> Og að kveldi eins dags kemur landseti Blund-Ketils og
> segir sig vera í heyþroti og krefur úrlausna.

> And at an evening of one day, a tenant of Blund-Ketil's
> arrives and says for himself to be short of hay and asks
> for help.

> And at the evening of one day a tenant of Blund
> (Dozy)-Ketill comes and says himself to be in a
> hay-shortage and craves release-from-difficulty (help,
> exemption, a waiver?, órlausn, Z2).

And at evening one day a tenant of Blund-Ketil’s comes and
says that he is short of hay and craves assistance.

> Bóndi svarar: "Hverju gegnir það?

> (The) farmer answers: "Does it suit you?

> (The) farmer answers: “That amounts (gegna, Z4) to what
> (to what extent, how much help?)? 

The landowner answers: ‘How is that possible?

It’s <gegna> Z3; literally this is more or less ‘What does
that mean?’, but the sense seems to be what I gave.

> Eg þóttist svo til ætla að hausti að eg hugði að vel mundi
> hlýða."

> It seemed to me to plan that in the fall that I believed
> that I would well yield."

> I bethought-myself to expect of (from) (the)
> harvest-season such (an amount) that I believed that (it)
> would well be-proper.”

I thought that I so determined [matters] in the fall that I
assumed that it would turn out well.’

For this sense of <hlýða> see CV, II; ‘assumed’ is from
Baetke.

> Sjá svarar að færra var slátrað en hann sagði.

> Thus answers that livestock was slaughted that he said.

> This-one (ie he) answers that less (fewer) was (were)
> slaughtered than he said.

He replies that fewer were slaughtered than he said.

> Blund-Ketill sagði: "Við skulum eiga kaup saman.

> Blund-Ketill said: "We would have a purchase together.

> Blund (Dozy)-Ketill said: “We shall have a bargain (make a
> deal) together.

Blund-Ketil said: ‘We two will make a bargain together.

> Eg mun leysa þig úr vandræði þessu um sinn en þú seg þetta
> engum manni því að eg vil eigi venja menn upp á mig, allra
> helst síðan þér hafið þó eigi haft mín tillög."

> I will absolve you from this difficulty concerning it, and
> tell this to no man because I don't want to accustom
> people to me, all the more most of all since have have not
> yet had my help."

> I will release (set free, exempt) you out of this
> difficulty once (for this one time, sinn) but you say
> (imperative) this to no man (person) because I want not to
> accustom men (people) up on me (to get men into the habit
> of seeking help from me?), most of all since you have
> still not had my contributions (help).”

I will solve this problem for you once, but you tell no one
this, for I do not want to accustom people to turn to
[‘upon’] me, especially since you [plural] have not followed
my advice [plural].’

This sense of <hafa> is in Baetke.

> Sá fór heim og sagði sínum vin að Blund-Ketill sé afbragð
> annarra manna í sínum viðskiptum og kvað hann sig úr
> vandræði leyst hafa.

> So he went home and told his friend that Blund-Ketill was
> a paragon to other men in his dealings and told him (that
> he) has got loose from a difficulty.

> That-one (ie He) journeyed home and said to his friend
> that Blund (Dozy)-Ketill is a paragon of other men
> (persons) in his dealings and he declared himself to have
> (been) released (set free) from (out-of) trouble.

He went home and told his friend that Blund-Ketil is head
and shoulders above other men in his dealings, and said that
he [= B-K] had resolved his [= the tenant’s] difficulty.

If <hann> referred to the tenant, I’d expect <kvazk>; the
reflexive <sik>, on the other hand, should refer to the
subject of <kvað>, which is <Sá>.

> En sá sagði sínum vin og verður það svo víst um allt
> héraðið.

> And so told his friend and so it becomes known around all
> the district.

> But (and) that-one (ie he) said to his friend and that
> became thus known (víss, Z3) around all the-district.

And that one told his friend, and so it becomes known around
the whole district.

> Líður stund og kemur gói.

> A while passes and the month of Goi arrives.

> Time passes and (it) comes to (the month of) Gói (mid-Feb
> to mid-Mar).

Some time passes and [the month] gói comes.

> Þá koma tveir landsetar hans og segja sig í heyþroti.

> Then two tenants come to him and say for themselves (to
> be) short of hay.

> Then two of his tenants come and say themselves (to be) in
> a hay-shortage.

Then two of his tenants come and say that they are short of
hay.

> Blund-Ketill svarar: "Illa hafið þér gert að þér hafið af
> brugðið mínum ráðum því að það er þann veg þó að vér höfum
> hey mikil þá höfum vér og fé því fleira.

> Blund-Ketill answers: "You have poorly done that you have
> disregarded my advice because it is that way although we
> have much hay then we have also more livestock.

> Blund (Dozy) Ketill answers: “You have done badly that you
> have given-up (ignored, bregða. Z4) my commands, because
> that is that way (thus), even though we have much hay,
> still we have also therefore more cattle.

Blund-Ketil replies: ‘You have done badly in that you have
disregarded my advice, for it is that way: though we have
much hay, we also have the more livestock.

> Nú ef eg miðla yður þá hefi eg ekki til míns fjár.

> Now if I share with you, then I don't have for my
> livestock.

> Now if I share with you, then I have nothing for my
> cattle.

Now if I share with you, then I have nothing for my animals.

> Er nú hér um að kjósa."

> It is now here to choose between."

> (One) is now here to choose between (these).”

It is now to choose between these [‘here-between’].’

> Þeir ala á málið og tjá vesöld sína.

> They bring up the case and report his wretchedness.

> They urge the matter (see ala á mál, Z5) and relate their
> misery.

They press the matter and relate their misery.

> En honum þótti hörmulegt að heyra á þeirra veinan og lét
> reka heim fjóra tigu hrossa og hundrað og lét drepa fjóra
> tigu hrossa þau er verst voru en gaf landsetum sínum það
> fóður sem hrossunum var ætlað áður.

> And it seemed to him sad to hear their wailing and he had
> driven home 140 horses and had slaughtered 40 horses,
> those who were the worst, and gave his tenants that fodder
> as was intended previously for the horses.

> But (And) (it) seemed to him sad to listen to their
> wailing and (he) caused to drive home forty (four tens of)
> horses and a hundred and caused to kill forty (four tens
> of) horses, those which were worst (ie in worst condition)
> and gave to his tenants that fodder which was before
> intended for the horses.

And it seemed to him distressing to listen to their wailing,
and he had 160 horses driven home and had forty horses
killed, those that were worst, and gave his tenants the
fodder that had previously been intended for the horses.

Here again I suspect that it’s the long hundred of 120.

> Fara þeir heim fegnir.

> They go home happy.

> They journey home glad.

They go home delighted.

> Veturinn gerist því verri sem meir leið á og verður örkola
> fyrir mörgum.

> The winter became the worse as more passed and many are at
> the end of their resources. (Z.ørkola -- verðr ørkola
> fyrir mörgum, many are at the end of their resources)

> The winter became the (see því, Z5) worse the more (it)
> passed on (drew to a close) and many (people) are at the
> end of their resources (lit: (it) becomes burnt out for
> many,see örkola, Z1)

The winter gets the worse the more it passed, and many are
at the end of their resources [‘it becomes burnt out for
many’].

> Nú kemur einmánuður og koma tveir landsetar Blund-Ketils.

> Now (the) last month of winter arrives, and two tenants
> come to Blund-Ketil.

> Now comes (the) last-month-of-winter (part-of-Mar and Apr)
> and two tenants of Blund (Dozy)-Ketill come.

Now einmánaðr [the last month of winter] arrives, and two of
Blund-Ketil’s tenants come.

> Þeir áttu sér hóti helst nokkurs kosti í fémunum en þó
> voru þeir nú í heyþroti og biðja hann úrlausna.

> They themselves had a good deal more provisions in
> property, although they were now in want of hay and ask
> him for help.

> They had for themselves a great deal more in some wise
> (they were more well off than others?) in property but
> still they were now in hay-shortage and ask him for
> release-from-difficulty (help, exemption).

They had rather well some provisions in their property, but
they were nevertheless now in need of hay and ask him for
help.

For <hóti helzt> 'rather well' I’m relying on Fritner s.v.
<hót>, which has this example. I can’t find any basis for
the genitive singular <nokkurs> with the accusative plutal
<kosti>, and indeed Fritzner has acc. plur. <nökkura>
instead, so I’ve adopted his reading. The sense seems to be
that they actually had started out okay but even so were now
in trouble.

> Hann svarar þá og kveðst eigi til hafa enda lést hann eigi
> vilja drepa fleira fé.

> He then answers and said for himself not to have even if
> he wanted to have more livestock slaughtered.

> He answers then and declares-of-himself not to have (it)
> at hand (hafa til e-t, Z14) and-moreover he declared-of
> himself (látast, Z13) not to want to kill more cattle.

Then he replies and said that had none at hand, and moreover
he declared that he did not want to kill more animals.

> Þeir fréttu ef hann viti nokkura þá menn er hey hefðu til
> sölu.

> They asked if he then knew some men who had hay for sale.

> They enquire if he knows anyone those men (persons) who
> had hay for sale.

They asked if he knew any men who had hay for sale.

> Hann kveðst eigi víst vita.

> He said for himself certainly not to know.

> He declared-of-himself certainly not to know.

He said that he did not know for certain.

Brian