Gripla - 01.01.2002, Page 112

110
GRIPLA
Morris.9 Morris did not translate Njáls saga, but in one of the joumals of his
trips to Iceland he made a translation from Ch. 78:10
Skarphedin and Hogni were abroad one evening by Gunnar’s howe, on
the south side thereof: the moonshine was bright but whiles the
clouds drew over: them seemed the howe opened and Gunnar tumed in
the howe, and lay meeting the moon; and they thought they saw four
lights buming in the howe, and no shadow cast from any: they saw that
Gunnar was merry, and exceeding glad of countenance: and he sang a
song so high that they had heard of it even had they been farther off.11
George Webbe Dasent, The Story ofBurnt Njal, p. 250:
Now those two, Skarphedinn and Hogni, were out of doors one even-
ing by Gunnar’s caim on the south side. The moon and stars were shin-
ing clear and bright, but every now and then the clouds drove over
them. Then all at once they thought they saw the caim standing open,
and lo! Gunnar had tumed himself in the caim and looked at the moon.
They thought they saw four lights buming in the caim, and none of
them threw a shadow. They saw that Gunnar was merry, and he wore a
joyful face. He sang a song, and so loud, that it might have been heard
though they had been further off.
We see here a sharp contrast between the naturalness of Dasent’s language
and Morris’s archaic obscurity: “abroad” (Morris) vs. “out of doors” (Dasent),
“whiles” vs. “every now and then,” “them seemed” (þeim sýndisk) vs. “they
thought,” “exceeding glad of countenance” vs. “he wore a joyful face,” “they
had” (for the more natural “could have”) “heard of it” vs. “it might have been
heard.” Morris also preferred translation by cognates, sometimes sacrificing
9 E. R. Eddison, “Some Principles of Translation”, appended to his translation of Egil's Saga
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1930) has Dasent and Morris in mind when he
writes: “Yet there are few good translators of sagas: perhaps only two good translators, and all
the rest mostly bad” (p. 230).
10 Þeir Skarpheðinn ok Hpgni váru liti eitt kveldfyrir sunnan haug Gunnars; tunglskin var bjart,
en stundum dró fyrir. Þeim sýndisk haugrinn opinn, ok hafði Gunnarr snúizk í hauginum ok sá
í móti tunglinu; þeir þóttusk fjQgur Ijós sjá brenna í hauginum, ok bar hvergi skugga á. Þeir
sá, at Gunnarr var kátligr ok með gleðimóti miklu. Hann kvað vísu ok svá hátt, at þó mátti
heyra gQrla, þó at þeir væri firr. Islenzk fomrit 12: 192-3.
11 William Morris, lceland Journals. With an introduction by Magnus Magnusson and a fore-
word by Fiona MacCarthy (London: Mare’s Nest, 1996): 38.