My goodness: it’s still only Tuesday!

> Sá var mikill vexti.

> That one was large in size.

> That one was grown large.

> That-one (He) was tall in stature

He was big.

Could just be tall, but could be big all over.

> Hann hafði jarnstaf í hendi ok var geir Óðins markaðr á
> framan verðum, ok syndist honum sem eitr sindraði ýr
> oddinum.

> He had an iron staff in (his) hand, and it was Odin's
> spear marked on the front side, and it seemed to him as
> poison sparkled (on) the yew point.

> He had an iron staff in hand and (it) was marked with
> Odin’s spear on the front ?worthy?, and seemed to him as
> if poison sparked out of? the point.

> He had an iron-staff (járn-stafr) in hand and (the) spear
> (presumably MnI spelling of geirr drops an r) of Óðin was
> marked foremost (framan-verðr, Z) on (it), and it seemed
> (sýndist) to him like poison sparkled (spluttered,
> sprayed?) out-of (typo, variant of úr) the-point.

He had an iron staff in his hand, and Óðin’s spear was
marked on the front, and it seemed to him [= Hörð] that
poison sparkled from the point.

<Geir> is the modern spelling of <geirr>; in general ON
<-rr> becomes Icelandic <-r>. According to CV, <ýr> is a
fairly common variant of <ór> ~ <úr>. ‘Sparkled’ might
imply dripping in isolated droplets that sparkle in the
sunlight, or a spray that does the same. Zoëga has
<framanverðr> ‘lying forward, foremost’ as a single word,
with the useful example <á framanverðri brekkuni> ‘on the
front of the slope’. Here <brekkuni> is the dative singular
with definite article, so <framanverðri> is the weak dative
singular. In our sentence <framanverðum> is the strong
masculine dative singular, the implied noun being
<járnstafi> (masc. dat. sing.).

> Þat var Skjöldr, bróðir Hlégerðar.

> That was Skjoldr, Hlegerdar's brother.

> That was Skjoldr, Hlegerdr’s brother.

> That was Skjöldr, brother of Hlégerðr.

It was Skjöld [‘Shield’], Hlégerð’s brother.

> Hann gengr at skíðgardinum ok lykr upp grindinni.

> He goes to the wooden fence and opens the gate.

> He goes to the wooden palings and opens up the gate.

> He walks to the-wooden-paling-fence and opens
> spar-constructed-gate..

He walks to the wooden fence and opens the gate.

> Flóka trippan hleypr þegar út.

> The matted colt immediately runs out.

> The matted young foal leaps out at once.

> The-filly-foal-with-matted-coat (feminine form of
> flókatrippi) runs at-once out.

The filly with the matted coat immediately runs out.

> Ok öll hrossin eptir henni.

> And all the horses after it.

> And all the horses after her.

> And all the-horses after her.

And all of the horses after her.

> Hesturinn fylgir henni.

> The stallion follows it.

> The stallion follows her.

> The-stallion accompanies her.

The stallion chases her.

In context <fylgja> Z3 seems to me most likely.

> Hon hefir uppi ýmsa endana ok stefnir þangat sem
> blautastar váru mýrarnar, ok gefr henni þat líf at hrossin
> komust þangat eigi.

> It has up alternately (endana? ends?) and aims at where
> the swamps were the wettest, and gives her that life to
> the horses that didn't arrive there.

> He has takes the end by turns and aims thither, where the
> moor was softest, and gives her that life? that the horses
> do not get out of there.

> She has now-this-now-that end (of her body?) up
> (presumably describing her galloping action when going at
> full tilt?) and heads thither where wettest (softest) were
> the-moors (bogs), and that, that the-horses do not
> make-their-way thither, gives life to her (I can only
> interpret this as that her life depends on the other
> horses not being able to go to the wettest part of the
> moor?).

She runs full tilt [‘raises her ends alternately’] and heads
for where the marshes were wettest, and it gives her life
that the horses don’t manage to get there.

In other words, she saves her life by going where they
can’t. The first clause is puzzling. <Endana> can only be
the accusative (sing. or plur.) of the weak masculine <endi>
‘the end or extremity of an object’ with def. art. This is
consistent with <ýmsa> as the masc. accus. plur. (strong
declension). I can make sense of it only by taking it to
refer to the ends of the horse rising and falling
alternately as she runs full tilt (and I now see that Alan
has the same idea).

> Skjöldr gengr til hellisins.

> Skjoldr goes to the cave.

> Skjoldr goes to the cave.

> Skjöldr walks to the-cave.

Skjöld walks to the cave.

> Hörðr sprettr þar upp fyrir honum.

> Hordr jumps up before him.

> Hordr sprang up there before him.

> Hörðr springs up there in-front-of him.

Hörð springs up there in front of him.

> Hann hafði gaddakylfu í hendi.

> He had a club with spikes in his hand.

> He had a spiked club in hand.

> He had (his) spiked-club in hand.

He had [his] spiked club in his hand.

> Hann sló til Skjaldar en Skjöldr skaust undan en kylfan
> kom í jörðina ok sökk it digrasta.

> He struck at Skjoldr, but Skjoldr moved quickly down, and
> the club landed on the ground and sank the biggest.

Not ‘down’: the <-an> adverbs are ‘from the direction
specified by the first part of the word’, so <undan> is
actually ‘from below’. However, <skjótask undan> is at
least partly idiomatic.

> He hewed at Skjoldr, but Skjoldr avoided the blow and the
> club came into the earth and sank the deepest.

> He struck at Skjöldr but (and) Skjöldr moves-quickly
> (skjótast) away but (and) the-club came into the-earth and
> sank the deepest (ie as far into the earth as it could
> possibly go, ie completely buried)

He struck at Skjöld, but Skjöld dodged the blow, and the
club hit the ground and sank most deeply [‘most thickly’].

Zoëga offers ‘he avoided the blow’ for <hann vildi ljósta
Gretti, en hann skauzt undan>, and Baetke gives a
translation of <skjótask undan> that amounts to ‘avoid,
evade, dodge’; in this context, and given the basic sense of
the verb involves sudden motion, ‘dodge’ seemed a good
choice. I suppose that the literal sense is something like
‘jerked himself out from under’.

> Skjöldr sló til hans með jarnstafnum ok kom á kryppuna ok
> brotnaði í sundur geirinn.

> Skjoldr struck at him with the iron staff, and it landed
> on his hump and broke apart the spear.

> Skjoldr struck at him with the iron staff and the blow
> came in the hump and the spear broke asunder.

> Skjöldr struck at him with the-iron-staff and (it) came on
> to the hump and the spear was-broken a-sunder.

Skjöld struck at him with the iron staff and hit his hump,
and the spear[point] was broken asunder.

That the iron staff had a point was mentioned in the second
sentence above, so I’m guessing that the ‘spear’ here is
really the point of the staff (which begins to sound more
and more like a spear itself). Besides, the staff proper,
or shaft, is discussed separately in the next sentence.

> En stöngin var föst í kryppunni á honum, ok kipti hann
> honum á lopt.

> But the staff was (stuck) fast in his hump, and he pulled
> him in the air.

> But the staff was stuck in his hump and he (Skjoldr?)
> tipped him aloft.

> But (And) the staff was fast (ie firmly) in his hump, and
> he pulled (catapulted) him (Skjöldr) a-loft (into the
> air).

But the staff was stuck fast in his hump, and he [= Hörð]
jerked him [= Skjöld] into the air.

> Hordur spyrndi fótunum við bergit svá fast at Skyldi varð
> laus stöngin.

> Hordur struggled with his feet against the cliff so hard
> that the staff came loose from Skyldr. (Z. spyrna: spyrna
> við = to struggle against with the feet

> Hordr kicked the cliff so hard with his feet that Skjoldr
> was loose from the staff.

> Hörðr pressed with the-feet against the-rock so hard that
> the-staff (nominative) became loose for Skjöldr (ie
> Skjöldr was forced to let go of the staff)

Hörð pushed against the rock with his feet so hard that
Skjöld let go of the staff [‘for Skjöld the staff became
free’].

<Hordur> appears to be an error, presumably in the original,
for <Hörðr>, basically modern <Hörður> with the common use
of <d> for <ð> and <o> for <ö>.

> Þá opnaðist hellirinn ok kom út þurs mikill, ok var
> þríhöfðaðr.

> Then the cave opened up and a giant ogre came out, and it
> was three-headed.

> Then the cave opened and out came a great monster, and
> (it) was three-headed.

> Then the-cave opened and a great ogre-giant came out, and
> was three-headed.

Then the cave opened, and a great ogre came out, and [it]
was three-headed.

> Hörðr laust hann með kylfunni ok fell hann um þverar
> dyrnar ok var þegar dauðr.

> Horder struck him with the club, and he fell athwart the
> door and was at once dead. (Z. um 5: slá, er lá um þvert
> skipit, a beam that lay athwart the ship)

> Hordr struck him with the club and he fell across the door
> and was dead at once.

> Hörðr smote him (it) with the-club and he (it) fell right
> across the-doorway and was at-once dead.

Hörð struck him with the club, and he [= ogre] fell across
the doorway and was at once dead.

> Þá losnaði stöngin ok náði Skjöldr henni.

> Then the staff got free and Skjolr got hold of it.

> Then the staff was loosened and Skjoldr approached her.

> Then the-staff became-free and Skjöldr got-hold-of it (the
> staff, stöng is feminine).

Then the staff came loose, and Skjöld got hold of it.

> Sló hann þá til Harðar í öðru sinni.

> He then struck at Hordr a second time.

> He struck at Hordr another time.

> He struck then at Hörðr for a second time.

He then struck at Hörð a second time.

> Hörðr stökk undan ok inn yfir inn dauða.

> Hordr fled away and inside over the dead.

> Hordr fled and inside over the dead (monster).

> Hörðr sprang away and inside (the cave by going) over the
> dead (one) (ie the ogre-giant).

Hörð leaped away and inside over the dead [one].

It’s not clear to me whether <undan> should be understood
literally, ‘from under’, meaning from under Skjöld’s blow,
or whether it just has the general sense of escaping away;
it doesn’t really matter too much.

> En stöngin sökk í þursinn er hon kom á hann, ok var föst
> við þursinn, en hendr Skjaldar við stöngina ok varð honum
> þá mikit fyrir at reiða hana.

> But the staff sank in the ogre when it hit him, and it was
> (lodged) fast in the ogre, and/but Skjoldr's hand with the
> staff, and it was then much for him to raise it in the
> air.

> But the staff sank in the monster when she came to him and
> (it) was fast in the monster, and Skjoldr’s hands on the
> staff and it was then much for to drive? her.

> But the-staff sank into the-ogre-giant when it (the staff,
> feminine) came onto it (the ogre-giant), and (the staff)
> was fast against (ie securely affixed to) the-ogre-giant,
> but (and) (the) hand of Skjöldr (was securely affixed) to
> the staff and (it) became for him then a great hindrance
> (verða fyrir e-m) to wield (brandish, reiða, Z6) it (the
> staff) (ie he could brandish the staff only with great
> difficulty).

And the staff sank into the ogre when it hit him and was
stuck fast to the ogre, and Skjöld’s hands [plural] to the
staff, and it then became hard for him to swing it.

> Tröllin sóttu nú at Herði ok var þat mikil mannhætta.

> The trolls now attacked Herdr, and it was a great danger
> of life.

> The trolls attacked Hordr now and it was a great risk to
> life.

> The-trolls now attacked (sought after) Hörðr and that was
> a great danger-of (to his)-life.

The trolls now attacked Hörð, and that was a great danger to
[his] life.

> Skjöldr vildi nú inn í hellinn ok var honum óhægt um
> ferðirnar þvíat þursinn loddi við hann.

> Skjoldr now wanted (to go) in the cave, and it was hard
> for him concerning the journey because the ogre stuck with
> him.

> Skjoldr wanted now (to go) inside in the cave and it was
> inconvenient for him regarding the journey because the
> monster hung on him.

> Skjöldr wanted now (to go) inside into the-cave, and (it)
> was difficult for him concerning the-journey because
> the-ogre-giant stuck against him.

Skjöld now wanted into the cave, and it was hard for him
concerning the journey [plural in ON], because the ogre
stuck to him.

Interestingly enough, in this case English also allows
omission of ‘to get, to go’ after ‘wanted’.

> Ok fór hann mjök lágt í dyrunum.

> And he went very low in doorways.

> And he went very low in the door.

> And he went very lowly (adverbial) into the-doorway
> (slithering on his belly under the ogre-giant?).

And he went very low into the doorway.

Presumably because he barely fit with the ogre attached.

> Hörðr opaði at honum ok setti stjölinn á nasir honum ok
> stukku úr honum allar tenurnar.

> Hordr retreated to him and set his rump on his nose, and
> all his teeth sprang out of him.

> Hordr retreated to him and set his rump on his nose and
> all his teeth sprang out.

> Hörðr went-back to him and set the (his)-rump onto his
> nose, and all the-teeth sprang out of him (Skjöldr).

Hörð moved backwards at him and set his rump against his
nostrils, and all of his [= Skjöld’s] teeth sprang from him.

> Hrokk hann þá út aptr ok vogaði hann þá eigi inn í hellinn
> þaðan í frá.

> He then fell back out and he then didn't dare (go) inside
> the cave from that time.

> He fell back then out and he dared not (go)in then into
> the cave from there..

> He recoiled (hrökk, hrökkva) then back out and he dared
> then not (to go) inside into the-cave from that time (see
> þaðan, Z3)

He then fell back out and then did not dare [to go] into the
cave thenceforth.

<Hrokk> appears to be for <hrökk>; <vogaði> is the later
form of <vágaði>.

> Hörðr barðist tvö dægr við tröllin.

> Hordr fought two days against the trolls.

> Hordr fought two days with the trolls.

> Hörðr fought for two half-days (24 hours) or two full days
> (48 hours) (doegr, Z1 or Z2, how do you tell?) against
> the-trolls.

Hörð fought for two half-days against the trolls.

CV says that the usual meaning of <dœgr> is half a day, the
other sense being comparatively rare.

> Hafði hann þá drepit þau öll.

> He had then killed them all.

> Then he had killed them all.

> He had then (by that time) killed them all.

He had then killed them all.

> Bar hann sik þá at at hlafa út.

> He then conveyed himself to (hlafa??) out.

> He bore himself then to ?? out.

> He bore himself then to (it) (set his mind to) to get?
> (can´t find hlafa anywhere?) out

He then set about to run out.

<http://onpweb.nfi.sc.ku.dk//webart/h/hl/35075art.htm> shows
that this <at hlafa> appears as <ad hlaupa> in another ms.
and treats this as <at hlaupa út>. Confusion of <f> and <p>
is quite believable given such pairs as <lopt> ~ <loft>,
<opt> ~ <oft>, etc.

> Skjöldr stóð fyrir hellis dyrunum.

> Skjoldr stood before the door of the cave.

> Skjoldr stood before the cave doors.

> Skjöldr stood in-front of the-doorway of (the) cave.

Skjöld stood in front of the cave’s doorway.

Brian