Kimbi ran after him and wanted to kill him
> before he got to (his) feet.

Þorleif kimbi ran after him and wanted to kill him before he
got to [his] feet.

> Freysteinn bófi hljóp eftir Þorleifi.

> Freysteinn Bofi ran after Thorleifr.

Freystein bófi ran after Þorleif.

> Hann var á skóbroddum.

> He was on the ice spur.

He was on ice-spurs.

<Skóbroddum> is dat. plural. In effect he had spikes, like
a cross country runner.

> Steinþór hljóp til og brá skildi yfir Þórð, er Þorleifur
> vildi höggva hann, en annarri hendi hjó hann til Þorleifs
> kimba og undan honum fótinn fyrir neðan kné.

> Steinthor ran to (there) and thrust a shield over Thord,
> when Thorleifr wanted to strike him, and (with the) other
> hand he cut Thorleifr Kimbi’s leg off below the knee. (Z.
> undan 1)

Steinþór ran over and thrust [his] shield over Þórð when
Þorleif wanted to strike him, and with [his] other hand he
struck at Þorleif kimbi and [struck] his leg off [‘from
under him’] below the knee.

> En er þetta var tíðinda þá lagði Freysteinn bófi til
> Steinþórs og stefndi á hann miðjan.

> When this happened, then Frestein Bofi stabbed Steinthor
> and aimed at him in the middle. (Z. tíðindi)

But while this was happening, Freystein bófi thrust at
Steinþór and aimed at his middle.

> En er hann sá það þá hljóp hann í loft upp og kom lagið
> milli fóta honum.

> But when he saw that, he then jumped up in the air and the
> blow landed between his feet.

But when he [= S.] saw that, he leaped up into the air, and
the thrust went between his legs.

Here I think that <fóta> is much more likely to be 'legs'
than 'feet'.

> Og þessa þrjá hluti lék hann senn sem nú voru taldir.

> And these three things, he performed as now were told.

And these three feats that were [just] now recounted he
performed all at once.

<Senn> is 'at the same time'. <Voru> is plural and must
refer to the three feats, as if the sentence were <Og þessa
þrjá hluti sem nú voru taldir — lék hann senn>, where the
dash separates the complete subject from the predicate. A
translation preserving the word order: ‘And these three
feats he performed all at once, [these] that were [just] now
recounted’.

> Eftir þetta hjó hann til Freysteins með sverðinu og kom á
> hálsinn og brast við hátt.

> After this he struck at Freystein with his sword and it
> landed on his neck and it hit with a loud noise.

After that he struck at Freystein with the sword and [it]
hit his neck and clashed loudly.

> Steinþór mælti: "Ball þér nú Bófi?" sagði hann.

> Steinthor said: “Did it hit you now, Bofi?” he said.

Steinþór said: ‘Did [it] hit you now, Bófi?’ he said.

> "Ball víst," sagði Freysteinn, "og ball hvergi meir en þú
> hugðir því að eg er eigi sár."

> “It certainly hit,” said Freystein, “and it didn’t hurt
> more than you intended because I am not wounded.”

‘Indeed [it] hit,’ said Freystein, ‘and by no means hit more
than you intended, for I am not wounded.’

> Hann hafði verið í flókahettu og saumað í horn um hálsinn
> og kom þar í höggið.

> He had been in a cloak hood and a cattle horn sewn in
> around the neck, and the blow landed there.

He had worn [‘been in’] a felt hood, with [‘and’] horn sewn
in around the neck, and the blow landed there.

> Síðan snerist Freysteinn aftur upp í skerið.

> Then Freystein turned back up to the skerry.

Then Freystein turned back up to the skerry.

> Steinþór bað hann eigi renna ef hann væri eigi sár.

> Steinthor told him not to run away if he were not wounded.

Steinþór told him not run [away] if he was not wounded.

> Snerist Freysteinn þá við í skerinu og sóttust þá allfast
> og varð Steinþóri fallhætt, er jakarnir voru bæði hálir og
> hallir, en Freysteinn stóð fast á skóbroddunum og hjó bæði
> hart og tíðum.

> Freystein then turned upon him in the skerry and (they)
> fought then very hard and Steinthor staggers, when
> ice-floes were both slippery and sloping, but Freystein
> stood fast on the ice-spur and struck both hard and often.
> (Z. fallhætt,, e-m verðr fallhætt,one staggers, is in
> great danger of falling)

Then Freystein turned around on the skerry, and they
attacked each other very hard, and Steinþór was in danger of
falling, for the ice floes were both slippery and steep, but
Freystein stood fast on the ice spikes and struck both hard
and often.

<Jarkarnir> is nom. plur. of <jaki> with the def. art.

Brian