Re: Hrafns Saga 3 and 4A

> 3. Frá Hrafni ok íþróttum hans.

> Concerning Hrafnr and his accomplishments.

> Of Hrafn and his skills

> 3. About Hrafn and his accomplishments.

Of Hrafn and his accomplishments.

> Hrafn var á unga aldri snemmendis mikill atgervismaðr.

> Hrafn was at a young age soon a large man of great
> physical acommplishments.

> Hrafn was at a young age early a very energetic man.

> Hrafn was, early in [his] youth (unga-aldr), a great
> person (man)-of-great-[physical]-accomplishments.

Early on in his youth Hrafn was a man of great physical
accomplishments.

> Hann var völundr at hagleik, bæði at tré ok at járni, ok
> skáld, þó hefir hann fátt kveðit, svá at vér vitim, ok inn
> mesti læknir ok vel lærðr ok eigi meir vígðr en
> krúnuvígslu, lögspakr maðr ok vel máli farinn ok at öllu
> fróðr.

> He was a great artist of fine workmanship, both in wood
> and iron, and a poet, though he has composed little, so
> that we know, and the most physician and well learned and
> not more consecrated than crowned-ordination, a man
> learned in the law and well behaved and leaned at
> everything.

> He was a master craftsman of fine craftsmanship both in
> wood and in iron, and a poet, although he has composed?
> little as far as we know? and the greatest healer and very
> learned and not more devoted than a priest?? a law speaker
> and well spoken? and in all well informed.

> He was a masterful-exponent of skill-in-handicraft, both
> in wood and in iron, and a [scaldic] poet, though he has
> [composed and] recited so little (<kveða>, Z2) that we
> know, and the greatest physician and very learned and not
> more ordained than with [the] ordination-of-tonsure
> (coronation, <krúnuvígsla>, CV, but here I´m guessing that
> this refers to something akin to ‘first tonsure’ or
> ‘monastic coronation’ depending on practice?), a person
> (man) learned-in-law (lit: law-wise) and well-spoken
> (eloquent, cf, <vel orði farinn> under <farinn> Z2) and
> well-informed in all [respects].

He was a master craftsman [‘a Wayland at fine
craftsmanship’], both in wood and in iron, and a skald,
though he has [composed and] recited little such that we
might know, and the greatest physician and greatly learned
and not more ordained than the tonsure, a man learned in the
law and well-spoken and learned in everything.

Guðrún Helgadóttir says that we have none of his poetry,
though we do have some by other members of his family.

> Hrafn var mikill maðr ok réttleitr í andliti, svartr á
> hárslit, syndr vel ok við allt fimr, þat er hann hafðist
> at, bogmaðr mikill ok skaut manna bezt handskoti.

> Hrafn was a large man and regular featured in his face,
> black hair, a good swimmer and with all agility, that
> which he was doing, a great archer and shot weapons by
> hand the best of men.

> Hrafn was a tall man and had regular facial features,
> black of hair-color, swam well and was nimble in
> everything that he did, a great bowman and shot (a
> spear)best of men.

> Hrafn was a large person (man) and regular-featured in
> face, black in hair-colour, well able-to-swim (ie a good
> swimmer) and agile (adj) regarding (<við>, Z.ii.6) all
> that which he did (<hafast at>, Z15), a great bowman and,
> of people (men), in throwing-by-hand, [he] shot best.

Hrafn was a large man and regular of feature
[‘regular-featured in countenance’], black of hair [‘hair
color’], a good swimmer and agile at everything that he did,
a great bowman and best of men at throwing by hand [‘shot by
hand the best of men’; presumably this refers to hurling a
spear or other missile].

> Hrafn fór ungr brott af landi, ok fekk góða virðing í
> öðrum löndum af höfðingjum, sem vitni bar um þær gersimar,
> er Bjarni byskup sendi honum, sonr Kolbeins hrúgu ór
> Orkneyjum, út hingat, þat fingrgull, er stóð eyri, ok var
> merktr á hrafn ok nafn hans, svá at innsigla má með.

> Hrafn went out of the country (at a) young (age), and got
> a good reputation in other lands from the leaders, as bore
> witness concerning the costly treasures, which Bishop
> Bjarn, son of Kolbein "Heap" from the Orkney Islands, sent
> him, out hither, that gold ring, which weighed an ounce,
> and was marked on a raven and his name, so that it could
> be sealed with.

> Hrafn went as a young man away from the country and gained
> a good reputation in other lands of rulers, which those
> treasures bore witness to, when Bishop Bjarni, son of
> Kolbein heap, sent him from the Orkneys, out hither, that
> gold ring which was one ounce and was incised with a raven
> and his name so that it could be used as a seal.

> Young, Hrafn journeyed away from [the] land, and obtained
> a good reputation in other lands from
> men-of-rank-or-authority (<höfðingi>, Z3), to which those
> treasures bore witness, which Bishop Bjarni, son of
> Kolbeinn hrúga (heap, a nickname, <hrúga>, CV2) out-of
> [the] Orkneys, sent him, out hither, that
> finger-ring-of-gold, which weighed (or was worth (see
> <eyrir>, Z1) an ounce, and a raven and his name was marked
> on [it], so that [he] can seal (ie make his seal) with
> [it].

Hrafn travelled young abroad and got good honor from ranking
men in other lands, as the costly things that bishop Björn,
son of Kolbein hrúga [‘heap’] from Orkney, sent him out
hither bore witness, that gold finger ring that weighed an
ounce, and a raven and his name were [‘was’] marked on [it],
so that [he] can seal with [it].

> Annan hlut sendi byskup honum, söðul góðan ok inn þriðja
> hlut steinklæði.

> The Bishop sent him another thing, a good saddle and the
> third thing (sent was) a stone-garment (huh?).

> Another thing the Bishop sent him, a good saddle, and the
> third thing colored clothing.

> Another thing [the] bishop sent him, a good saddle and the
> third thing coloured (ie stained, pp of  <steina>, Z1)
> clothes (=steintklæði).

The bishop sent him a second thing, a good saddle, and the
third thing [was] colored cloths.

CV explains <steinklæði> as <steint-klæði>; <steint> is
evidently the past participle of <steina> ‘to stain, color,
paint’, and in fact Zoëga s.v. <steina> has the phrase
<steind klæði> ‘colored cloths’. Guðrún Helgadóttir says
that <steinklæði> refers to painted fabric.

> Hrafn var utan einn vetr ok var á hendi tignum mönnum ok
> þótti mikils verðr, hvar sem hann kom, fyrir íþrótta
> sakir.

> Hrafn was out of the country one winter and was on the
> hand a noble man and thought worth much, wherever he came,
> for the sake of accomplishments.

> Hrafn was abroad one winter and was under the protection
> of high-born men and seemed of great worth, where ever he
> came, for the sake of his skills.

> Hrafn was abroad one winter and was in [the] charge (ie
> under the protection, <hönd>, CV B.1) of noble persons
> (men, plural) and [he] was-thought worthy of much (ie he
> was highly valued), wherever he came, for reasons  (ie
> because) of [his] accomplishments.

Hrafn was abroad one winter and was in the care of high-born
people and thought of much worth wherever he went on account
of [his] accomplishments.

> Þá réð Sverrir konungr fyrir Nóregi.

> Sverrir then ruled as king over Norway.

> King Sverrir ruled over Norway.

> Then (ie at that time) King Sverrir ruled (ie had
> authority over) Norway.

King Sverri then ruled over Norway.

> Annat sumar sigldi hann út hingat ok fór til bús með föður
> sínum á Eyri.

> Next summer he sailed out hither and went home with his
> father to Eyri.

> The second summer he sailed out hither and went to the
> household with his father at Eyri.

> [The] next summer he sailed out hither and journeyed to
> [the] farm with his father at Eyri.

The next summer he sailed out hither and travelled to the
farm at Eyr with his father.

> 4. Utanför Hrafns ok frá lækningum hans.

> Hrafn's journey abroad and concernig his healing art.

> Hrafn’s trip abroad and of his healing.

> 4. Hrafn’s journey-abroad and about his healing-arts.

Hrafn’s journey abroad and of his cures.

> Atburðr sá gerðist í Dýrafirði á várþingi, þá er Hrafn var
> þar, at rosmhvalr kom upp á land, ok fóru menn til at særa
> hann, en hvalrinn hljóp á sjó ok sökk, því at hann var
> særðr á hol.

> The event that happened in Dyrafirth at the spring Thing,
> when Hrafn was there, that a walruss came up on land, and
> men went to wound it, but the whale (i.e., the walruss)
> ran to sea and sank, because it was wounded in the body
> cavity.

> That event happened in Beast firth at the spring Thing,
> then when Hrafn was there, that a walrus came up ashore
> and men went to wound it, but the walrus ran to the sea
> and sank because he was wounded in the chest cavity.

> That event happened (ie it came to pass) in Dýrafjörðr
> (Wild-beasts’-fjord) at [the] spring-assembly, when Hrafn
> was there, that a walrus came up onto land (ie ashore) and
> people (men) journey to [it] to wound it, but (and)
> the-walrus (lit: whale) leapt into [the] sea and sank,
> because it was wounded in [its] [body] cavity.

The incident occurred in Dýrafjörð at the spring þing, when
Hrafn was there, that a walrus came up on land, and men
approached to wound it, but the walrus leaped into the sea
and sank, because it was wounded internally.

In this case I think that <en> really is adversative, ‘but’.

> Síðan fóru menn til á skipum ok gerðu til sóknir ok vildu
> draga hvalinn at landi ok unnu engar lyktir á.

> Then men went to their ships and prepared an attack, and
> they wanted to drag to whale (walruss) to land and
> effected no conclusion.

> Afterwards men went to ships and prepared to attack and
> wanted to drag the walrus ashore and worked no result.

> After-that people (men) journeyed to [it] in ships, and
> [they] made attacks (plural) towards [it] and wanted to
> drag the-walrus (lit: whale) to land (ashore) and [they)
> effected, (<vinna e-t á>, Z12) no conclusions (plural) (ie
> they were unsuccessful).

After that men approached in ships and prepared grapnels and
wanted to drag the walrus to land and were unsuccessful
[‘effected no ends’].

Judging from their intentions, <sókn> is probably Z5, not
Z1.

> Þá hét Hrafn á inn helga Tómas byskup til þess, at nást
> skyldi hvalrinn, hausfastar tennar ór hvalnum, ef þeir
> gæti nát hvalinn at landi fluttan.

> Then Hrafn invoked the holy Bishop Thomas to that, that
> the whale should be caught, seated in the skull teeth out
> of the whale, if they were able to get the whale conveyed
> to land. (Z. heita 2: h. á e-n, to exhort one (in battle);
> to invoke (h. á hinn heilaga Ólaf))

> Then Hrafn promised the holy Bishop Thomas this, that
> should the walrus be caught, the walrus teeth seated in
> the skull, if they were able to get the walrus carried to
> land.

> Then Hrafn appealed to (invoked) the holy bishop Tómas to
> that [end], that the-walrus (lit: whale) should be-caught,
> tusks (tönn, Z2) seated-in-the-skull [extracted?] out-of
> the-walrus (lit: whale), if they were-able to get the-
> walrus (lit: whale) conveyed (masc sg acc of pp of
> <flytja>) to land (ashore).

Then Hrafn prayed to the holy bishop Tómas [i.e., St Thomas
Becket] for that, that the walrus should be caught, [and he
promised him the] tusks [‘teeth seated in the skull’] from
the walrus if they were able to get the walrus carried to
land.

This seemed to me the only reading that made good sense, but
I couldn’t decide whether there was an actual lacuna, or
whether <hét> in the sense ‘promised’ was understood
concerning the tusks. I was definitely uneasy about the
latter interpretation, since the explicit <hét> was clearly
being used in somewhat different sense. However, I then
discovered that Guðrún Helgadóttir’s edition, taking
advantage of variants in multiple manuscripts, reconstructs
this version, which corresponds nicely to my guess:

Þá hét Hrafn á inn helga Tómas erkibiskup til þess, at
násk skyldi hvalrinn. Hann hét at gefa hausfastar tennr
ór hvalnum, ef þeir gæti nát hvalinn at landi fluttan.

> Ok síðan, er hann hafði heitit, þá varð þeim ekki fyrir at
> flytja at landi hvalinn.

> And then, when he had promised, then they lost their head
> conveying the whale to land. (applies? verða 6: Kolbeini
> varð ekki fyrir, K. lost his head, was paralysed)

> And then, when he had promised, then happened to them not
> before that the walrus was brought ashore.

> And from the time when (<síðan er, Z4>?) he had appealed
> (<heita> Z2 with <á e-n…> understood), then [it) befell
> them not before to convey the- walrus (lit: whale) to land
> (ashore).. (ie The exact sense of <síðan er> is unclear to
> me but the overall sense seems to be: they were unable to
> convey the walrus ashore until after Hrafn had made his
> appeal to Tómas)

And afterwards, when he had promised, nothing got in the way
of their getting the walrus to land.

Look for <v. fyrir e-m> ‘to be in one’s way (as a
hindrance)’ at <verða> Z8.

> Þessu næst fór Hrafn í brott, ok kómu þeir skipi sínu við
> Nóreg.

> This next, Hrafn went away, and they arrived (on) his ship
> at Norway.

> Next Hrafn went away and they brought his ship to Norway.

> Thereupon Hrafn journeyed away, and they brought their
> (reflexive pronoun so must refer to the subject <þeir>)
> ship to (lit: against, [the coast of] Norway.

Thereafter Hrafn travelled away, and they brought their ship
to Norway.

In ON the reflexive pronoun doesn’t always refer to the
subject (<sinn> Z2), but I don’t know whether it can refer
to the subject of the first of two clauses when it appears
in the second. Fortunately, the straightforward reference
to the subject of the containing clause seems most
reasonable here anyway.

> Þetta sannar Guðmundr Svertingsson í drápu þeiri, er hann
> orti um Hrafn:

> Gudmundr Svertingson affirms these, in their
> heraldic-laudatory-poem, when he composed-verses
> concerning Hrafn:

> This truth Gudmundr Svertingsson in those poems when he
> made verses about Hrafn.

> Guðmundr, son of Sverting, affirms this in that drápa
> (poem in praise of heroic deeds, demonst art and noun are
> both dat fem sg), which he worked-up (ie composed) about
> Hrafn.

Guðmund Svertingsson affirms this in the drápa (heroic
laudatory poem) that he composed about Hrafn:

Brian