> Knútr breif kylfuna ok keyrði á nasir orminum.
> Knutr (breif?) the club and flung it at the serpant's
> nose.
> Knutr grasped the club and thrust it at the serpent’s
> nose.
> Knútr draws (typo of bregð, from bregða?) the-club and
> thrust (keyra, Z4) (it) onto (the) nose (lit: nostrils) of
> the-serpent
Knút grabbed the club and struck the serpent’s nose.
I’m treating <breif> as a misreading of <þreif>, from
<þrífa>.
> En hann dró nökkvann í kaf með sér, en Knútr hljóp á bak
> drekanum ok spenti um hálsinn.
> And/but he pulled in a plunge with himself, and/but Knutr
> jumped on the dragon's back and clasped his hands around
> its neck.
> and he drew the stoneboat into the water with him, but
> Knutr leaped on the dragon’s back and clasped (it) about
> the neck.
> But (And) he (it, the serpent) drew the-boat under (the)
> water with him (itself), but Knútr leaped onto (the) back
> of the-dragon and clasped (his hands) around the-(its)
> neck.
And it pulled the boat under water with it, and Knút leaped
onto the serpent’s back and clasped his hands around it’s
neck.
> Ok fóru þeir svá þangat til at skammt var til lands.
> And they went so there until shortly it was land.
> And they went thus thither until a little way from land.
> And they went thus till-that-time that (it) was a
> short-distance to land
And they travelled thus until they were not far from land.
> Tók hann þá í posa kerlingar ok sáði yfir drekan, ok varð
> hann þá svá máttdreginn at hann sökk í vatnit.
> He then took the old woman's bag and sprinkled it over the
> dragon, and it then became so weak that it sank in the
> water.
> He took that in the old woman’s pouch and scattered it
> over the dragon and it became then so weak that it sank in
> the water.
> He then reached into (the) small-bag of (the) old-woman
> and scattered (that which was in it) over the-dragon, and
> he (it, the dragon) became then so sapped (lit:
> drawn)-of-strength that he (it) sank into the lake (water)
Then he reached into the old woman’s small bag and scattered
[the contents] over the dragon, and it then became so weak
that it sank into the water.
> En Knútr lagðist þá til lands.
> But Knutr then swam to land.
> And Knutr swam? to land then.
> But (And) Knútr then laid-himself to land (scrambled to
> shore)
And Knút then made for land.
> Var hann þá bæði stirðr ok móðr.
> He was then both stiff and worn out.
> He was then both stiff and tired.
> He was then (by that time) both stiff and worn-out.
He was then both stiff and weary.
> En sér at eigi gjörist setuefni.
> But he didn't get for himself an opportunity for resting.
> (C.V. seta: setuefni = opportunity for resting)
> And sees that it is no place to relax.
> But (And) (he) sees that an opportunity-for-resting
> (setuefni, CV, under seta) arose not.
But he sees that an opportunity for resting does not occur.
> Vill nú flýta sér til fóstbræðra sinna.
> He now wants to make haste to his foster-brothers.
> (He) wants not to get himself to his fosterbrothers.
> (He) wants now to hasten himself (make haste) to his
> foster-brothers.
He wants now to make haste to his foster brothers.
> Rekr nú saman nautin.
> He now drives the cattle together.
> (He) drives the cattle together.
> (He) drives the-cattle now together.
He now drives the cattle together.
> Eru þau mjög bagræk, en þó kemr hann um síðir til Stíganda
> fóstbróður síns.
> They were very difficult to drive, yet he arrives at last
> to his foster-brother Stigandi.
> They were very hard to drive, but still he comes at last
> to Stigandi, his foster brother.
> They are very difficult-to-drive (bagrækr = bágrækr, Z),
> but nevertheless he comes at last to Stígandi his
> foster-brother
They are difficult to drive, but nevertheless he at last
reaches [‘comes to’] Stígand, his foster brother.
Apparently <bagrækr> is a variant of <bágrækr>, compounded
from <bágr> and (presumably) a derivative of <reka>.
Alternatively, it may actually be a different word
compounded similarly with <bagr> (see CV) and with
essentially the same meaning.
> Nú er at segja frá Stíganda at þá er þeir skildu Hörðr,
> settist hann fyrir dyr hólsins.
> Now it is to tell about Stigandi, that when he and Hordr
> departed, he sat down in front of the door to the hill.
> Now is to tell of Stigandi, that then when they parted,
> Hordr,set himself before the door to the hill.
> Now (one) is to say about Stígandi that when they (he and)
> Hörðr parted, he set-himself in-front-of (the) doorway of
> the-knoll.
Now it is to be told of Stígand that when he and Hörð
parted, he seated himself in front of the hillock’s doorway.
> En er hann hafði eigi lengi þar verit þá kemr
> svínahirðirinn heim fram úr skóginum.
> And when he hadn't been there long, then the swineherd
> comes home from out of the woods.
> And when he had not been there for long, then comes the
> swineherd home from out of the forest.
> But (And) when he had not a long-time been there, then
> the-swine-herd comes home forward out-of the-forest.
And when he had not been there long, the swineherd comes
home from the wood.
> Þat var Hjálmr bróðir Hlégerðar.
> It was Hjalmr, Hlegerdr's brother.
> It was Hjalmr, Hlegerdar’s brother.
> That was Hjálmr, brother of Hlégerðr.
It was Hjálm, Hlégerð’s brother.
> Hann gekk þar fyrst at sem gyltan lá sú in magra.
> He went there first that as the young sow lay in lean sow.
> (??)
> He went there first to where the gilt lay, the thin sow.
> He went (on foot) firstly to there where (þar…sem)
> the-young-sow lay, she the lean (one) (if you remember
> from earlier)
He first went there to where the young sow lay, the lean
one.
> Hann gaf henni mikit vandarhögg, en hon gat tregliga upp
> staðit.
> He gave it a great flogging, and it got up, standing with
> difficulty.
> He gave her a great flogging, and she got up on her feet
> with difficulty.
> He gave her a great flogging, but (and) she was-able to
> stand (geta + pp) up with-difficulty.
He gave her a great blow with a stick [or switch], and she
was able to stand up only with difficulty.
I’ve based my translation of <vandarhögg> on Baetke and the
etymology from <vöndr>.
> Síðan reisir hann upp svínin ok rekr þau upp at hólnum.
> Then he raises up the swine and drives them up to the
> hill.
> Afterwards he got the pigs up and drove them up to the
> hill.
> After that he raises up the swine and drives them up to
> the-knoll.
After that he gets the swine on their feet [‘raises (them)
up’] and drives them up to the hillock.
> Stígandi var þar fyrir.
> Stigandi was there in front.
> Stigandi was there before (him).
> Stígandi was there already (or in front, at hand, in wait,
> or just present)
Stígand was already there.
> Þá mælti Hjálmr til hans: “Illu heilli ok óþörfu sjálfum
> þér, komtu hér: Mikla dirfð ætlar þú þér, at þú ætlar at
> reka svínin úr höndum mér.”
> Then Hjalr said to him: "In an evil hour and doing harm to
> you yourself, come here: You intend much courage, that you
> intend to drive the swine out of my hands."
> Then Hjalmr spoke to him, “Bad luck and unnecessary to?
> you yourself, coming here. Much boldness you expect of
> yourself, that you expect to drive the pigs out of my
> hands.”
> Then Hjálmr spoke to him: “May-you-bring (imperative,
> koma, Z3) ill and harmful (úþarfr, adj) luck (heill, noun)
> to you(r)self here: you intend great courage for yourself,
> (such) that you intend to drive the-swine out-of my
> hands.”
Then Hjálm said to him: ‘You brought yourself bad and
harmful luck here: you intend much boldness, [in] that you
intend to drive the swine out of my hands.’
I think that <komtu> is simply a contraction of <komt þú>;
that certainly fits the sense better than an imperative.
> “Eigi dugir ófreistat,” sagði Stígandi.
> "It doesn't suffice untried," Stigandi said.
> “Untestedness doesn’t serve,” said Stigandi.
> “(It) suffices not unattempted,” (Not trying is not an
> option, ’Nothing ventured nothing gained’) said Stígandi.
‘[It] won’t [‘doesn’t’] help untried,’ said Stígand.
In other words, if you don’t try, you’ll get nowhere:
nothing ventured, nothing gained.
> Hjálmr hafði atgeir í hendi ok hjó til Stíganda, en hann
> laust af sér lagit.
> Hjalmr had a halberd in his hand and he struck at
> Stigandi, but he hit from himself (=parried?) the blow.
> He had helmet and spear in hand and hewed at Stigandi, but
> it loosed off of him?
> Hjálmr had a halberd in hand and hewed towards Stígandi,
> but (and) he (Stígandi) struck (ljósta) off from himself
> (ie parried) the blow.
Hjálm had a halberd in his hand and struck at Stígand, but
he parried [‘struck from himself’] the thrust.
> Í því opnaðist haugrinn.
> In that the mound was opened.
> At that the mound opened.
> In that (instant) the mound opened.
At that moment the mound opened.
> Stígandi krækti svíðunni til Hjálms ok kippti honum áfram
> ok fell hann inn í glugginn.
> Stigandi hooked his halberd on Hjalmr and pulled him
> forward, and he fell inside the opening.
> Stigandi hooked the cutlass at Halmr and pulled him
> forward and he fell in to the window.
> Stígandi hooked the-billhook at Hjálmr and pulled him
> forward and he (Hjálmr) fell inside into the-opening.
Stígand hooked his bill at Hjálm and snatched him forward,
and he fell inside through [‘in’] the window.
> Í hauginum váru fjór tigir trölla.
> In the mound were 40 trolls.
> In the mound were forty trolls.
> In the-mound were forty (lit: four tens of) trolls.
In the mound were forty trolls.
> Sóttu þau nú út úr hauginum ok Hjálmr með þeim.
> They now went (Z. sœkja 7) out from the mound and Hjalmr
> with them.
> They tried to get out now from the mound and Hjalmr with
> them.
> They sought now (to go) out out-of the-mound and Hlálmr
> with them.
They now headed out of the mound, and Hjálm with them.
Baetke has a gloss that amounts more or less to ‘make one’s
way, proceed, travel’.
> Stígandi varði dyrnar vel ok hraustliga.
> Stigandi held the door well and valiantly.
> Stigandi defended the door well and valiantly.
> Stígandi defended the doorway well and valiantly.
Stígand defended the doorway well and valiantly.
> Fekk hann þá mörg sár ok stór.
> He then received many large wounds.
> He suffered many and serious wounds then.
> He received then many and great wounds.
He received then many large wounds.
> Opt krækti hann tröllin með svíðunni ok kastaði þeim inn í
> hauginn.
> He often hooked the trolls with his halberd and threw then
> inside the mound.
> Oftn he hooked the trolls with the cutlass and cast them
> in into the mound.
> Often he hooked the-trolls with the-billhook and cast them
> inside into the-mound.
He often hooked the trolls with his bill and cast them into
the mound.
> Svínin tóku at sækja at honum, en hann vill þeim eigi vánt
> gjöra.
> The swine began to attack him, but he doesn't want to do
> them the usual (that he is doing to the trolls). (??)
> The boy began to attack him, but he leads them astray not
> to do the customary??
> The-swine began to attack him (seek him out), but (and) he
> wanted not to do harm/wickedness (göra, Z6 + neut adj,
> vándr) to them. (remembering his original mission
> statement)
The swine began to attack him, but he does not want to do
them harm.
Neuter <vánt> (<vándr> ‘bad’) functions as a noun here.
> Gekk þessi sókn allan daginn ok alla nóttina eptir.
> This attack went on all day and all the next night.
> This attack goes on all day and all night afterwards.
> This fight went all the-day and all the-night after.
This fight went on all day and all of the following night.
Brian