Re: Haensna-Thoris Saga 3 end + 4 part 1 -- Rob's Translation

> Blund-Ketill svarar: "Þar sem vér berum eigi verra mál til
> en Oddur þá kann vera að oss falli það létt."

> Blund-Ketill answers: "There as we don't carry a worse
> case to Oddr, then it can be fallen to us lightly." (?)

> Blund (Dozy)-Ketill answers:  „Whereas we carry towards
> (it) (ie bring to bear?)not a worse case than Oddr, then
> (it) may be that that should-fall lightly upon us (e-m
> fellr e-t létt, falla, Z10).“

Blund-Ketil replies: ‘Since we champion no worse a cause
than Odd, it may be that it would fall lightly on us.’

Baetke glosses <bera gott mál til> 'eine gute Sache
vertreten' (to advocate/champion a good cause'.

> Nú líður nóttin en þegar um morguninn snemma lætur
> Blund-Ketill safna hrossum úr haga og er þá búin ferðin og
> rekur Hersteinn hundrað hrossa í móti kaupmönnum og þurfti
> einkis á bú að biðja.

> Now the night goes by, and at once early in the morning
> Blund-Ketill has the horses gathered out of a pasture and
> when they are ready to travel, Hersteinn drives 100 horses
> among the merchantmen and it wasn't lacking to have plenty
> of everything. (CV BÚ -- eiga einkis í bú at biðja, to
> have plenty of everything)

> Now the-night passes but at-once the-next-morning early
> Blund (Dozy)-Ketill causes to gather horses out of (the)
> grazing-field and is then the-journey (expedition) ready
> (to go) and Hersteinn drives a hundred horses to a meeting
> with (ie to meet) (the) merchants (chapmen) and (it)
> wanted to ask of nothing on the farm (farm supplies) (ie
> there was plenty of everything, cf expression und bú,
> Z3)).

Now the night passes; and first thing in the morning
Blund-Ketil has horses collected from pasture, and the
journeys are then prepared, and Herstein drives 120 horses
to the merchants, and needed to ask for nothing at [other]
farms [i.e., B-K could supply the horses from his own herd].

This is almost certainly the long hundred of 120. I’m
pretty sure that the subject of <þurfti> is <Hersteinn>, so
that this isn’t an impersonal usage of the verb. The real
puzzle is <á bú>. Unfortunately, <bú> is neuter, so there’s
no way to tell whether it’s singular or plural. I’ve
tentatively decided that it’s plural to get a reading that
makes sense. The point would presumably be that he’s able
to make up the total from his own herd.

The other possibility that occurred to me is that it’s
singular, and a distinction is being made between horses out
at pasture and horses kept at the farmhouse, but this seems
less likely.

> Hann kemur út þangað og sagði Erni tillag föður síns.

> He comes out to there and tells Ern, his father, advice.

> He comes out thither and said to Örn (the) advice of his
> father.

He comes out thither and told Örn his father’s suggestion.

> Örn kvaðst gjarna þenna kost þiggja vilja en kvaðst þó
> hyggja að þeir feðgar mundu fá óvináttu annarra manna
> fyrir þetta.

> Orn said for himself (hat he) willingly wanted to accept
> this choise, and yet said for himself (that he) thinks
> that they, father and son, would get other men's enimity
> for this.

> Örn declared-of-himself willingly to want to accept this
> choice but declared-of-himself nevertheless to believe
> that that father-and-son-combination would get (the)
> enmity of other persons (men) for (ie as a result of)
> this.

Örn said that he would gladly accept this opportunity, but
said that he nevertheless thought that they, father and son,
would get the enmity of other people for this.

> Hersteinn kvað þá eigi verða farið að því.

> Herteinn then aid (that he) doesn't become gone to that
> (="that wouldn't cause him to go"?)

> Hersteinn declared then not to become (be) bothered by
> that (ie he couldn´t give a rat´s, fara at e-u, Z18).

Herstein said that they will not be bothered by that.

Here <þá> seems to be the accusative pronoun, so that
<þá ... verða> is an accusative + infinitive construction.

> Örn mælti: "Þá skulu hásetar mínir flytja sig í önnur
> héruð og er þó ærið í ábyrgð þó að vér séum eigi allir í
> einu héraði."

> Orn said: "Then my oarsmen shall convey themselves to
> another district, and when sufficient in responsibility
> (?) yet that we would not be all in one district."

> Örn spoke: “Then my oarsmen shall convey themselves to
> another district and (there) is still sufficient in
> responsibility (ie I suspect this means “enough people
> with responsibility remain here” but I note, cf hafa mikit
> í ábyrgð, under ábyrgð, there is still enough at stake)
> even-though we are not all in the one district.”

Örn said: ‘Then my oarsmen shall remove themselves to
another district, and there is yet enough at stake, though
we be not all in one district.’

I’m quite sure that it’s ‘enough at stake’.

> Hersteinn flytur nú Örn heim með sér og varning hans og
> skilst eigi fyrr við en allir kaupmenn eru í brottu og
> búið um skip og öllu til skila komið.

> Hersteinn now conveys Orn home with him and his cargo and
> they don't part before that all merchantmen were away and
> (the) ship made ready and all decided to come (??).

> Hersteinn conveys now Örn home with him and his wares and
> parts not with (them) before all (the) merchants are away
> and (they had) prepared regarding (the) ship (ie they had
> secured the ship) and put everything in order (see koma
> e-u til skila. Under skil, Z3)-

Herstein now conducts Örn and his wares home with him and
does not part with him until all of the merchants are away
and the ship fenced around and everything put in order.

See <búa> Z9, <Þórólfr lét setja upp skip sitt ok um búa>
'he had his ship laid up and fenced round'.

> Blund-Ketill tekur afar vel við Erni.

> Blund-Ketill receives Erni very well.

> Blund (Dozy)-Ketill receives Örn exceedingly well.

Blund-Ketil receives Örn exceedingly well.

> Sat hann þar í góðum fagnaði.

> He stayed there in a good welcome.

> He sat (stayed) there in good hospitality.

He stayed there in good hospitality.

> Komu nú tíðindi þessi fyrir Odd hvað Blund-Ketill hefir
> ráðs tekið og tala menn nú um að hann hafi sýnt sig í
> mótgangi við hann.

> Now this news arrived for Odd, that Blund-Ketill has taken
> a plan and tells men now concerning that he has shown
> himself in opposition against him.

> These tidings come before (ie reach) Oddr, what (by way
> of) counsel/plan Blund (Dozy)-Ketill has taken (ie what
> approach he has taken) and persons (men) talk about (it)
> that he has shown himself (to be) in opposition with him.

This news now came to Odd, what course of action Blund-Ketil
has taken, and folks now say that he [B-K] has shown himself
in opposition to him [Odd].

> Oddur svarar: "Kalla má það svo en þar er sá maður er bæði
> er vinsæll og kappsamur.

> Oddr answers: "It can say so that there is such a man who
> is both popular and impetuous.

> Oddr answers: “(One) may call (declare) that so but there
> is that man (person) who is both popular and headstrong.

Odd replies: ‘One may say so, but there is the man who is
both popular and impetuous.

> Þó vil eg enn vera láta svo búið."

> Yet I will still let this be as matters stand."

> Yet I want still to let (it) be (stay) as-matters-stand.”

Yet I will still let matters be as they stand.

> Og er nú enn kyrrt.

> And now it is stil quiet.

> And (it) is now still quiet.

And it is now still quiet.

> Sumar þetta var lítill grasvöxtur og eigi góður fyrir því
> að lítt þornaði og varð alllítil heybjörg manna.

> This summar (there) was little growth of grass and (it
> was) not good because a little dried and people's stores
> of hay became all-too-small.

> This summer (there) was little growth-of-grass and not
> good (for any growth that there actually was) because (it,
> the grass) little (ie hardly at all) dried-out and (the)
> stores of hay of people (men) became (were) very-little.

This summer there was little growth of grass, and that not
good, because it dried up little, and folks’ stores of hay
grew very small.

> Blund-Ketill mælti um haustið við landseta sína og segir
> að hann vildi heyleigur hafa á öllum löndum sínum: "Eigum
> vér mart fé ganganda en hey fást lítil.

> Blund-Ketill spoke during the fall with his tenants and
> says that he wanted to have rent paid in hay from all his
> lands: "We have many cows walking, but getting little hay.

> Blund (Dozy)-Ketill spoke during the-autumn with his
> tenants and says that he wants to have rent-paid-in-hay on
> all his estates: “We have much walking cattle (ie
> live-stock) but small stores of hay (neut plural)
> are-obtained.

Blund-Ketil spoke with his tenants in the fall and says that
he wanted to have rents paid in hay on all his lands: ‘We
have much livestock, but little hay is to be got.

> Eg vil og ráða fyrir hversu miklu slátrað er í haust á
> hverju búi allra minna landseta og mun þá vel hlýða."

> I want also to advise about how many are slaughtered in
> the fall and at each farm of all my tenants and (they)
> will then obey well."

> I want also to command how much is slaughtered this autumn
> on each farm of all my tenants and (how much) will then be
> well permissible (hlýða, Z3?)

I will also decide how many are slaughtered in the fall at
each farm of all my tenants, and then it will come out
well.’

Zoëga isn’t very helpful with <hlýða>; the relevant bit is
Z3 'to do' in the example <hlýðir þat hvergi> 'it will not
do'. CV is a little better with <en með því at þeir höfðu
liðs-kost góðan, þá hlýddi> 'it went off well'. Baetke is
more helpful than either: his third sense is 'gelingen, gut
ausgehen; passen, sich gehören', the first part of which is
'succeed, turn out all right'.

> Nú líður sumar og kemur vetur og er snemma nauðamikill
> norður um Hlíðina en viðbúningur lítill.

> Summer now passes and winter comes and it is soon very
> severe north around Hlidina and little preparation.

> Now summer passes and winter comes and early is
> very-severe north across Hlíðin (The-Slope) but (there
> was) little preparation (for it?).

Now summer passes, and winter comes and is quickly very
severe north around Hlíðin, but little preparation [for this
bad weather].

> Fellur mönnum þungt.

> It falls (on) people heavily.

> (It) falls heavily for people (men) (ie The people
> suffer).

People are hard hit [‘it falls heavily on folks’].

> Fer svo fram um jól.

> It goes forward around Yule.

> (It) goes forward (ie continues) during Yule.

So it continues during Yule.

> Og er þorri kemur þá ekur hart að mönnum og eru margir þá
> upp tefldir.

> And when the fourth winter month arrives, then people are
> in great straits and many are deprived of what they have
> (or "many lose in their struggle"). (Z. aka 7 - hart ekr
> at e-m, one is in great straits) (Z. tefla 3 - e-n upp, to
> beat one in a game of draughts, fig. to deprive one of
> what one has)

> And when Þorri (the 4th winter month) comes, then (it)
> drives hard for the people (men) )ie they are in dire
> straits, aka, Z7) and many are then deprived-of-what they
> have (tefla upp, Z3).

And when þorri [the month after Yule] comes, folks are in
hard straits [‘it drives hard at folks’], and many are then
ruined.

Brian