Gripla - 01.01.2002, Page 121

ON TRANSLATING SAGAS
119
The next two translations, on the other hand, described the emotion behind the
reaction:
B-H: “When Hrút came home and leamed that his wife was gone, he
was extremely put out.”
MM-HP: “When Hmt came home, he was shocked to find his wife
gone.” (1999: “Hrút came home and was greatly taken aback to
find his wife gone.”)
Here again I have followed Dasent’s sure lead, accepting the fact that emo-
tional states in the saga are commonly described in terms of physical reac-
tions.201 have thus translated: “Hmt came home, and his brows shot up when
he leamed that his wife was gone.”
Another example:
Gunnarr lá mjgk langa hríð ok varp síðan af sér skikkjunni, ok var
honum varmt mjgk. (62.155)
Dasent: Gunnar lay a very long while, and threw off his shield [follow-
ing a different manuscript] from him, and he grew very warm.
B-H: Gunnar lay there for a rather long time; he tossed his shield aside,
and he had become quite warm.
MM-HP: Gunnar lay sleeping a very long time. Then he became un-
comfortably hot and threw off his cloak. (1999: Gunnar lay there
for a long time. Then he threw off his cloak; he was very hot.)
Cook: Gunnar lay there for a long time and then threw off his cloak,
and he was very warm.
MM-HP have reversed the sequence of clauses and created a smooth logical
relationship: Gunnarr is first hot, and then he throws off the cloak. Fine and
well (though unnecessary), but is it important to specify that the heat was “un-
comfortable?”
Kári vildi þá taka hest sinn ok ríða í braut. (148.423)
20 See for example Skarpheðinn in Ch. 44. “Gaman þykkir kerlingunni at, móður várri," segir
Skarplieðinn ok glotti við, en þó spratt honum sveiti í enni, ok kómu rauður flekkar í kinnr
honum, en því var ekki vant. (“The old lady enjoys all this,” said Skarphedin and grinned, but
sweat formed on his brow and red spots on his cheeks, and this was unusual for him.)