> Þá höfðu þeir Þorvaldr skipazt fyrir dyrrnar ok gerðu kví
> at Hrafni ok förunautum hans, en Þorvaldr stóð stund frá
> durunum ok hafði sverð í hendi ok brugðit á miðjar
> slíðrar, ok Hrafn hvarf til hans, en Þorvaldr tók kveðju
> hans, ok síðan settust þeir niðr ok hjöluðu, ok varð
> Þorvaldi ekki at orðum við Hrafn, ok þat þótti Hrafni
> undarligt, ok eigi sá Hrafn erendi Þorvalds við sik í því
> sinni.
> Then Thorvaldr (and the others) had drawn up before the
> doors and made a lane of men gradually narrowing to Hrafn
> and his fellow travellers, but Thorvaldr stood a while
> away from the doorway (plural in O.I.), and he had a sword
> in his hand and drawn at half the sheath, and Hrafn turned
> to him, and Thorvaldr received his greeting, and then they
> sat down and talked, and Thorvaldr wasn't at words with
> Hrafn, and it seemed to Hrafn extraordinary, and Hrafn
> didn't see Thorvaldr's errand with himself at that time.
> Then they, Þorvaldr [and co] had drawn-themselves-up
> in-front-of the-doorway and formed a lane-of-men-
> gradually-narrowing towards Hrafn and his
> travelling-companions, but (and) Þorvaldr stood a
> little-distance (<stund>, Z3) away-from the-doorway and
> had a sword in hand and [had] drawn [it] to mid-scabbard,
> and Hrafn turned towards him, but (and) Þorvaldr received
> his greeting, and after-that they set-themselves down and
> chatted, and nothing in-the-way-of-words (messages)
> came-to-pass from Þorvaldr towards Hrafn (ie Þorvaldr had
> nothing to the point to say to Hrafn), and that seemed to
> Hrafn extraordinary, and Hrafn understood not the business
> of Þorvaldr (ie did not understand what Þorvaldr was
> seeking) with him at that time.
Þorvald and his men had then drawn up before the doorway and
formed a lane of men gradually narrowing towards Hrafn and
his companions, and Þorvald stood a little way from the
doorway and had a sword in [his] hand and drawn to [the]
middle [of the] sheath, and Hrafn went to him, and Þorvald
received his greeting, and then they sat down and talked,
and it did not come to a sharp exchange of words of Þorvald
with Hrafn, and Hrafn thought that extraordinary, and Hrafn
did not see Þorvald’s business with him at that time.
Baetke has impersonal <varð þeim mjǫk at orðum> ‘it came to
a sharp exchange of words between them’, a sense that seems
to suit Hrafn’s surprise.
> Af þeim fundi fór hvárr þeira til síns heimilis.
> From their meeting, each of them went to his home.
> From that meeting, each of them journeyed to their home.
From that meeting each of them travelled to his own home.
> Loftr keypti síðan bæ þann á Rauðasandi, er at Stökkum
> hét, ok gerði þar bú á.
> Loftr then bought the farmstead at Raudasand, which was
> called "at Stokkum," and he made a farm on it.
> Loptr bought after-that that farm at Rauðasandr, which
> was-called ‘at Stakkar’ (at Hay-Stacks), and erected
> there-on a house.
Later on Lopt bought the farmstead at Rauðasand that was called
<at Stökkum> [‘at Stakkar’, i.e., ‘at haystacks’], and made
a home thereon.
Baetke has <gerir e-t á> ‘something arises, occurs’, so the
last bit could be ‘and a home arose there’.
> Þat ætluðu margir menn, at Eyjólfr Þorsteinsson, mágr
> Lofts, mundi rétta hluta hans ok þeir Sunnlendingar fyrir
> þingvistar sakir um ránit við Þorvald, en þat varð ekki.
> Many men intended that Eyjolfr Thorsteinson, Loft's
> in-law, would redress him and the Sunnlendingars for a
> domicile in a þing-community on account of the robbery
> against Thorvaldr, but that didn't happen.
> Many persons (men) expected that, that Eyjólfr
> Þorsteinn’s-son, father-in-law of Loptr, (and they, [the]
> folk-from-the-south-of-Iceland for reasons of
> their-living-in-the same-Þing-community), would put-right
> his (ie Loptr’s) position (ie would seek redress for
> Loptr), against Þorvaldr, concerning the-plundering, but
> that did not happen.
Many people thought that Eyjólf Þorsteinsson, Lopt’s
father-in-law, would, along with [‘and’] the Sunnlendings,
redress him against Þorvald for the robbery on account of
belonging to the [same] þing community, but that didn’t
happen.
> Þá var kveðin vísa þessi:
> Then this verse was written:
> Then was composed-and-recited this verse.
This verse was then recited:
> Víst eru farnir flestir
> fálu hests it mesta,
> þótt lýðir böl bíði,
> bræðendr at harðræðum.
> Menn eru seinir sunnan,
> slíkt heyrik oft, með Lofti
> stála strangra éla
> stefni ráns at hefna.
> Certainly are destitute, most
> of [the] horse of [the] giantess, of most [qualities]
> even-though persons misfortune suffer
> feeders, with-regard-to hardiness.
> Persons (men) are slow from [the] south,
> such hear I often, [together] with Loptr
> of hard steeled-weapons [the] outrage
> [the] director of plunder to avenge.
I couldn’t quite preserve the lines: I had to move
<bræðendr> to the beginning of the second line in order to
get something that made any kind of sense in English.
The two verbs <bræða> in Z and CV are apparently from (or at
least kin to) the second and third words <bráð> in Z. There
is a third verb <bræða> from the first <bráð> in Z, meaning
‘to feed (with raw flesh, carrion)’; it has an agent noun
<bræðendi>, whose nom. plur. is the <bræðendr> that we have
here. A <fálu hestr> ‘troll-woman’s horse’ is a wolf, and
its <bræðendr> ‘carrion-providers’ are warlike men.
<Stefni> is the dative singular of <stefnir>, an agent noun
from the verb <stefna>, either in its sense ‘to steer
something in a particular direction’ or in its sense ‘to
summon’; GPH isn’t sure which sense underlies the kenning
<stefnir strangra éla stála> ‘guider/summoner of harsh
storms of steel weapons’ = ‘guider/summoner of battles’, but
either way it’s a kenning for a warlike man, in this case
specifically Þorvald.
Certainly bereft are many
carrion-providers of troll-woman’s horse for the most part —
although people suffer misfortune —
of hardiness.
People are slow [to come] from the south —
I often hear such — with Lopt
on steel weapons’ harsh storms’
guider/summoner to avenge [the] robbery.
> [option B]
> Víst eru flestir bræðendr fálu hests farnir it mesta at
> harðræðum, þótt lýðir bíði böl.
> Certainly they were most brothers (?) hid horse's gone the
> most at hardiness, although men wait for misfotune. (Είναι
> κινέζικα για μένα = þetta er hebreska fyrir mér = It's all
> Greek to me)
> Certainly most warriors (lit: <wolf-feeders> or more fully
> <feeders of [the] horse of [the] giantess>, where <horse
> of the giantess> is a <wolf> and <bræðendr> is from the pp
> of <bræða>, Lex. Poet) destitute (farinn at e-u, Z) of
> most [qualities] with-regard-to-hardiness, even-though
> persons (men) suffer (<bíða>, Z2) misfortune.
Certainly most carrion-providers of troll-woman’s horse are
bereft for the most [part] of hardiness [‘hardinesses’],
although people suffer misfortune.
I think that here <farinn> connotes loss of something rather
than just its absence.
> Menn eru seinir sunnan at hefna með Lofti stefni strangra
> stála éla ráns.
> Men from the south were slow to revenge with Loftr
> stronger steel a hot fight robbery.
> Persons (men) from-[the]-south [together) with Loptr (ie
> in support of, on behalf of Loptr) are slow to
> take-vengeance on [the] warrior (lit: director (stefnir,
> CV) of hard steeled-weapons <stál>, Z2) for [the] outrage
> (él, CV,b, metaph) of [the] plundering.
People are slow [to come] from the south to avenge with Lopt
[the] robbery on [the] guider/summoner of harsh storms of
steel weapons.
Our source’s modern translation in the C option
notwithstanding, I’ll go with my first interpretation, that
a verb of motion implied by <sunnan> has been omitted,
especially since it turns out to be GPH’s as well.
> Slíkt heyrik oft
> I often hear such.
> I hear such often.
I often hear such.
> [option C]
> Vissulega eru flestir menn að mestu leyti duglausir til
> karlmennskuverka, þótt fólk verði fyrir tjóni.
> Certainly most men were mostly good for nothing for works
> of valor, it seemed to people worth for loss. (Mod.
> Icelandic: að mestu leyti = mostly, for the most part)
> Certainly most persons (men) are for [the] most part
> good-for-nothing with-regard-to valourous-deeds,
> even-though folk meet with (ie suffer, verða fyrir e-u,
> Z8) loss.
Certainly most people are for the most part weak for works
of manhood, although people experience hardship.
I’ve used the online modern Icelandic dictionary for
<duglauss> and <tjón>.
> Sunnanmenn eru seinir að hefna á bardagamanninum ránsins
> með Lofti.
> Southerners were late to avenge the warriors robbery with
> Loftr.
> [The] folk (men)-from-the-South are slow to take-vengeance
> on the warrior for the-plundering, (together) with Loptr
> (ie in support of, on behalf of Loptr).
Southerners are slow to avenge on the warriors the robbery
[along] with Lopt.
> Slíkt heyri eg oft.
> I often hear such.
> I hear such often.
I often hear such.
> Víga-Haukr ok Hallbera, kona hans, fóru í brott af landi,
> fyrst í Nóreg ok síðan til Grænlands, ok þótti Haukr
> mikilmenni, hvar sem hann kom.
> Viga-Haukr and Hallbera, his wife, went away from Iceland,
> first to Norway and then to Greenland, and Haukr seemed a
> great, powerful man, whereever he arrived.
> Víga-Haukr and Hallbera, his wife, journeyed away from
> [the] land (ie abroad), first to Norway and after-that to
> Greenland, and Haukr was-reckoned a powerful-man, wherever
> he came.
Víga-Hauk and Hallbera, his wife, travelled abroad, first to
Norway and afterwards to Greenland, and Hauk was thought a
great man wherever he went.
> Magnús Markússon fór ok til Grænlands, ok kom ekki þeira
> aftr.
> Magnus Markuson also went to Greenland, and they didn't
> come back.
> Magnús Markús’s-son journeyed to Greenland, and none of
> them came back.
Magnús Markússon also travelled to Greenland, and nothing of
them came back.
> Guðmundr hét maðr.
> A man was named Gudmundr.
> [There] was a man called Guðmundr.
There was a man called Guðmund.
> Hann var Hallsson.
> He was the son of Hall.
> He was [the] son of Hallr.
He was Hall’s son.
> Hann var einhleypingr ok hávaðamaðr.
> He was a single person without hearth or home and a noisy,
> self-assertive man.
> He was a single-person-without-hearth-or-home and a
> noisy-self-assertive-person.
He was a single person without a home and a noisy,
self-assertive man.
> Hann gerðist fylgdarmaðr Gísla Markússonar.
> He became Gisla Markuson's follower.
> He became a follower of Gísli Markús’s-son.
He became a follower of Gísli Markússon.
> Galti hét vinr Lofts.
> One of Loft's friends was named Galti.
> [There] was a friend of Loptr called Galti.
A friend of Lopt was called Galti.
> Hann átti hest góðan.
> He owned a good horse.
> He possessed a good horse.
He owned a good horse.
> Þann föluðu þeir Gísli ok Guðmundr, en Galti vildi eigi
> selja hestinn ok gaf síðan Lofti.
> Gisli and Gudmundr demanded it for purchase, but Galti
> didn't want to sell the horse and later gave (it) to
> Loftr.
> They, Gísli and Guðmundr demanded-for-purchase that-one
> (ie the horse), but Galti wanted not to sell the-horse and
> gave [it] after-that to Loptr.
Gísli and Guðmund demanded to buy it, but Galti did not want
to sell the horse and afterwards gave [it] to Lopt.
> Ok er Guðmundr vissi þetta, þá gerði hann eftir hestinum
> ok ætlaði hjá garði, ok fór eftir honum við inn fjórða
> mann.
> And when Gudmundr found out about this, then he sent for
> the horse and intended by the fence (?), and went after
> him with 3 men.
> And when Guðmundr got-to-know this, then he sent for (göra
> eptir e-m, Z13?) the-horse and intended [to go] by [the]
> enclosure, and went after it (ie went to fetch the horse)
> with the fourth person (man) (ie with three others).
This appears to be a copying error in our source: ten words
have been omitted. It should read:
> Ok er Guðmundr vissi þetta, þá gerði hann eftir hestinum
> ok ætlaði at hafa í brott. Loftr sá, at Guðmundr tók
> hestinn hjá garði ok fór eftir honum við fjórða mann.
And when Guðmund found this out, he sent for the horse and
intended to take [it] away. Lopt saw that Guðmund took the
horse by [the] home field and travelled after him with three
men.
> Gestr hét maðr ok Gunnarr, Galti inn þriði.
> One man was named Gestr, another Gunnarr, (and) Galti the
> third.
> [There] was a person (man) was-called Gest and Gunnarr [a
> second], Galti the third.
[One] man was called Gest and [another] Gunnar, [and] the
third Galti.
> Þessir menn fylgdu Lofti.
> These men followed Loftr.
> These persons (men) followed Loptr
These men accompanied Lopt.
> Þeir Loftr ok Gunnarr vágu Guðmund.
> Loft and Gunnarr killed Gudmundr.
> They Loptr and Gunnarr slayed Guðmundr.
Lopt and Gunnar killed Guðmund.
> Þat vígsmál var lagt undir Sighvat Sturluson, því at hann
> var kallaðr vinr hvárstveggja þeira, Lofts ok Gísla.
> That suit for manslaughter was was referred to Sighvat
> Sturluson, because he was called a friend of each of the
> two, Loftr and Gisli.
> That suit-for-manslaughter was placed under (ie referred,
> submitted to) Sighvatr Sturla’s-son, because he was called
> a friend of each-of-the-two of them, Loptr and Gísli.
That suit for manslaughter was referred to Sighvat
Sturluson, because he was called a friend of each of the
two, Lopt and Gísli.
> Gísla þótti sér mjök misboðit í vígi Guðmundar.
> Gisli took very ill Gudmundar's slaying.
> [It] seemed to Gísli much offended for himself (ie Gísli
> felt offended) in [the] slaying of Guðmundr.
Gísli was much offended by [the] killing of Guðmund.
> Fyrir víg Guðmundar gerði Sighvatr Loft á braut ór
> Vestfjörðum ok förunauta hans, þá er til vígsins fóru, ok
> þar á ofan fégjöld mikil.
> For Gudmundar's slaying, Sighvatr sent Loftr and his
> companions away out of Westfiord, when they went to the
> manslaughter (??), and a big fine to boot. (Z.
> For [the] slaying of Guðmundr, Sighvatr judged Loptr away
> out-of Vestfirðir ([the] West Fjords) and his
> travelling-companions, those who journeyed to the-slaying,
> and a large fine to boot (lit: there-on down).
For [the] killing of Guðmund Sighvat sent Lopt away out of
the West Fjords along with [‘and’] his companions, those who
travelled to the killing, and on top of that large fines
[plural].
> Þá fór Loftr í brott ór Vestfjörðum ok suðr um land til
> handa Eyjólfi, mági sínum, ok var síðan lengi undir
> áraburði Oddaverja.
> Then Loft went away out of Westfiord and south across land
> to Eyjolfr, his inlaw, and then stayed a long time under
> the protection of Oddaverja.
> Then Loptr journeyed away out-of Vestfirðir ([the] West
> Fjords) and south across [the] land into [the] hands of
> Eyjólfr, his father-in-law, and was after-that a long-time
> under [the] protection (lit: movement-of-oars) of [the]
> Oddaverjar [clan] (ie the folk of Oddi).
Then Lopt travelled away from the West Fjords and south
across the land into [the] hands of Eyjólf, his
father-in-law, and was under the protection of the men of
Oddi [‘tongue of land’] for a long time after that.
Brian