> En pell þat, sem tjaldat var um Jómalann, var meira vert
> en þrír farmar af drómundi þeim, er ríkastr skríðr um
> Grikklandshaf.

> And that costly cloth, which was hung over Jomalann, was
> worth more than the contents of three of the kinds of
> ships used in the Mediterranean, which the most powerful
> sail around the Greek achripelago.

> And that costly stuff that was hung as a tent about the
> Jomali was worth more than three loads of those ships
> which most richly course about the Greek sea.

> But that costly stuff, which was tented over Jomali, was
> more valuable than three cargoes of their ships, the
> richest through the Grikklandshaf(?).

> But (And) that costly-fabric, which was hung (like a
> tapestry) (tjalda, Z2) around the-Jómali, was worth more
> than three cargo-loads from that Mediterranean-based-ship
> (sg), which most-magnificently sails (skríða, Z2) around
> (the) Grecian-archipelago.

But the costly fabric that was hung around the Jómali was
worth more than three cargo loads of the richest dromund
sailing about the Aegean Sea.

> Þetta tóku þeir allt til sín.

> They took this all for themselves.

> They took all of this for themselves.

> They took all that for themselves.

> They took all this for themselves.

They took all of this for themselves.

> Þeir fundu afstúku eina í hofinu, ok var hún komin mjök
> leyniliga.

> They discovered a side room in the temple, and it was
> arrived (at) very secretly.

> They found a single side room in the temple, and it was
> arrived (at??) very secretly.

> THey found a side-room in the temple, and it was much
> hidden.

> They found a lone side-room in the-temple and it was come
> (to) (ie reached) very secretly.

The found a single side room in the temple, and it was
reached very secretly.

> Þar var fyrir steinhurð sterkliga læst, ok váru þeir at
> allan daginn at brjóta hana upp, áðr en þeir kómust inn.

> There was in front a strong locked door, and they were all
> day at breaking it open before they entered inside.

> There was a strongly locked stone door before (the room)
> and they were all day at breaking it up, before they got
> in.

> There was in front of (it) a stone-door strongly locked,
> and they were at (it) (ie were busy) all day to break it
> open (lit: up), before they made-their-way inside.

There before it was a strongly locked stone door, and they
were the whole day breaking it open before they managed to
get in.

> Þeir sá þar konu sitja á stóli.

> There they saw a woman sitting on a stool.

> There they saw a woman sitting on an altar.

> They saw there a woman sitting on a seat.

> There they saw a woman sit(ting) on a stool.

They saw there a woman sitting on a chair.

> Eigi höfðu þeir aðra vænni sét.

> They hadn't seen other fine (things).

> They had not seen another (more?) beautiful.

> Never had they seen before (as) beautiful.

> They had not seen another (woman) more-beautiful
> (comparative, see Gordon Grammar 105).

They had not seen another more beautiful.

When the comparative ending <-ri> is added to an adjective
ending in <n>, the <r> assimilates to the <n>, so that
instead of *vænri we have <vænni>.

> Hár hennar var bundit við stólbrúðir; þat var fagrt sem
> hálmr barinn eða gull teint.

> Her hair was tied to a chair post with a carved head; it
> was beautiful as threshed straw or gold beaten into bars.

> Her hair was bound with “chair brides” (?? translation
> needed ) it was as fair as the straw ?? or golden stake.

> Her hair was bound to the seat chair post; that was fair
> as bare straw or gold thread.

> Her hair was bound to ‘chair-brides’ (chair posts with
> carved heads, plural); that (ie her hair) was fair like
> threshed (pp of berja) straw or gold beaten-into-rods
> (threads).

Her hair was bound to [the] carven-headed chair posts; it
was fair as threshed straw or gold thread.

I found an old Latin gloss of <teindr>, ‘extenuatus’, which
in turn is glossed ‘thinned, reduced, diminished’; in this
context gold thread seems a better fit than gold bars or
gold rods.

> Járnfestr var um hana miðja, vandliga læst at henni.

> An iron band was around her middle, completely locked to
> her.

> An iron band was about her middle, completely locked to
> her.

> An iron band was about her middle, carefully locked around
> her.

> An iron-band was around her middle, carefully locked
> around her.

An iron band was about her waist, completely [or perhaps
carefully] locked around her.

> Hún var grátin mjök.

> She was crying a lot.

> She was weeping hard.

> She was crying much.

> She was very tearful.

She was very tearful.

> En er hún sá mennina, spurði hún, hvat olli ókyrrleika
> þeim, "er verit hefir í morgin, eða hví þykkir ykkr líf
> ykkart svá illt, at þit fýsizt hingat í trölla hendr, því
> at þeir, sem hér ráða fyrir, munu þegar drepa ykkr, er þit
> sjáizt hér?"

> And when she saw the men, she asked what (was) all the
> disturbance, "which has happened this morning, why do you
> deem your lives so poor, that desired you (to be) here in
> a troll's hands, because they who advise you here
> previously, will at once kill you, when you were seen
> here?"

> And when she saw the men, she asked, what all that
> disturbance, “which has been in the morning, or why do you
> think your life so ill that you desire hither in troll
> hands, because they, who rule over here, will immediately
> kill you when you are seen here?”

> THen when she saw the men she asked what was all that
> commotion (not-tranquility), “that there was had this
> morning, or why do you think your life to be so disliked,
> that you come here eagerly into the trolls hands, so that
> they, as here rule, would at once kill you if you are seen
> here?”

> But (And) when she saw the persons (men), she asked, what
> caused (olli, past of valda) that-disturbance (un-quiet),
> “which (there) has been this morning, or why seems (it) to
> you-two your (dual) lives so bad, that you-two
> (nominative) urge-yourselves hither into (the) hands of
> trolls (plural), because they, who have-authority (ráða
> fyrir) here, will at-once kill you-two, when you-two
> are-seen (present tense) here?”

And when she saw the men, she asked what caused the
commotion ‘that took place this morning, or why do you think
your lives so bad that you are eager [to come] hither into
trolls’ hands, because those who rule here will kill you as
soon as you are seen here?’

The noun here, which does not seem to appear in Zoëga, CV,
or Baetke, is <ókyrrleiki>, not <ókyrrleikr>: <valda> takes
a dative object here, and <þeim> is indeed dative, but the
dative of <ókyrrleikr> must be <ókyrrleiki>. And I was able
to confirm the existence of the n-stem variant:

<http://lexis.hi.is/cgi-bin/ritmal/leitord.cgi?adg=daemi&n=575442&s=439592&l=%F3kyrrleiki&r=u>

> En þeir sögðu, at mörgu svaraði frestin.

> And they told, that many answered a delay. (??)

> And they said that answered much delayed???

> Then they said that more they would answer after.

> But (And) they said, that the-delay (gram plural)
> would-answer (3rd pers pl present subj) many (a question?)
> (At a later date those questions would be fully answered?)

But they said that the delay would answer many [questions].

It’s not clear to me whether they’re saying that the answers
will become clear in time, or that they will answer the
questions later. The former seems to be the literal
interpretation, but the latter makes more sense.

> Þeir spurðu at, hvat hún hét ok hví hún væri þar svá
> harðliga haldin.

> They learned what her name was and why she was so forcibly
> held there.

> They asked what she was named and why she was held there
> so forcibly.

> They asked that, what was her name and why she was there
> so hardly held.

> They enquired after, what she was-called, and why she was
> there so forcibly held.

They asked what she was called and why she was so rigorously
bound.

> Hún sagðist Hleiðr heita ok vera systir Goðmundar konungs
> austr á Glæsivöllum.

> She said for herself (that she) is named Hleidr and is
> sister of King Godmundar east of Glaesvollum.

> She said she was named Hleidr and to be the sister of King
> Godmund east at Glaesirvellir.

> She said she was called Hleida and was the sister of King
> Godmund east at Glaesivollum.

> She said-of-herself to-be-called Hleiðr and to be (the)
> sister of King Goðmundr east in Glæsivellir.

She said that she was called Hleið and was a sister of king
Guðmund east at Glæsisvellir.

> "En tröllkona sú, sem hér ræðr fyrir, sótti mik þangat með
> fjölkynngi ok ætlar, at ek skuli ganga fyrir blótum í
> hofinu ok vera hér abbadís, þá hún er dauð, en ek vilda
> fyrr vera brennd."

> "But that troll-woman, who rules here, went to fetch me
> here with sorcercy and intends that I should take charge
> of the idols in the temple and be the abbess when she is
> dead, but I will be burned before."

> “And that witch, which here rules, fetched me thither with
> sorcery and expects that I should go for sacrifice in the
> temple and be abbess here, then when she is dead, but I
> would sooner be burned.”

> But that troll-woman, who rules over here, sought me there
> with witchcraft and expects that i should go for worship
> in the temple and become her abbess, when she was dead,
> abut I would rather be burned.

> “But (And) that troll-woman, who has-authority here,
> fetched me thither with sorcery, and intends, that I shall
> manage (ganga fyrir e-u, Z15) (the) general-idolatries
> (blót, Z2) in (the) temple and be (the) abbess here, when
> she is dead, but I wanted (past) sooner to be burned.”

And the trollwife who rules here attacked me there with
witchcraft and intends that I should take charge of
sacrifices [or worship generally] in the temple and be
abbess here when she is dead, but I would rather be burned
to death.

While ‘fetched’ for <sótti> is possible and certainly makes
sense, <þangat> ‘thither, to that place’ does not. If it
were <hingat>, I’d unhesitatingly translate <sótti> as
‘fetched’, but <þangat> implies movement away, so ‘attacked’
(Z4) seems a better choice: the witchcraft was directed from
the temple towards Glæsisvellir.

> "Góð mundir þú vera þeim manni," segir Herrauðr, "er þik
> frelsaði heðan."

> "You would be good to a man," says Herraudr, "who freed
> you from this place."

> “You will be good to those men,” says Herraudr, “who freed
> you from here.”

> “Good would you be to that man,” said Heerraud, “ that
> frees you.”

> “You would be good (ie her rescue would be morally
> commendable) for that person (man) (sg),” says Herrauðr,
> “who rescues you from-here.”

‘You would be good to the person,’ says Herrauð, ‘who
rescued you from here.’

This is <góðr e-m> Z3, ‘kind, friendly towards someone’.

> Hún segist vita þat mundi engi gert geta.

> She said for herself (to) know that would not be done.

> She says she know that would not be able to be done.”

> She said that she knew that that could never be.

> She says-of-herself to know that no-one (engi) would be
> able to do that (geta + pp).

She says that she knows that no one would be able to do
that.

> Herrauðr mælti: "Viltu eiga mik, ef ek kem þér heðan?"

> Herraudr said: "Do you want to marry me, if I take you
> from this place?"

> Herrauder spoke, “Will you marry me if I get you out of
> here?”

> Herraud asked, “Will you marry me, if I take you from
> here?”

> Herrauðr spoke: “Do you want to have (ie marry) me, if I
> bring (koma + dat, Z3) you from-here?”

Herrauð said: ‘Will you marry me if I bring you away from
here?’

> "Engan veit ek svá leiðan mennskan mann," segir hún, "at
> ek mundi eigi heldr vilja eiga en at vera blótuð hér í
> hofinu, eða hvert er nafn þitt?"

> "I know nothing (about) such a disliked rascal," she says,
> "that I would not rather want to marry than to be
> worshipped here in the temple; what is your name?"

> “I never knew a man of such hideous humanity,” says she,
> “that I would not rather marry than be sacrificed here in
> the temple, or what is your name?”

> “No one knows such a loathsome man among men,” she said,
> “that I would not marry rather than become a worshipper
> here in the temple, but what is your name?”

> “I know no human-being(mennskr maðr)( so loathed,” says
> she, “that I would not want to have (marry?) (him) rather
> than to be cursed (pp of blota, Zii) here in the-temple,
> so what is your name?”

‘I know no human being so loathsome,’ she says, ‘that I
would not rather marry [him] than be cursed here in the
temple, so what is your name?’

<Blótuð> has the form of a past participle of a weak verb,
so the verb in question must, as Alan says, be <blóta> ‘to
curse’, not the strong verb <blóta> ‘to worship’. If it
were the latter, we’d have <blótin>.

> "Herrauðr heiti ek," segir hann, "sonr Hrings konungs af
> Eystra-Gautlandi, en eigi þarft þú at óttast hofgyðjuna,
> því at vit Bósi höfum sungið yfir hausamótum hennar, en
> til þess máttu ætla, at ek þykkjust sæmda af þér verðr, ef
> ek leysi þik heðan."

> "My name is Herraudr," he says, King Hring's son from
> East-Gautland, but you don't need to be afraid of the
> priestess, because Bosi and I have sung the burial service
> for her sutures of the skull (huh?), but I can intend to
> that, that it would seem to me an honor befalling you, if
> I free you from here." (CV syngja yfire e-m II: to sing
> the burial service)

> “My name is Herraudr,” says he, “son of King Hring of East
> Gautland, and you need not fear the temple priestess,
> because we, Bosi (and I), have sung over her skull
> sutures, and you may expect this, that I consider a worthy
> honor to come from you?, if I free you from here.”

> “I am called Herraud,” he said, “son of King Hring of East
> Gautland, but you need not to fear the temple priestess,
> since Bosi and I have sung over her skull-meeting?, and to
> this may you think, that I be entitled to some of your
> wealth, if I loose you from here.”

> “I am-called Herrauðr,” says he, “son of King Hringr from
> More-East-Gautland, but (and) you need not to fear
> the-temple-priestess, because we-two, Bósi (and I) have
> sung (funeral rites) over her skull-sutures, but you-can
> expect that, that I bethink-myself worthy (verðr) of
> honours (gen pl) from you (af þér), if I free you from
> here.”

‘I am called Herrauð,’ he says, ‘son of king Hring of
Östergötland, and you need not fear the temple priestess,
for Bósi and I have sung [funeral rites] over her skull
sutures, and on that account you can guess that I think
myself deserving of honor [grammatically plural] from you if
I free you from here.

Brian