Re: Hrafns Saga 4C

> Ok er hann kom í Nóreg, þá fór hann út til Íslands ok var
> um vetrinn á Þingvelli með Brandi, mági sínum.

> ANd when he landed in Norway, then he went out to Iceland
> and stayed during the winter at Thingvelli with Brandr,
> his in-law.

> And when he came into (entered) Norway, then he journeyed
> out to Iceland and was (ie stayed) during the-winter at
> Þingvellir (Assembly-fields) with Brandr, his
> brother-in-law (Brandr Þórisson who married Hrafn´s sister
> Helga)

And when he came to Norway, he travelled out to Iceland and
stayed the winter at Þingvellir with Brand, his
brother-in-law.

> Þá fóru þeir Hrafn ok mágar hans, Hallr Gizurarson ok
> Brandr, í Kallaðarnes at biðja Hallkötlu Einarsdóttur til
> handa Hrafni, ok þat var at ráði gert.

> Then Hrafn and his in-laws, Hallr Gizmar's son and Brandr,
> went to Kalladarnes to ask for the hand (in marriage) of
> Einar's daughter Halkotlu to Hrafn, and that was that
> consent (was) given.

> Then they, Hrafn and his brothers-in-laws, Hallr
> Gizurr’s-son (husband of Hrafn’s sister Herdís) and
> Brandr, to Kallaðarnes to ask for Hallkatla
> Einar’s-daughter (in marriage) on behalf of (ie for, see
> <hönd>, Z1) Hrafn, and that was settled (resolved, lit:
> made into a plan).

Then Hrafn and his brothers-in-law, Hall Gizurarson and
Brand, travelled to Kallaðarnes to ask for Hallkatla
Einarsdóttir in marriage for Hrafn, and that was settled.

I believe that the place is now called Kaldaðarnes.

> Hallkatla var Einarsdóttir, Grímssonar, Ingjaldssonar,
> Grímssonar glammaðar, Þorgilssonar errubeinsstjúps.

> Hallkatla was daughter of Einar, son of Grims, son of
> Inghald, son of Grimr "noise-man," son of Thergil
> errubeinsstjúps (not sure of the meaning).

> Hallkatla was Einar’s-daughter, son of Grímr, son of
> Ingjaldr, son of Grímr Glömmuðr (Tinkler, see under glam,
> CV), son of Þorgill stepson-of-errubein (“Stout-bone”?).

Hallkatla was the daughter of Einar, son of Grím, son of
Ingjald, son of Grím glammaðr [or <glǫmmuðr>], son of
Þorgils, ørrabein’s [‘Scar-leg’s’] stepson.

<Þorgils> is nominative as well as genitive. The byname
<glammaðr> or <glǫmmuðr> is apparently from <glamm> ‘noise,
din, clash’. CV’s ‘a tinkling sound’ appears to be a bit of
an understatement, both according to GH and on the grounds
that modern <glamur> is ‘rattling; racket; prattle,
nonsense’.

Here Þorgils’ stepfather is called simply by his byname; he
was Þorgrímr ørrabeinn [‘scar-leg’].

> Móðir hennar var Þórey Másdóttir.

> Her mother was Thorey, daughter of Mas.

> Her mother was Þórey Már’s-daughter.

Her mother was Þórey Másdóttir.

> Síðan fór Hrafn vestr á Eyri, ok tók hann við fjárhlut
> þeim, er faðir hans ok móðir hafði átt, ok bjó á Eyri í
> Arnarfirði þaðan af, meðan hann lifði.

> Then Hrafn went west to Eyr, and and he was recieved with
> valuables, which his father and mother had owned, and he
> lived in Eyri in Arna's firth from that time, as long as
> he lived.

> After-that Hrafn journeyed west to Eyrir (Sand-banks), and
> he received (<taka við e-u>, Z12) that property, which his
> father and mother had had (possessed), and lived at Eyrir
> in Arnarfjörðr, from that time, as-long-as he lived.

Afterwards Hrafn travelled west to Eyri and received the
property that his father and mother had owned and from that
time on dwelt at Eyr in Arnarfjörð while he lived.

The place-name is <Eyrr> [‘Sand-bank, Gravel-bank’] in Old
Norse and <Eyri> in modern Icelandic. Englishing the ON
following my usual practice of omitting the purely
inflectional <-r> makes it <Eyr>, though I could just as
well have used the modern name. (In either case the plural
would be <Eyrar>.)

> Hrafn tók þá við goðorði því, sem faðir hans hafði átt, ok
> mannavarðveizlu.

> Hrafn then received the dignity and authority of a godi,
> which his father had had, and man's keeping.

> Hrafn then received [the] dignity-and-authority-of-goði
> (heathen priest), that which his father had, and
> guardianship-of-[the]-people (<manna> is gen plural).

Hrafn then received the goðorð that his father had
possessed, and the keeping of [the] people.

> Þá réðu þeir Mögr ok Seldælir ok Hraunsverjar goðorð sitt
> undir Hrafn fyrir sakir vinsælda hans.

> Then Magr and Seldaelir and Hransverjar (were) put in the
> charge of Hranfn's dignity and power of a godi for the
> sake of his popularity. (Z. ráða 16: r. e-t undir e-n, to
> put in the charge of (þá réðu þeir goðorð sitt undir
> Rafn))

> Then (ie at that time), they Mögr (an individual) and
> [the] Seldaelir-clan (people of
> the-mountain-pasture-shed-dale or seal-dale?) and [the]
> people-of-Hraun (wilderness, lava-field) put [the]
> dignity-and-authority-of-goði (heathen priest)
> in-the-charge-of Hrafn (<ráða e-t undir e-n>, Z16)
> for-reason-of his popularity.

Then Mög and the people of Selárdal and the men of Hraun put
Hrafn in charge of their goðorð on account of his
popularity.

The Seldælir are the people of Selárdalr [‘Seal River
valley’].

> Svá var bú Hrafns gagnauðigt, at öllum mönnum var þar
> heimill matr, þeim er til sóttu ok erenda sinna fóru,
> hvárt sem þeir vildu setit hafa lengr eða skemr.

> So Hrafn was prepared well shored, that to all men there
> was food at their free disposal, those who sought and went
> on his missions, whether they wanted to have sat longer or
> shorter.

> Hrafn’s farm (estate) was so well-stored, that food was
> freely-available there to all those people who sought [it]
> and went to ease themselves (cf erendi, Z3), whether they
> wanted to have tarried (sitja, Z3) for a long time or a
> short.

Hrafn’s farm was so well off that food was free to all
people who visited and were travelling on their errands,
whether they wanted to have stayed for a longer or a shorter
while.

The definition at <erendi> Z3 is a euphemism for ‘to go to
relieve oneseld (urinate or defecate)’; <lengr> and <skemr>
are comparatives.

> Alla menn lét hann flytja yfir Arnarfjörð, þá er fara
> vildu.

> All men had him conveyed over Arnarfiord, when they wanted
> to go.

> He (ie Hrafn) caused to bring all people across
> Arnarfjörðr, those who wanted to journey.

He had everyone carried across Arnarfjörð who wanted to go.

> Hann átti ok skip á Barðaströnd.

> He also owned a ship at Bardastrand.

> He had (possessed) also a ship at Barðaströnd.

He also owned a ship at Barðaströnd.

> Þat höfðu allir þeir, er þurftu yfir Breiðafjörð.

> They all used it, when they needed (to go) across
> Breidafiord. (Z. hafa 4: to use)

> All those who needed [to go] across Breiðafjörðr, had [use
> of] that

All those who needed {to go] across Breiðfjörð had [use of]
that.

My interpolation of ‘use of’ is based on the next sentence.

> Ok af slíkri rausn Hrafns var sem brú væri á hvárumtveggja
> firðinum fyrir hverjum, er fara vildi.

> And of such magnificence of Hrafn was when a bridge (?)
> would be to both the fiords over each, who wanted to go.
> (??)

> And on-account-of [the] splendour of Hrafn [it] was like a
> bridge was on each-of-the-two fjords for everyone, who
> wanted to journey.

And because of such generosity on Hrafn’s part it was as if
there were a bridge at each of the two fjords for anyone who
wanted to travel [across].

Baetke licenses ‘generosity’, and it seems the best fit in
context.

> Svá fylgdi hans lækningu mikill guðs kraftr, at margir
> gengu heilir frá hans fundi, þeir er banvænir kómu til
> hans fyrir vanheilsu sakir, sem hér segir:

> His cures thus followed god's great strength, that many
> went healed from his meeting, they who, deadly sick, came
> to him for the sake of illness, when he says:

> [The] great power (nominative) of god accompanied his
> healing art (medicine) such that many went healed from a
> meeting (consultation ) with him, those who came
> critically-ill to him for reasons of failing-health, as
> [it] says here:

God’s great power so helped his healing art that many went
[away] healed from a meeting with him [‘his meeting’], those
who came deathly sick to him on account of illness, as [it]
says here:

> (A) Sótti Hrafn at hitta
> höggusárr af fári
> maðr eða meiddr at öðru
> margr, hins þurfti bjargar.
> Hverr gekk hodda stökkvir
> heill, segik á því deili,
> lóns ok leystr frá meinum
> leygvarðanda ór garði.

Sought to meet with Hrafn,
blow-wounded by malice
or otherwise seriously injured, many
a man, he who needed help.
Each driver-away of hoards went
healed — I tell of that —
and rid of injuries
from house of inlet’s flame-warder.

I couldn’t quite keep the lines intact, but it’s pretty
close. The gloss for <segja deili á> is from Baetke.

> (B) Margr maðr, höggusárr af fári eða meiddr at öðru,
> hinns þurfti bjargar, sótti at hitta Hrafn.

> A great man, wounded from a blow of dangerous illness or
> injury at others, the need saves, sought to find Hrafnr.

> Many a person, wounded-by-a-blow from evil-passion
> (mischief) or seriously-injured on-account of another (at
> the hand of another?), needed help for that, sought to
> meet with Hrafn.

Many a man, blow-wounded by malice or otherwise seriously
injured, he who needed help, sought to meet with Hrafn.

Baetke has <meiða e-n at nǫkkuru, blinda eða gelda> with a
German gloss that translates more or less as ‘to mutilate
someone in one way or another, blind or geld’; it appears
that <at nǫkkuru> is ‘in some [way]’, so I interpret <at
öðru> here as ‘in another [way], otherwise’.

> Hverr hodda stökkvír gekk heill ok leystr frá meinum ór
> garði lóns leygvarðanda.

> Who treasure springs went healed and rids injuries from a
> house of an inlet (leygvarðanda??).

> Each man of treasures went healed and free from injuries
> out of [the] house of (lóns leygvarðandi?)

Each driver-away of hoards went healed and rid of injuries
from the house of inlet’s flame-warder.

Here <hodd> ‘hoard, treasure’ is apparently a kenning for
‘gold’, and <hodda stökkvír> for ‘a generous man’.
<Stökkvír>, properly <støkkvir> according to HG, is an agent
noun from <støkkva> ‘to drive away’. <Lóns leygvarðandi> is
to be interpreted as <lóns leygs varðandi>, where <lóns
leygr> ‘inlet’s flame’ is a kenning for ‘gold’; gold’s
warder is a wealthy man. (For <leygr> see CV.)

> Segik deili á því:

> I say distinctive features to that: (??)

> I say [the] distinctive-features (ie the key information)
> on that.

I tell of that.

This is based on Baetke.

I didn’t do (C), so I’ll comment here only if I’ve something
to add or some disagreement.

> (C) Margur maður, þungt haldinn af sjúkdómi eða meiddur að
> öðru leyti, sá er þurfti bjargar við, leitaði á fund
> Hrafns.

> Many a man, in an unwell state (ie doing poorly) from
> sickness or seriously-injured on-account of another part
> (leyti = hleyti, at the hand of another party?), those who
> stood-in-need-of help (<björg>), visited Hrafn (lit:
> sought a meeting with Hrafn)

Modern Icelandic online has <að öðru leyti> ‘in other
respects’, but I think that in this case ‘in other ways’
makes more sense, and it does also have <að mörgu leyti> ‘in
many ways’.

> Sérhver maður gekk heill og leystur frá meinum sínum úr
> garði hins auðuga manns.

> Each-person separately went healed and free of his
> injuries out-of [the] house of that wealthy person (man).

> Eg skýri rétt frá því. (end C)

> I set-forth correctly about that.

Or, just in slightly different words, ‘I correctly give an
account of that’ (following the online modern Icelandic
dictionary).

> Til einkis var honum svá títt, hvárki til svefns né til
> matar, ef sjúkir menn kómu á fund hans, at eigi mundi hann
> þeim fyrst nökkura miskunn veita.

> For this purpose he was so noted, neither to sleep nor to
> eat, if sick people found him, that he would not first
> grant them some mercy.

> So frequently (<tíðr>, neut as adv) [there] existed
> nothing for him, neither sleep nor food (ie he would do
> without sleep or food), if sick people visited him (lit:
> came to a meeting with him), that he would not first grant
> them some mercy.

For nothing was he so eager, neither for sleep nor for food,
if sick people came to meet with him, that he would not
first give them some mercy.

I think that <tíðr> Z4 is wanted here: nothing, neither
sleep nor food, took precedence over caring for the sick.

> Aldrigi mat hann fjár lækning sína.

> He never charged for his cures.

> He never charged (lit: put a money-value on) for his
> healing-art (medicine).

Never did he charge money for his healing.

> Við mörgum mönnum vanheilum ok félausum tók hann, þeim er
> þrotráða váru, ok hafði með sér á sínum kostnaði, þangat
> til er þeir váru heilir.

> He received many people of failing health and penniless
> poor, they who had come to an end, and had with himself to
> his cost (= he paid for their living expenses?), until
> they were cured.

> He received many persons disabled and pennyless, those who
> were destitute, and [he] had (ie kept) [them] with him at
> his-own expense, until they were healed.

He received many ill and penniless people, those who were
destitute, and brought [them] home at his expense until they
were healed.