Re: Eyrbyggja Saga 51 part 3 -- Rob's Translation

> In one message you mentioned not knowing if I spoke
> German. I don't, so definitely keep those translations
> coming from the German sources.

Okay. When I cite Baetke, I’ll simply do my own translation
and not bother with the German glosses. Holler if I forget:
I’ve been reading a lot of German lately.

> Og mæli eg þetta eigi fyrir því að eg unni engum að njóta
> gripanna ef eg vissi að að nytjum mætti verða.

> And I would not speak about this because I wait upon no
> one enjoy property if I knew that (there) would be a
> benefit.

And I do not say this because I could not bear that any
enjoy the costly things, if I knew that [they] might be of
use.

In other words, she’s not saying it because she wants to
deny the use of these things to people who might benefit
from them.

> En nú mæli eg því svo mikið um," segir hún, "að mér þykir
> illt að menn hljóti svo mikil þyngsl af mér sem eg veit að
> verða mun ef af er brugðið því sem eg segi fyrir."

> But now I would say so much concerning that," he says,
> "that it seems poor to me that people get so much burden
> from me as I know that it will become if it is altered
> from that as I said before."

But now I say so much concerning that,’ she says, ‘that it
seems ill to me that people should get such a heavy
affliction from me as I know will occur if what I prescribe
is deviated from.’

<Segja> Z5, <segja fyrir e-u> 'to prescribe something'.

> Þóroddur hét að gera eftir því sem hún beiddi.

> Thoroddr promised (?) to go after that as she asked.

Þórodd promised to do as she asked.

<Eptir> Z4, 'according to, in accordance with'; it’s
literally ‘in accordance with that which she bade’.

> Eftir þetta megnaðist sóttin við Þórgunnu.

> After this the illness gained strength against Thorgunnur.

After this the sickness grew stronger in Þórgunna.

> Lá hún eigi mörg dægur áður hún andaðist.

> She didn't lay (in bed, sick) many days before she died.

She did not lie many days before she died.

> Líkið var fyrst borið í kirkju og lét Þóroddur gera kistu
> að líkinu.

> The body was first carried to the church and Thorrodr had
> a coffin made for the remains.

The corpse was first borne into [the] church, and Þórodd had
a coffin made for the corpse.

> Um daginn eftir lét Þóroddur bera út rekkjuklæðin í veður
> og færði til viðu og lét hlaða þar bál hjá.

> During the next day, Thoroddr had the bed=clothes taken
> out in the wind and brought to a mast and builds a
> funereral pyre there.

The next day Þórodd had the bedclothes borne out into [the]
open air and brought fallen branches to [it] and had a pyre
piled up beside there [i.e., beside the bedclothes].

Baetke actually has <bera út rekkjuklæðin í veðr>. It’s
<viðr> 'a tree; a wood; timber; mast'; this is a u-stem,
Zoëga’s 3rd declension of masculine strong verbs, with <-u>
in the accusative plural.

> Þá gekk að Þuríður húsfreyja og spyr hvað hann ætlar að
> gera af rekkjuklæðunum.

> Then mistress Thuridur went to (there) and asks what he
> intends to do with the bed-clothes.

Then mistress Þuríð went to [him] and asks what he intends
to do with the bedclothes.

> Hann kveðst ætla að brenna þau í eldi sem Þórgunna hafði
> fyrir mælt.

> He said for himself (that he) intends to burn then in a
> fire as Thorgunnur had previously said/instructed.

He says that he intends to burn them in fire, as Þórgunna
had prescribed.

I’m reasonably sure that this is again the idiom <mæla
fyrir> 'to prescribe'.

> "Það vil eg eigi," segir hún, "að þvílíkar gersemar séu
> brenndar."

> "It don't want that," she says, "that such costly things
> be burned."

‘I do not want,’ she says, ‘that such costly things be
burned.’

> Þóroddur svarar: "Hún mælti mikið um að eigi mundi duga að
> bregða af því er hún mælti fyrir."

> Thoroddr answers: "She said much concerning that it would
> not suffice to deviated from that which he previously
> said."

Þórodd answers: ‘She said much thereon, that it would not do
[i.e., it would be dangerous] to deviate from that which she
prescribed.’

See <duga> Z2, the last example.

> Þuríður mælti: "Slíkt er eigi nema öfundarmál eitt.

> Thuridur said: "Such is not except a slander.

Þuríð said: ‘Such is nothing but speech born of malice.

I know that Zoëga has 'slander, calumny', but they don’t
quite fit the context. <Öfund> is 'envy, a grudge', so
literally <öfundarmál> is 'speech born of envy or a grudge';
'malice' covers both and seems to fit the context very well.

> Unni hún engum manni að njóta, hefir hún því svo fyrir
> mælt.

> She waited upon no man to get the use of, she has so
> previously said that.

She could not bear that anyone should enjoy [them],
therefore she has so prescribed.

My ‘therefore’ represents the <því>; the main verb is
<unna>.

> En þar munu engi býsn eftir koma hversu sem slíku er
> breytt."

> But there will come after no wonder how when such is
> changed."

But no portentous things will follow [‘come after’], however
that is deviated from.’

This seems to be <slíkr> Z2. <Hversu ... sem> is 'however';
the <sem> has a counterpart in the older form 'howsoever'.

> "Eigi veit eg," segir hann, "að þetta takist annan veg en
> hún hefir fyrir sagt."

> "I don't know," he says, "that this is taken another way
> than she has previously said."

‘I do not know,’ he says, ‘that this takes place otherwise
than she has foretold.’

<Takask> 'to take place'. We’d use the future: ‘I don’t
know that this will take place otherwise than she has
foretold’.

> Síðan lagði hún hendur yfir háls honum og bað að hann
> skyldi eigi brenna rekkjubúnaðinn.

> Then she put hands on his neck and asked that he should
> not burn the bed-clothes.

Then she put her arms around his neck and asked that he
should not burn the bedclothes.

Baetke has <leggja hendr upp, taka hendinni um háls e-m>
'place one’s arms around someone’s neck, embrace someone';
here we seem to have a variant of the same idea.

> Sótti hún þá svo fast að honum gekkst hugur við og kom
> þessu máli svo að Þóroddur brenndi dýnur og hægindi en hún
> tók til sín kult og blæjur og ársalinn allan og líkaði þó
> hvorigu vel.

> She assailed so firmly that he was moved by compassion
> (see Z. ganga 16) and this matter arrived so that Thoroddr
> burned (the) mattress and pillow, and she received her
> quilt and bed-cover and all precious bed hangings and yet
> neither liked (it) well.

She then pressed so hard that he was moved to compassion,
and so it came [to pass] in this matter that Þórodd burned
pillows and bolster, but she took for herself quilt and
covers and all the precious hangings, and yet neither was
satisfied.

Note that <þessu máli> is dative, so it can’t be the subject
of <kom>; here <kom> is impersonal.

> Eftir þetta var búin líkferð og fengnir til skilgóðir menn
> að fara með líkinu og góðir hestar er Þóroddur átti.

> After this the funeral was prepared and supplies for
> reliable men (or "and reliable men obtained"?) to go with
> the body and good horses that Thoroddr owned.

After this [the] funeral procession was made ready and
reliable men procured to travel with the corpse, and good
horses that Þórodd owned.

> Líkið var sveipað líndúkum en saumað eigi um og síðan lagt
> í kistu.

> The body was wrapped in linen (Z. sveipa 2) and not sewn
> around and then lay in a coffin.

The corpse was wrapped in linen cloths but not sewn around
and then laid in [the] coffin.

> Fóru þeir síðan suður um heiði svo sem leiðir liggja.

> They then went south across the district as (the) path
> lies.

After that they went south over [the] heath, as the roads
lie.

Brian