AN ICELANDIC PRIMER

With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary

By Henry Sweet, M.A.

SECOND EDITION

1895



PREFACE

The want of a short and easy introduction to the study of Icelandic has been felt for a long time—in fact, from the very beginning of that study in England. The Icelandic Reader, edited by Messrs. Vigfusson and Powell, in the Clarendon Press Series, is a most valuable book, which ought to be in the hands of every student; but it still leaves room for an elementary primer. As the engagements of the editors of the Reader would have made it impossible for them to undertake such a work for some years to come, they raised no objections to my proposal to undertake it myself. Meanwhile, I found the task was a more formidable one than I had anticipated, and accordingly, before definitely committing myself to it, I made one final attempt to induce Messrs. Vigfusson and Powell to take it off my hands; but they very kindly encouraged me to proceed with it; and as I myself thought that an Icelandic primer, on the lines of my Anglo-Saxon one, might perhaps be the means of inducing some students of Old English to take up Icelandic as well, I determined to go on.

In the spelling I have not thought it necessary to adhere strictly to that adopted in the Reader, for the editors have themselves deviated from it in their _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, in the way of separating _ from _�_, etc. My own principle has been to deviate as little as possible from the traditional spelling followed in normalized texts. There is, indeed, no practical gain for the beginner in writing _tme_ for _tmi_, discarding _�_, etc., although these changes certainly bring us nearer the oldest MSS., and cannot be dispensed with in scientific works. The essential thing for the beginner is to have _regular_ forms presented to him, to the exclusion, as far as possible, of isolated archaisms, and to have the defective distinctions of the MSS. supplemented by diacritics. I have not hesitated to substitute (�) for (�) as the mark of length; the latter ought in my opinion to be used exclusively—in Icelandic as well as in Old English and Old Irish—to represent the actual accents of the MSS.

In the grammar I have to acknowledge my great obligations to Noreen's Altisl�ndische Grammatik, which is by far the best Icelandic grammar that has yet appeared—at least from that narrow point of view which ignores syntax, and concentrates itself on phonology and inflections.

The texts are intended to be as easy, interesting, and representative as possible. With such a language, and such a master of it as Snorri to choose from, this combination is not difficult to realise. The beginner is indeed to be envied who makes his first acquaintance with the splendid mythological tales of the North, told in an absolutely perfect style. As the death of Olaf Tryggvason is given in the Reader only from the longer recension of the Heimskringla, I have been able to give the shorter text, which is admirably suited for the purposes of this book. The story of Au�un is not only a beautiful one in itself, but, together with the preceding piece, gives a vivid idea of the Norse ideal of the kingly character, which was the foundation of their whole political system. As the Reader does not include poetry (except incidentally), I have added one of the finest of the Eddaic poems, which is at the same time freest from obscurity and corruption—the song of Thor's quest of his hammer.

In the glossary I have ventured to deviate from the very inconvenient Scandinavian arrangement, which puts _�_, _�_, _, right at the end of the alphabet.

I have to acknowledge the great help I have had in preparing the texts and the glossary from Wimmer's Oldnordisk L�sebog, which I consider to be, on the whole, the best reading-book that exists in any language. So excellent is Wimmer's selection of texts, that it was impossible for me to do otherwise than follow him in nearly every case.

In conclusion, it is almost superfluous to say that this book makes no pretension to originality of any kind. If it contributes towards restoring to Englishmen that precious heritage—the old language and literature of Iceland—which our miserably narrow scheme of education has hitherto defrauded them of, it will have fulfilled its purpose.

HENRY SWEET London, February, 1886



GRAMMAR

1. This book deals with Old Icelandic in its classical period, between 1200 and 1350.

PRONUNCIATION

2. The Icelandic alphabet was founded on the Latin, with the addition of _�_ and _�_, and of the modified letters _, _, _�_, which last is in this book written _�_, _.

Vowels

3. The vowel-letters had nearly the same values as in Old English. Long vowels were often marked by (�). In this book long vowels are regularly marked by (�)[1]. The following are the elementary vowels and diphthongs, with examples, and key-words from English, French (F.), and German (G.):—

[Footnote 1: Note that the longs of , � are written �, , respectively.]

a as in mann (G.) halda (hold) " father r� (advice) e " �t� (F.) gekk (went) [2] . . . lt (let pret.) " men mnn (men)

[Footnote 2: Where no keyword is given for a long vowel, its sound is that of the corresponding short vowel lengthened.]

� as in there s�r (sea) i " fini (F.) mikill (great) . . . ltill (little) o " beau (F.) or� (word) . . . tk (look) " not hnd (hand) � " peu (F.) k�mr (comes) . . . fra (bring) " peur (F.) gra (make) u " sou (F.) upp (up) . . . hs (house) y " tu (F.) systir (sister) . . . lsa (shine) au " haus (G.) lauss (loose) ei = + i bein (bone) ey = + y leysa (loosen)

4. The unaccented i in systir, etc. (which is generally written e in the MSS.) probably had the sound of y in pity, which is really between i and e. The unacc. u in fru (they went), etc. (which is generally written o in the MSS.) probably had the sound of oo in good.

Note that several of the vowels go in pairs of close and open, thus:

close : e o � open : � - -

Consonants

5. Double consonants followed by a vowel must be pronounced really double, as in Italian. Thus the kk in drekka (to drink) must be pronounced like the kc in bookcase, while the k in drki (dragon) is single, as in booking. When final (or followed by another cons.) double conss. are pronounced long, as in munn (mouth acc.), hamarr (hammer nom.), steinn (stone nom.), distinguished from mun (will vb.), and the accusatives hamar, stein.

6. k and g had a more front (palatal) sound before the front vowels e, , i, �, , y, and their longs, as also before j, as in knna (known), keyra (drive), gra (make), liggja (lie).

7. kkj, ggj were probably pronounced simply as double front kk, gg, the j not being pronounced separately.

8. *f* had initially the sound of our f, medially and finally that of v, as in gefa (give), gaf (gave), except of course in such combinations as ft, where it had the sound of f.

9. *g* was a stopped (back or front—guttural or palatal) cons. initially and in the combination _ng_, the two _g_'s in _ganga_ (go) being pronounced as in _go_. It had the open sound of G. _g_ in _sagen_ medially before the back vowels _a_, _o_, _, _u_, and all conss. except _j_, and finally:—_saga_ (tale), _dgum_ (with days); _sag�i_ (he said); _lag_ (he lay). Before the front vowels and _j_ it had the sound of G. _g_ in _liegen_, or nearly that of _j_ (our _y_), as in _sgir_ (says), _sgja_ (to say).

10. Before voiceless conss. (t, s) g seems to have been pronounced k, as in sagt (said), dags (day's).

11. The g was always sounded in the combination ng, as in single, not as in singer.

12. *h* was sounded before j in such words as hjarta (heart) much as in E. hue (= hj). hl, hn, hr, hv probably represented voiceless l, n, r, w respectively, hv being identical with E. wh: hlaupa (leap), hnga (bend), hringr (ring), hvat (what).

13. *j* is not distinguished from i in the MSS. It had the sound of E. y in young: jr� (earth), stja (to set).

14. *p* in pt probably had the sound of f: lopt (air).

15. *r* was always a strong point trill, as in Scotch.

16. *s* was always sharp.

17. *v* (which was sometimes written u and w) had the sound of E. w: vel (well), hggva (hew).

18. *z* had the sound of ts: bztr (best).

19. *�* and *�* were used promiscuously in the older MS., the very oldest using � almost exclusively. In Modern Icelandic � is written initially to express the sound of E. hard th, � medially and finally to express that of soft th; as there can be no doubt that this usage corresponds with the old pronunciation, it is retained in this book: �ing (parliament), fa�ir (father), vi� (against). In such combinations as p� the � must of course be pronounced �.

Stress

20. The stress (accent) is always on the first syllable.

PHONOLOGY

Vowels

21. The vowels are related to one another in different ways, the most important of which are mutation (umlaut), fracture (brechung), and gradation (ablaut).

Mutation

22. The following changes are *i*-mutations (caused by an older i or j following, which has generally been dropped)[3]:

[Footnote 3: Many of the i's which appear in derivative and inflectional syllables are late weakenings of a and other vowels, as in bani (death) = Old English bana; these do not cause mutation.]

*a* (**) ... ** :— mann (man acc.), mnn (men); hnd (hand), hndr (hands).

** ... *�* :— ml (speech), m�la (speak).

*e* (*ja*, *j*) ... *i* :— ver�r (worth), vir�a (estimate).

*u* (*o*) ... *y* :— fullr (full), fylla (to fill); lopt (air), lypta (lift).

** ... ** :— brn (eyebrow), pl. brnn.

*o* ... *�* :— koma (to come), k�mr (comes).

** ... ** :— fr (went), fra (bring).

*au* ... *ey* :— lauss (loose), leysa (loosen).

*j* (*j*) ... ** :— sjkr (sick), ski (sickness); ljsta (strike), lstr (strikes).

23. The change of _a_ into _ is sometimes the result of a following _k_, _g_, or _ng_, as in _dgi_ dat. sg. of _dagr_ (day), _tkinn_ (taken), _gnginn_ (gone), inf. _taka_, _ganga_. _i_ appears instead of _e_, and _u_ instead of _o_ before a nasal followed by another cons.: cp. _binda_ (to bind), _bundinn_ (bound) with _bresta_ (burst) ptc. prt. _brostinn_.

24. There is also a *u*-mutation, caused by a following u, which has often been dropped:

*a* ... ** :— dagr (day) dat. pl. dgum; land (land) pl. lnd.

25. Unaccented _ becomes _u_, as in _sumur_ pl. of _sumar_ (summer), _kllu�u_ (they called), infin. _kalla_.

Fracture

26. The only vowel that is affected by fracture is e: when followed by original a it becomes ja, when followed by original u it becomes j, as in jar�ar gen. of jr� (earth)[4]. When followed by original i, the e is, of course, mutated to i, as in skildir plur. nom. of skjldr (shield), gen. skjaldar.

[Footnote 4: Cp. German erde.]

Gradation

27. By gradation the vowels are related as follows:—

*a* ... ** :— fara (go) pret. fr, whence by mut. fra (bring).

*e* (i, ja) ... *a* ... *u* (o) :— bresta (burst), prt. brast, prt. pl. brustu, ptc. prt. brostinn; finna (find), fundinn (found ptc.), fundr (meeting).

*e* ... *a* ... ** ... *o* :— stela (steal), prt. stal, prt. pl. stlu, ptc. prt. stolinn.

*e* ... *a* ... ** ... *e* :— gefa (give), gaf (he gave), gfu (they gave), gefinn (given), gjf (gift), u-fracture of gef-, g�fa (luck) mut. of gf-.

** ... *ei* ... *i* :— skna (shine), skein (he shone), skinu (they shone). sl-skin (sunshine).

*j* (j) ... *au* ... *u* ... *o* :— ljga (tell a lie), prt. laug, prt. pl. lugu, ptc. prt. loginn. lygi (lie sbst.) mut. of lug-. skjta (shoot), skjtr (swift), skotinn (shot ptc.), skot (shot subst.).

Other changes

28. All final vowels are long in accented syllables: � (then), n (now).

29. Inflectional and derivative vowels are often dropt after long accented vowels: cp. ganga (to go) with f (to get), the dat. plurals knjm (knees) with hsum (houses).

30. Vowels are often lengthened before l + cons.: hlfr (half adj.), flk (people); cp. flginn (hidden) with brostinn (burst ptc.).

Consonants

31. v is dropped before o and u: vaxa (to grow), prt. x, vinna (to win), unninn (won ptc.), svelta (to starve), soltinn (starved, hungry).

Final r is often assimilated to a preceding cons.

32. *-lr, *-nr, *-sr always become -ll, -nn, -ss after a long vowel or diphthong, as in stll (chair nom.), acc. stl, steinn (stone nom.), acc. stein, vss (wise masc. nom. sg.), vs fem. nom. sg., and in unacc. syllables, as in the masc. sg. nominatives mikill (great), fem. mikil, borinn (carried), fem. borin, miss (various) fem. mis.

33. Words in which l, n, r, s are preceded by a cons. drop the r entirely, as in the masc. nominatives jarl (earl), hrafn (raven), vitr (wise), �urs (giant), lax (salmon).

34. If l and n are preceded by a short accented vowel, the r is generally kept, as in stelr (steals), vinr, (friend), sr becoming ss, as elsewhere.

35. r is kept after ll, and generally after nn, as in the masc. nom. allr (all), and in brnnr (burns).

36. z often stands for �s as well as ts, as in �r �ykkizk (ye seem) = *�ykki�-sk, Vest-firzkr (belonging to the West Firths) = -*fir�skr (fr�r, firth).

37. Inflectional t is generally doubled after a long accented vowel: fr (few) neut. ftt (cp. allr 'all,' neut. allt), s (I saw), stt 'thou sawest.'

INFLECTIONS

Nouns

38. *Gender*. There are three genders in Icelandic—masculine, feminine, and neuter. The gender is partly natural, partly grammatical, generally agreeing with the gender in Old English. Compound words follow the gender of their last element.

39. *Strong and Weak*. All weak nouns end in a vowel in the nom. sg. and in most of the other cases as well. Most strong nouns end in a cons. in the nom. sg.

40. *Cases*. There are four cases—nominative, accusative, dative, genitive. All nouns (except a few contractions) have the gen. pl. in -a (fiska, of fishes), and the dat. pl. in -um (fiskum). All strong masculines (fiskr) and some strong feminines (br�r, bride) take r[5] in the nom. sg. Most strong feminines show the bare root in the nom. sg. with u-mutation, if possible (st, favour, fr, journey). The nom. pl. of all strong masc. and fem. nouns ends in r (fiskar, stir). The acc. pl. of fem. nouns is the same as the nom. pl. (stir). The acc. pl. of masc. strong nouns always ends in a vowel (fiska). The plur. nom. and acc. of neuters is the same as the sing. nom. and acc., except that in the plur. nom. and acc. they take u-mutation, if possible (hs, houses, lnd, lands).

[Footnote 5: Subject, of course, to the assimilations described above.]

41. The declensions are most conveniently distinguished by the acc. plur.

Strong Masculines

(1) a-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. fisk-r (fish) fisk-ar Acc. fisk fisk-a Dat. fisk-i fisk-um Gen. fisk-s fisk-a

42. So also heimr (home, world); konungr (king); �rr (Thor), acc. �r, gen. �rs; steinn (stone), acc. stein, gen. steins, pl. nom. steinar; hrafn (raven), acc. hrafn, pl. nom. hrafnar; �urs (giant), acc. gen. �urs, pl. nom. �ursar.

43. Dissyllables in -r, -l, -n generally throw out the preceding vowel before a vowel-inflection: hamarr (hammer), dat. hamri; jtunn (giant), pl. nom. jtnar. ktill (kettle) and lykill (key) show unmutated vowels in the contracted forms, as in the acc. plur. katla, lukla.

44. Some nouns of this decl. take -ar in the gen. sing., especially proper names, such as Hkon, gen. Hkonar.

45. Some nouns add v before vowels: s�r (sea), gen. s�var.

46. The dat. sometimes drops the i: s� (sea), �r. dagr (day) mutates its vowel in the dat. dgi.

47. Nouns in -ir keep the i in the sing., and drop it in the plur.:

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. hlli-r (cave) hll-ar Acc. hlli hll-a Dat. hlli hll-um Gen. hlli-s hll-a

48. So also a number of proper names, such as Skrmir, �rir.

(2) i-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. sta�-r (place) sta�-ir Acc. sta� sta�-i Dat. sta� st�-um Gen. sta�-ar sta�-a

49. So also gripr (precious thing), salr (hall).

50. gstr (guest) takes -i in the dat. sg., and -s in the gen. sg.

51. Those ending in g or k (together with some others) insert j before a and u: bkkr (bench), bkk, bkk, bkkjar; bkkir, bkki, bkkjum, bkkja. So also mrgr (marrow), strngr (string).

(3) u-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. skjld-r (shield) skild-ir Acc. skjld skjld-u Dat. skild-i skjld-um Gen. skjald-ar skjald-a

52. So also vndr (twig), vllr (plain), vi�r (wood). ss (god) has plur. nom. �sir, acc. su. sonr (son) has dat. sg. syni, plur. nom. synir. It regularly drops its r of the nom. in such compounds as Tryggva-son (son of Tryggvi).

(4) r-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. ft-r (foot) ft-r Acc. ft ft-r Dat. ft-i ft-um Gen. ft-ar ft-a

53. So also fingr (finger), gen. fingrar, pl. fingr; vetr (winter), pl. vetr. ma�r (man) is irregular: ma�r, mann, manni, manns; mnn, mnn, mnnum, manna.

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. fa�ir (father) f�r Acc. f�ur f�r Dat. f�ur f�rum Gen. f�ur f�ra

54. So also br�ir (brother), pl. br�r.

55. Pres. participles used as nouns follow this decl. in the pl., following the weak class in the sg.:

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. bndi (yeoman) bndr Acc. bnda bndr Dat. bnda bndum Gen. bnda bnda

56. So also frndi (kinsman), pl. frndr.

Strong Neuters

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. skip (ship) skip Acc. skip skip Dat. skip-i skip-um Gen. skip-s skip-a

57. So also or� (word), land (land) pl. lnd, sumar (summer) pl. sumur (� 25).

58. mn (necklace), kyn (race), grey (dog) insert j before a and u: greyjum. hgg (stroke) inserts v before a vowel: hggvi. kn (knee), kn, kn, kns; kn, kn, kjm, knj. So also tr (tree).

59. f (money) is contracted: gen. fjr, dat. f.

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. kv��i (poem) kv��i Acc. kv��i kv��i Dat. kv��i kv��um Gen. kv��i-s kv��a

60. So also kl��i (cloth). Those in k insert j before a and u: mrki (mark), mrkjum, mrkja. So also rki (sovereignty).

Strong Feminines

(1) ar-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. gjf (gift) gjaf-ar Acc. gjf gjaf-ar Dat. gjf gjf-um Gen. gjaf-ar gjaf-a

61. So also mn (mane), gjr� (girdle), r (oar).

62. _ (river) contracts: _, _, _, _r_; _r_, _r_, _m_, _.

63. Many take -u in the dat. sg.: krling (old woman), krling, krlingu, krlingar; krlingar, krlingar, krlingum, krlinga. So also laug (bath).

64. Those with a mutated root-vowel (or i) insert j in inflection: ey (island), ey, eyju, eyjar; eyjar, eyjar, eyjum, eyja. So also Frigg, Hl. m�r (maid), mey, meyju, meyjar; meyjar, meyjar, meyjum, meyja.

65.

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. hei�-r (heath) hei�-ar Acc. hei�-i hei�-ar Dat. hei�-i hei�-um Gen. hei�-ar hei�-a

(2) ir-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. t� t�-ir Acc. t� t�-ir Dat. t� t�-um Gen. t�-ar t�-a

66. So also sorg (sorrow), skipun (arrangement), hfn (harbour) pl. hafnir, and the majority of strong feminines.

67. Many have -u in the dat. sg.: sl (sun), sl, slu, slar; slir, slir, slum, sla. So also jr� (earth), stund (period of time).

68. One noun has r in the nom. sg., following hei�r in the sg.: br�r (bride), br�i, br�i, br�ar; br�ir, br�ir, br�um, br�a.

(3) r-plurals

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. bk (book) bk-r Acc. bk bk-r Dat. bk bk-um Gen. bk-ar bk-a

69. So also ntt (night) pl. n�tr, bt (compensation) pl. btr, tnn (tooth) gen. tannar pl. tnnr.

70. hnd (hand) pl. hndr has dat. sg. hndi.

71. kr (cow) has acc. k, pl. kr.

72. brn (eyebrow) assimilates the r of the pl.: brnn.

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. m�ir (mother) m�r Acc. m�ur m�r Dat. m�ur m�rum Gen. m�ur m�ra

73. So also dttir (daughter) pl. dtr; systir (sister) pl. systr.

Weak Masculines

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. bog-i (bow) bog-ar Acc. bog-a bog-a Dat. bog-a bog-um Gen. bog-a bog-a

74. So also mni (moon), flagi (companion).

75. hf�ingi (chief) and some others insert j in inflection: hf�ingja, hf�ingjar, hf�ingjum.

76. l (scythe) is contracted; its gen. sg. is lj.

77. oxi (ox) has pl. �xn.

78. herra (lord) is indeclinable in the sg.

Weak Neuters

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. hjart-a (heart) hjrt-u Acc. hjart-a hjrt-u Dat. hjart-a hjrt-um Gen. hjart-a hjart-na

79. So also auga (eye).

Weak Feminines

SINGULAR PLURAL

Nom. tung-a (tongue) tung-ur Acc. tung-u tung-ur Dat. tung-u tung-um Gen. tung-u tung-na

80. So also stjarna (star) pl. stjrnur, kirkja (church), gen. plurals stjarna, kirkna.

Sg. Nom. lli (old age) Acc. lli Dat. lli Gen. lli

81. So also gl�i (joy) and many abstract nouns.

82. lygi (falsehood) has pl. lygar; so also grsimi (precious thing).

Adjectives

83. Adjectives have three genders, and the same cases as nouns, though with partly different endings, together with strong and weak forms.

Strong Adjectives

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. ung-r (young) ung-t ung Acc. ung-an ung-t ung-a Dat. ung-um ung-u ung-ri Gen. ung-s ung-s ung-rar

Pl. Nom. ung-ir ung ung-ar Acc. ung-a ung ung-ar Dat. ung-um ung-um ung-um Gen. ung-ra ung-ra ung-ra

84. So also fagr (fair), fem. fgr, neut. fagrt.

85. Some insert j before a and u: nr (new), njum, njan.

86. Some insert v before a vowel: hr (high), hvan, d�kkr (dark), d�kkvir, kykr (alive), kykvir.

87. The t of the neut. is doubled after a long vowel: ntt, htt. Monosyllables in �, dd, tt form their neut. in -tt: brei�r (broad), breitt; leiddr (led), leitt. g�r (good) has neut. gott. sannr (true) has neut. satt. In unaccented syllables or if a cons. precedes, tt is shortened to t: kalla�r (called), kallat; blindr (blind), blint, har�r (hard), hart, fastr (firm), fast.

88. l and n assimilate a following r: gamall (old), fem. gmul, fem. acc. gamla, dat. gamalli. vnn (beautiful), gen. pl. v�nna.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. mikill (great) mikit mikil Acc. mikinn mikit mikla Dat. miklum miklu mikilli Gen. mikils mikils mikillar

Pl. Nom. miklir mikil miklar Acc. mikla mikil miklar Dat. miklum miklum miklum Gen. mikilla mikilla mikilla

89. So also ltill (little).

90. Dissyllables in -inn have -it in the neut., and -inn in the masc. sg. acc.: tginn (distinguished), tgit, tginn, pl. tgnr. So also kominn (come).

91.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. annarr (other) annat nnur Acc. annan annat a�ra Dat. �rum �ru annarri Gen. annars annars annarrar

Pl. Nom. a�rir nnur a�rar Acc. a�ra nnur a�rar Dat. �rum �rum �rum Gen. annarra annarra annarra

Weak Adjectives

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. ung-i ung-a ung-a Acc. ung-a ung-a ung-u Dat. ung-a ung-a ung-u Gen. ung-a ung-a ung-u

Pl. Nom. ung-u ung-u ung-u Acc. ung-u ung-u ung-u Dat. ung-u ung-u ung-u Gen. ung-u ung-u ung-u

92. So also fagri, hvi, mikli, etc.

Sg. Nom. yngri (younger) yngra yngri Acc. yngra yngra yngri Dat. yngra yngra yngri Gen. yngra yngra yngri

Pl. Nom. yngri yngri yngri Acc. yngri yngri yngri Dat. yngrum yngrum yngrum Gen. yngri yngri yngri

93. So also all comparatives, such as meiri (greater), and pres. partic. when used as adjectives, such as gefandi (giving), dat. pl. gefndum.

Comparison

94. (1) with -ari, -astr: rkr (powerful), rkari, rkastr; gfugr (distinguished), gfgari, gfgastr.

95. (2) with -ri, -str and mutation: langr (long), lngri, lngstr; strr (big), strri, strstr; ungr (young), yngri, yngstr.

96. The following are irregular:

gamall (old) llri lztr g�r (good) btri bztr illr (bad) vrri vrstr ltill (little) minni minstr margr (many) fleiri flestr mikill (great) meiri mestr

Numerals

97.

CARDINAL ORDINAL

1. einn (one) fyrstr (first) 2. tveir annarr 3. �rr �ri�i 4. fjrir fjr�i 5. fimm fimmti 6. sex stti 7. sjau sjaundi 8. tta tti 9. nu nundi 10. tu tundi 11. ellifu ellifti 12. tlf tlfti 13. �rettn �rettndi 14. fjrtn 15. fimmtn 16. sextn 17. sjautn 18. tjn 19. ntjn 20. tuttugu 21. einn ok tuttugu, etc. 30. �rr tigir, etc. 100. tu tigir 110. ellifu tigir 120. hundra� 1200. �sund

einn is declined like other adjectives:—

98.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Nom. einn eitt ein Acc. einn eitt eina Dat. einum einu einni Gen. eins eins einnar

It also has a pl. einir, einar, ein; gen. einna, etc. in the sense of 'some.'

The next three show various irregularities.

99.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Nom. tveir tvau tv�r Acc. tv tvau tv�r Dat. tveim tveim tveim Gen. tvggja tvggja tvggja

Similarly b�ir (both):

100.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Nom. b�ir b��i b�ar Acc. b�a b��i b�ar Dat. b�um b�um b�um Gen. bggja bggja bggja

101.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Nom. �rr �rj �rjr Acc. �rj �rj �rjr Dat. �rim �rim �rim Gen. �riggja �riggja �riggja

102.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Nom. fjrir fjogur fjrar Acc. fjra fjogur fjrar Dat. fjrum fjrum fjrum Gen. fjogurra fjogurra fjogurra

103. The others are indeclinable up to �rr tigir, etc.; the tigir being declined regularly as a plural strong u-masculine tigir, tigu, tigum, tiga.

104. hundra� is a strong neut.: tvau hundru� (240), tveim hundru�um, etc. It governs the gen. (as also does �sund): fimm hundru� glfa, 'five (six) hundred chambers.'

105. �sund is a strong ir-feminine: tv�r �sundir (2400).

106. hundra� and �sund are rarely = 100 and 1000.

107. Of the ordinals fyrstr and annarr (� 91) are strong, the others weak adjectives. �ri�i inserts a j: �ri�ja, etc.

Pronouns

108.

Personal

Sg. Nom. ek (I) � (thou) — Acc. mik �ik sik (oneself) Dat. mr �r sr Gen. mn �n sn

Dual Nom. vit it — Acc. okkr ykkr sik Dat. okkr ykkr sr Gen. okkar ykkar sn

Pl. Nom. vr (we) �r (ye) — Acc. oss y�r sik (oneselves) Dat. oss y�r sr Gen. vr y�ar sn

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. hann (he) �at (it) hon (she) Acc. hann �at hana Dat. honum �v hnni Gen. hans �ess hnnar

Pl. Nom. �eir (they) �au ��r Acc. � �au ��r Dat. �eim �eim �eim Gen. �eira �eira �eira

109. ek was often suffixed to its verb, especially in poetry, being sometimes added twice over: m�tta-k (I might), s-k-a-k (I saw not; a='not'). So also �: er-tu (art thou), skalt-u (shalt thou) = *skalt-tu.

Possessive

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. minn (my) mitt mn Acc. minn mitt mna Dat. mnum mnu minni Gen. mns mns minnar

Pl. Nom. mnir mn mnar Acc. mna mn mnar Dat. mnum mnum mnum Gen. minna minna minna

110. So also �inn (thy), sinn (his, etc., reflexive).

111. vrr, vrt, vr (our) is regular: acc. masc. vrn, masc. plur. vrir, vra, vrum, vrra, etc.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. y�arr (your) y�art y�ur Acc. y�arn y�art y�ra Dat. y�rum y�ru y�arri Gen. y�ars y�ars y�arrar

Pl. Nom. y�rir y�ur y�rar Acc. y�ra y�ur y�rar Dat. y�rum y�rum y�rum Gen. y�arra y�arra y�arra

112. So also okkarr (our two) and ykkarr (your two).

113. hans (his), �ess (its), hnnar (her), and �eira (their) are indeclinable.

Demonstrative

114.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. s (that) �at s Acc. �ann �at � Dat. �eim �v �eiri Gen. �ess �ess �eirar

Pl. Nom. �eir �au ��r Acc. � �au ��r Dat. �eim �eim �eim Gen. �eira �eira �eira

115. hinn, hitt, hin (that) is inflected like minn (except that its vowel is short throughout): acc. masc. hinn, plur. masc. hinir, hina, hinum, hinna.

116.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. �essi (this) �etta �essi Acc. �enna �etta �essa Dat. �essum �essu �essi Gen. �essa �essa �essar

Pl. Nom. �essir �essi �essar Acc. �essa �essi �essar Dat. �essum �essum �essum Gen. �essa �essa �essa

Definite

The prefixed definite article is declined thus:

117.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. inn it in Acc. inn it ina Dat. inum inu inni Gen. ins ins innar

Pl. Nom. inir in inar Acc. ina in inar Dat. inum inum inum Gen. inna inna inna

118. When suffixed to its noun it undergoes various changes. In its monosyllabic forms it drops its vowel after a short (un-accented) vowel, as in auga-t (the eye), but keeps it after a long vowel, as in -in (the river), tr-it (the tree). The dissyllabic forms drop their initial vowel almost everywhere; not, however, after the -ar, -r, of the gen. sg., nor in mnninir (men, nom.), mnn-ina (men, acc.). The -m of the dat. pl. is dropped before the suffixed -num.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. fiskr-inn skip-it gjf-in Acc. fisk-inn skip-it gjf-ina Dat. fiski-num skipi-nu gjf-inni Gen. fisks-ins skips-ins gjafar-innar

Pl. Nom. fiskar-nir skip-in gjafar-nar Acc. fiska-na skip-in gjafar-nar Dat. fisku-num skipu-num gjfu-num Gen. fiska-nna skipa-nna gjafa-nna

Sg. Nom. bogi-nn auga-t tunga-n Acc. boga-nn auga-t tungu-na Dat. boga-num auga-nu tungu-nni Gen. boga-ns auga-ns tungu-nnar

Pl. Nom. bogar-nir augu-n tungur-nar Acc. boga-na augu-n tungur-nar Dat. bogu-num augu-num tungnu-num Gen. boga-nna augna-nna tungna-nna

Relative

119. The ordinary relative pron. is the indeclinable er, often preceded by s: s er = he who, who, s er who fem.

Interrogative

120. The neut. hvat has gen. hvess, dat. hv, which last is chiefly used as an adverb = 'why.'

121.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. hvrr (which hvrt hvr of two) Acc. hvrn hvrt hvra Dat. hvrum hvru hvrri Gen. hvrs hvrs hvrrar

Pl. Nom. hvrir hvr hvrar Acc. hvra hvr hvrar Dat. hvrum hvrum hvrum Gen. hvrra hvrra hvrra

122.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. hvrr (which, hvrt hvr who) Acc. hvrn hvrt hvrja Dat. hvrjum hvrju hvrri Gen. hvrs hvrs hvrrar

Pl. Nom. hvrir hvr hvrjar Acc. hvrja hvr hvrjar Dat. hvrjum hvrjum hvrjum Gen. hvrra hvrra hvrra

Indefinite

123. einn-hvrr, eitthvrt, einhvr (some one) keeps an invariable ein- in the other cases, the second element being inflected as above.

124. sumr (some) is declined like an ordinary adjective.

125.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. nakkvarr nakkvat nkkur (some) Acc. nakkvarn nakkvat nakkvara Dat. nkkurum nkkuru nakkvarri Gen. nakkvars nakkvars nakkvarrar

Pl. Nom. nakkvarir nkkur nakkvarar Acc. nakkvara nkkur nakkvarar Dat. nkkurum nkkurum nkkurum Gen. nakkvarra nakkvarra nakkvarra

126.

MASC. NEUT. FEM.

Sg. Nom. engi (none, ekki engi no) Acc. engan ekki enga Dat. engum engu engri Gen. engis engis engrar

Pl. Nom. engir engi engar Acc. enga engi engar Dat. engum engum engum Gen. engra engra engra

127. In hvr-tvggja (each of the two, both) the first element is declined as above, the second is left unchanged.

Verbs

128. There are two classes of verbs, strong and weak. Strong verbs are conjugated partly by means of gradation, weak verbs by adding � (d, t).

129. The � of the 2 pl. is dropt before �it (ye two) and �r (ye): gefi �r, gfu �it.

130. There is a middle voice, which ends in -mk in the 1 pers. sg. and pl., the rest of the verb being formed by adding sk to the active endings, r being dropt, the resulting ts, �s being written z (� 36): kvezk (active kve�r 'says'), �u fekkzk (fekkt 'gottest').

131. The following is the conjugation of the strong verb gefa (give), which will show those endings which are common to all verbs:

Active

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Present sg. 1. gef gef-a 2. gef-r gef-ir 3. gef-r gef-i

pl. 1. gef-um gef-im 2. gef-i� gef-i� 3. gef-a gef-i

Preterite sg. 1. gaf g�f-a 2. gaf-t g�f-ir 3. gaf g�f-i

pl. 1. gf-um g�f-im 2. gf-u� g�f-i� 3. gf-u g�f-i

Imperative sg. 2 gef; pl. 1 gef-um, 2 gef-i�. Participle pres. gef-andi; pret. gef-inn. Infin. gefa.

Middle

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. gef-umk gef-umk 2. gef-sk gef-isk 3. gef-sk gef-isk

pl. 1. gef-umk gef-imk 2. gef-izk gef-izk 3. gef-ask gef-isk

Pret. sg. 1. gf-umk g�f-umk 2. gaf-zk g�f-isk 3. gaf-sk g�f-isk

pl. 1. gf-umk g�f-imk 2. gf-uzk g�f-izk 3. gf-usk g�f-isk

Impers. sg. 2 gef-sk; pl. 1 gef-umk, 2 gef-izk. Partic. pres. gef-andisk; pret. gef-izk neut. Infin. gef-ask.

Strong Verbs

132. In the strong verbs the plur. of the pret. indic. generally has a different vowel from that of the sing. The 1 sg. pret. of the middle voice always has the vowel of the pl. pret.: gfumk. The pret. subj. has the vowel of the pret. indic. plur. mutated: skaut (he shot), skutu (they shot), skyti (he might shoot). But there is no mutation in verbs of the first conj.: hljpi, inf. hlaupa (leap).

133. The pres. indic. sing. mutates the root-vowel in all three persons: ek skt, � sktr, hann sktr, infin. skjta (shoot). e however is not mutated: ek gef, � gefr. The inflectional r is liable to the same modifications as the r of nouns (� 32): sknn, vx, infin. skna (shine), vaxa (grow).

134. Verbs in ld change the d into t in the 1, 3 sg. pret. indic. and in the imper. sg.: helt (held), halt (hold!), infin. halda. nd becomes tt, and ng becomes kk under the same conditions: binda (bind), ganga (go), pret. batt, gekk, imper. bitt, gakk.

135. The t of the 2 sg. pret. indic. is doubled after a long accented vowel: � stt (thou sawest). If the 1 sg. pret. indic. ends in t or �, the 2 sg. ends in zt: lt (I let), � lzt, bau� (I offered) � bauzt.

136. There are seven conjugations of strong verbs, distinguished mainly by the characteristic vowels of their preterites.

137.

I. 'Fall'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

falla (fall) fllr fell fellu fallinn lta (let) l�tr lt ltu ltinn r�a (advise) r��r r� r�u r�inn heita (call) heitr ht htu heitinn halda (hold) hldr helt heldu haldinn ganga (go) gngr gekk gengu gnginn f (get) f�r fekk fengu fnginn ————————- auka (increase) eykr jk jku aukinn ba (dwell) br bj bjoggu binn hggva (hew) hggr hj hjoggu hggvinn hlaupa (leap) hleypr hljp hljpu hlaupinn

138. The following have weak preterites in r:

gra (grow) grr gr�ri gr�ru grinn ra (row) rr r�ri r�ru rinn sna (twist) snr sn�ri sn�ru sninn

139. heita in the passive sense of 'to be named, called' has a weak present: ek heiti, � heitir.

140.

II. 'Shake'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

fara (go) frr fr fru farinn grafa (dig) grfr grf grfu grafinn hla�a (load) hl�r hl� hl�u hla�inn vaxa (grow) vx x xu vaxinn standa (stand) stndr st� st�u sta�inn aka (drive) kr k ku kinn taka (take) tkr tk tku tkinn draga (draw) drgr dr drgu drginn fl (flay) fl�r fl flgu flginn sl (strike) sl�r sl slgu slginn

141. The following have weak presents:

hfja (lift) hfr hf hfu hafinn deyja (die) deyr d d dinn hl�ja (laugh) hl�r hl hlgu hlginn

142.

III. 'Bind'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

bresta (burst) brestr brast brustu brostinn hverfa (turn) hverfr hvarf hurfu horfinn svelga (swallow) svelgr svalg sulgu slginn ver�a (become) ver�r var� ur�u or�inn skjlfa (shake) skelfr skalf skulfu skolfinn drekka (drink) drekkr drakk drukku drukkinn finna (find) finnr fann fundu fundinn vinna (win) vinnr vann unnu unninn binda (bind) bindr batt bundu bundinn springa (spring) springr sprakk sprungu sprunginn stinga (pierce) stingr stakk stungu stunginn breg�a (pull) breg�r br brug�u brug�inn s�kkva (sink) s�kkr skk sukku sokkinn st�kkva (spring) st�kkr stkk stukku stokkinn

143. The following have weak presents (which makes however no difference in their conjugation):

brnna (burn) brnnr brann brunnu brunninn rnna (run) rnnr rann runnu runninn

144.

IV. 'Bear'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

bera (carry) berr bar bru borinn nema (take) nemr nam nmu numinn fela (hide) felr fal flu flginn koma (come) k�mr kom kvmu kominn sofa (sleep) s�fr svaf svfu sofinn

145.

V. 'Give'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

drepa (kill) drepr drap drpu drepinn gefa (give) gefr gaf gfu gefinn kve�a (say) kve�r kva� kv�u kve�inn meta (estimate) metr mat mtu metinn reka (drive) rekr rak rku rekinn eta (eat) etr t tu etinn sj (see) sr[6] s s[7] snn

[Footnote 6: s, sr, sr; sjm, s�, sj. Subj. s, sr, s; sm, s�, s.]

[Footnote 7: sm, si�, s.]

146. The following have weak presents:—

bi�ja (ash) bi�r ba� b�u be�inn sitja (sit) sitr sat stu setinn liggja (lie) liggr l lgum leginn �iggja (receive) �iggr � �gu �eginn

147.

VI. 'Shine'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

bta (bite) btr beit bitu bitinn drfa (drive) drfr dreif drifu drifinn grpa (grasp) grpr greip gripu gripinn l�a (go) l�r lei� li�u li�inn lta (look) ltr leit litu litinn r�a (ride) r�r rei� ri�u ri�inn sga (sink) sgr seig sigu siginn slta (tear) sltr sleit slitu slitinn stga (advance) stgr steig stigu stiginn b�a (wait) b�r bei� bi�u bei�nn

148. The following has a weak present:

vkja (move) vkr veik viku vikinn

149.

VII. 'Choose'-conjugation

INFIN. THIRD PRES. PRT. SING. PRT. PL. PTC. PRT.

bj�a (offer) b�r bau� bu�u bo�inn brjta (break) brtr braut brutu brotinn fljta (float) fltr flaut flutu flotinn hljta (receive) hltr hlaut hlutu hlotinn kjsa (choose) kss kaus kusum kosinn njta (enjoy) ntr naut nutu notinn skjta (shoot) sktr skaut skutu skotinn drjpa (drop) drpr draup drupu dropinn ljga (tell lies) lgr laug lugu loginn lka (close) lkr lauk luku lokinn lta (bend) ltr laut lutu lotinn fljga (fly) flgr fl flugu floginn

Weak Verbs

150. There are three conjugations of weak verbs. All those of the first conjugation have mutated vowels in the pres., and form their pret. with � (d, t): heyra (hear), heyr�a. Those of the second form their pret. in the same way, but have unmutated vowels in the pres.: hafa (have) haf�a. Those of the third form their pret. in -a�a: kalla (call), kalla�a.

I. 'Hear'-conjugation

Active

151.

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. heyr-i heyr-a 2. heyr-ir heyr-ir 3. heyr-ir heyr-i

pl. 1. heyr-um heyr-im 2. heyr-i� heyr-i� 3. heyr-a heyr-i

Pret. sg. 1. heyr-�a heyr-�a 2. heyr-�ir heyr-�ir 3. heyr-�i heyr-�i

pl. 1. heyr-�um heyr-�im 2. heyr-�u� heyr-�i� 3. heyr-�u heyr-�i

Imper. sg. 1. heyr; pl. 1. heyr-um, 2. heyr-i�. Partic. pres. heyr-andi; pret. heyr-�r. Infin. heyr-a.

Middle

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. heyr-umk heyr-umk 2. heyr-isk heyr-isk 3. heyr-isk heyr-isk

pl. 1. heyr-umk heyr-imk 2. heyr-izk heyr-izk 3. heyr-ask heyr-isk

Pret. sg. 1. heyr-�umk heyr-�umk 2. heyr-�isk heyr-�isk 3. heyr-�isk heyr-�isk

pl. 1. heyr-�umk heyr-�imk 2. heyr-�uzk heyr-�izk 3. heyr-�usk heyr-�isk

Imper. sg. 2. heyr-sk; pl. 1. heyr-umk, 2. heyr-izk. Partic. pres. heyr-andisk; pret. heyr-zk neut. Infin. heyr-ask.

A. Without vowel-change

152. The inflectional � becomes d after long syllables ending in l or n: sigla (sail), siglda; nfna (name), nfnda, nfndr.

153. -�� becomes dd: lei�a (lead), leidda.

154. � after s and t becomes t: reisa (raise), reista; mta (meet), mtta. Also in a few verbs in l, n: m�la (speak), m�lta; spnna (buckle), spnta.

155. After nd and pt it is dropped: snda (send), snda, sndr; lypta (lift), lypta.

156. It is preserved in such verbs as the following: dma (judge), dm�a; fra (lead), fr�a; hr�a (harden), hr�a; hleypa (gallop), hleyp�a.

B. With vowel-change

157. All these verbs have j preceded by a short syllable (tlja), or a long vowel without any cons. after it (dja), or gg (lggja); the j being kept before a and u, as in the pres. ind. of spyrja (ask): spyr, spyrr, spyrr; spyrjum, spyri�, spyrja, pres. subj. 1 sg. ek spyrja; they unmutate their vowel in the pret. and ptc. pret. (spur�a, spur�r), the mutation being restored in the pret. subj. spyr�a, spyr�ir, etc. The ptc. pret. often has an i before the �.

brja (strike) bar�a bar�r lggja (lay) lag�a lag(i)�r tlja (tell) tal�a tal(i)�r vkja (wake) vak�a vak�r flytja (remove) flutta fluttr dja (shake) d�a d�r

158. The following keep the mutated vowel throughout:

slja (sell) slda sldr stja (set) stta sttr

C.

159. The following are irregular:

skja (seek) stta sttr �ykkja (seem) �tta �ttr

Subj. pret. stta, �tta.

160. The following has an adj. for its partic. pret.:

gra (make) gr�a grr.

II. 'Have'-conjugation

161. The few verbs of this class are conjugated like those of conj. I, except that some of them have imperatives in -i: vaki, �fi; uni. lifa, sgja have imper. lif, sg. They mutate the vowel of the pret. subj. (yn�a). Their partic. pret. generally occurs only in the neut.; sometimes the a is dropped.

lifa (live) lifi lif�a lifat una (be contented) uni un�a unat skorta (be wanting) skorti skorta skort �ola (endure) �oli �ol�a �olat �ora (dare) �ori �or�a �orat n (attain) ni n�a n�r, nit

162. The following show mutation:

sgja (say) sgi sag�a sag�r �gja (be silent) �gi �ag�a �agat hafa (have) hfi haf�a haf�r kaupa (buy) kaupi keypta keyptr

163. The present indic. of the first three is as follows:

Sing. 1. hfi sgi �gi 2, 3. hfir sgir �gir

Plur. 1. hfum sgjum �gjum 2. hafi� sgi� �gi� 3. hafa sgja �gja

164. The rest of hafa is regular. Pres. subj. hafa, hafir, hafi; hafim, hafi�, hafi. Pret. indic. haf�a, haf�ir, haf�i; hfdum, hf�u�, hf�u. Pret. subj. hf�a, hf�ir, hf�i; hf�im, hf�i�, hf�i. Imper. haf, hfum, hafi�. Ptc. hafandi, haf�r.

III. 'Call'-conjugation

Active

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. kall-a kall-a 2. kall-ar kall-ir 3. kall-ar kall-i

pl. 1. kll-um kall-im 2. kall-i� kall-i� 3. kall-a kall-i

Pres. sg. 1. kall-a�a kall-a�a 2. kall-a�ir kall-a�ir 3. kall-a�i kall-a�i

pl. 1. kll-u�um kall-a�im 2. kll-u�u� kall-a�i� 3. kll-u�u kall-a�i

Imper. sing. 2. kall-a; plur. 1. kll-um, 2. kall-i�. Partic. pres. kall-andi; pret. kalla�r (neut. kallat). Infin. kalla.

Middle

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. kll-umk kll-umk 2. kall-ask kall-isk 3. kall-ask kall-isk

pl. 1. kll-umk kall-imk 2. kall-izk kall-izk 3. kall-ask kall-isk

Pret. sg. 1. kll-u�umk kll-u�umk 2. kall-a�isk kall-a�isk 3. kall-a�isk kall-a�isk

pl. 1. kll-u�umk kall-a�imk 2. kll-u�uzk kall-a�izk 3. kll-u�usk kall-a�isk

Imper. sing. 2. kall-ask; pl. 1. kll-umk, 2. kall-izk. Partic. pres. kall-andisk; pret. kall-azk neut. Infin. kall-ask.

165. So also byrja (begin), hrja (make war), vakna (awake).

Strong-Weak Verbs

166. These have old strong preterites for their presents, from which new weak preterites are formed.

INFIN. PRES. SG. PRES. PL. PRT. PTC.

eiga (possess) eigu tta ttr kunna (can) kann kunnu kunna kunnat n. mega (can) m megu mtta mtt n. muna (remember) man munu mun�a munat n. munu (will) mun munu mun�a —— skulu (shall) skal skulu skylda skyldr �urfa (need) �arf �urfu �urfta �urft n. unna (love) ann unnu unna unnt n. vita (know) veit vitu vissa vita�r

167. Of these verbs munu and skulu have preterite infinitives: mundu, skyldu.

Anomalous Verbs

168. Vilja (will):

Present

Sing. Plur.

1. vil viljum 2. vill vili� 3. vill vilja

Subj. pres. vili. Pret. ind. vilda. Ptc. prt. viljat.

169. Vera (be):

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE

Pres. sg. 1. em s 2. ert sr 3. er s

pl. 1. erum sm 2. eru� s� 3. eru s

Pret. sg. 1. var v�ra 2. vart v�rir 3. var v�ri

pl. 1. vrum v�rim 2. vru� v�ri� 3. vru v�ri

Imper. sg. ver; pl. veri�. Ptc. prt. verit n.

COMPOSITION

170. Composition with the genitive is very frequent in Icelandic. Thus by the side of skip-stjrn (ship-steering) we find skips-brot (ship's breaking, shipwreck), skipa-hrr (army of ships, fleet). Genitival composition often expresses possession, as in konungs-skip (king's ship).

DERIVATION

Prefixes

171. Prefixes are much less used in Icelandic than in Old English.

*al-* 'quite,' 'very': al-binn 'quite ready,' al-snotr 'very clever.'

*all-* 'all,' 'very': all-valdr 'all-ruler, monarch,' all-har�r 'very hard,' all-strum 'very greatly.'

*and-* 'against': and-lit 'countenance' (lita, look), and-svar 'answer.'

*fjl-* 'many': fjl-mnni 'multitude' (ma�r, man).

*mis-* 'mis-': mis-lka 'displease.'

*-* 'un-': -fri�r 'war' (fri�r, peace), -happ 'misfortune' (happ luck).

Endings

(a) Nouns

Personal

172. *-ingr*, *-ingi*, *-ing*: vkingr 'pirate,' hf�ingi 'chief,' krling 'old woman.'

Abstract

173. *-�*, fem. with mutation: fgr� 'beauty' (fagr, fair), fr� 'journey' (fara, go), lng� 'length' (langr, long).

*-ing*, fem.: svipting 'pulling,' vking 'piracy,' vir�ing 'honour.'

*-leikr*, masc.: kr-leikr 'affection' (hrr, dear), skjt-leikr 'speed' (skjtr, swift).

*-an*, *-un*, fem.: skipan 'arrangement,' skmtun 'amusement.'

(b) Adjectives

174. *-ugr*: r�ugr 'sagacious,' �r�ugr 'strong.'

*-ttr*: kollttr 'bald,' ndttr 'fierce.'

*-lauss* '-less': f-lauss 'moneyless,' tta-lauss 'without fear.'

*-ligr* '-ly': undr-ligr 'wonderful,' sann-ligr 'probable' (sannr, true).

*-samr*: lkn-samr 'gracious,' skyn-samr 'intelligent.'

*-ver�r* '-ward': ofan-ver�r 'upper.'

(c) Verbs

175. *-na*: brotna 'be broken' (brotinn, broken), hvtna 'become white,' vakna 'awake.' Used to form intransitive and inchoative verbs of the third conj.

(d) Adverbs

176. *-liga* '-ly': undar-liga 'wonderfully,' strk-liga 'strongly' (strkr, strong).

*-um*, dat. pl.: strum 'greatly' (strr, great).

SYNTAX

177. Icelandic syntax greatly resembles Old English, but has several peculiarities of its own.

Concord

178. Concord is carried out very strictly in Icelandic: allir mnn vru bnir 'all the men were ready,' allir vru drepnir 'all were killed.'

179. A plural adj. or pronoun referring to two nouns of different (natural or grammatical) gender is always put in the neuter: � gekk hann upp, ok me� honum Loki (masc.), ok �jlfi (masc.), ok Rskva (fem.). � er �au (neut.) hf�u ltla hri� gngit... 'he landed, and with him L., and �., and R. When they had walked for some time...'

Cases

180. The extensive use of the instrumental dative is very characteristic of Icelandic: whenever the direct object of a verb can be considered as the instrument of the action expressed by the verb, it is put in the dative, as in kasta spjti 'throw a spear' (lit. 'throw with a spear'), hann helt hamarskaptinu 'he grasped the handle of the hammer,' heita �v 'promise that,' jta �v 'agree to that.'

Adjectives

181. The weak form of adjectives is used as in O.E. after the definite article, �essi and other demonstratives. annarr (other) is always strong.

182., An adj. is often set in apposition to a following noun to denote part of it: eiga hlft drit 'to have half of the animal,' nnur �au 'the rest of them,' of mi�ja ntt 'in the middle of the night.'

Pronouns

183. s is often put pleonastically before the definite article inn, both before and after the subst.: s inn ungi ma�r 'that young man,' hafit �at it djpa 'the deep sea.'

184. The definite article is generally not expressed at all, or else einn, einnhvrr is used.

185. A noun (often a proper name) is often put in apposition to a dual pron. of the first and second persons, or a plur. of the third person: �it flagar, 'thou and thy companions,' me� �eim ka 'with him and ki.' Similarly stndr �rr upp ok �eir flagar 'Thor and his companions get up.'

186. The plurals vr, �r are sometimes used instead of the singulars ek, �, especially when a king is speaking or being spoken to.

187. sik and sr are used in a strictly reflexive sense, referring back to the subject of the sentence, like se in Latin: �orr bau� honum til matar me� sr 'Thor asked him to supper with him.'

Verbs

188. The tenses for which there is no inflection in the active, and all those of the passive, are formed by the auxiliaries skal (shall), hafa (have), vera (be) with the infin. and ptc. pret., much as in modern English.

189. The historical present is much used, often alternating abruptly with the preterite.

190. The middle voice is used: (1) in a purely reflexive sense: spara 'spare,' sparask 'spare oneself, reserve one's strength.' (2) intransitively: ba 'prepare,' bask 'become ready, be ready'; stja 'set,' stjask 'sit down'; sna 'show,' snask 'appear, seem.' (3) reciprocally: brja 'strike,' brjask 'fight'; hitta, 'find,' hittask 'meet.' In other cases it specializes the meaning of the verb, often emphasizing the idea of energy or effort: koma 'come,' komask 'make one's way.'

191. The impersonal form of expression is widely used in Icelandic: rak storm (acc.) fyrir �eim 'a storm was driven in their face.'

192. The indef. 'one' is expressed in the same way by the third pers. sg., and this form of expression is often used when the subject is perfectly definite: ok freista skal �essar �rttar 'and this feat shall be tried (by you).'

193. The abrupt change from the indirect to the direct narration is very common: Haraldi konungi var sagt at �ar var komit bjarndri, 'ok slnzkr ma�r,' 'King Harold was told that a bear had arrived, and that an Icelander owned it.' The direct narration is also used after at (that): hann svarar at 'ek skal r�a til Hljar' 'he answers that he will ride to Hel.'



TEXTS

[Note: The asterisks are to help find the spots mentioned in the notes. (I took out the line numbers to keep the line width as close to 65 characters as possible.) —B.C.]

I. THOR

�rr er sanna framastr, s er kalla�r er sa-�rr e�a ku-�rr; hann er strkastr allra gu�anna ok manna. Hann �ar rki er �r�-vangar heita, en hll hans heitir [*] Bilskrnir; �eim sal eru fimm hundru� glfa ok fjrir tigir; �at er hs mest, sv at mnn hafa grt. [*]

�rr hafra tv, er sv heita, Tann-gnjstr ok Tann- grisnir, ok rei� � er hann kr, en hafrarnir draga rei�ina; �v er hann kalla�r ku�rr. Hann ok �rj kost-gripi. Einn �eira er hamarrinn Mjllnir, er hrm-�ursar ok berg- risar knna, � er hann k�mr lopt, ok er �at eigi undarligt: hann hfir lamit margan haus f�rum e�a fr�ndum �eira. Annan grip hann bztan, mgin-gjar�ar; ok er hann spnnir �eim um sik, � vx honum s-mgin hlfu. En [*] �ri�ja hlut hann �ann er mikill gripr er , �at eru jrn- glfar; �eira m hann eigi missa vi� hamarskaptit. En engi er sv fr�r at tlja kunni ll str-virki hans.

II. THOR AND GAR�ALOKI

�at er upp-haf �essa mls at ku�rr fr me� hafra sna [*] ok rei�, ok me� honum s ss er Loki er kalla�r; koma �eir at kveldi til eins bnda ok f �ar ntt-sta�. En um kveldit tk �rr hafra sna, ok skar b�a; ptir �at vru �eir flgnir ok bornir til ktils; en er so�it var, � sttisk [*] �rr til ntt-ver�ar ok �eir lags-mnn. �rr bau� til matar me� sr bndanum, ok konu hans, ok brnum �eira; sonr bnda ht �jlfi, en Rskva dttir. � lag�i �rr hafr- stkurnar utar fr eldinum, ok m�lti at bndi ok heima-mnn hans skyldu kasta hafrstkurnar beinunum. �jlfi, sonr bnda, helt l�r-lgg hafrsins, ok sprtti knfi snum, ok [*] braut til mrgjar. �rr dval�isk �ar of nttina; en ttu [*] fyrir dag st� hann upp, ok kl�ddi sik, tk hamarinn Mjllni ok br upp, ok vg�i hafrstkurnar; st�u � upp hafrarnir, ok var � annarr haltr ptra fti. �at fann �rr, ok tal�i at bndinn e�a hans hjn mundi eigi skynsamliga hafa farit me� beinum hafrsins: knnir hann at brotinn var l�rlggrinn. Eigi �arf langt fr �v at sgja: vita mgu �at allir hvrsu hr�ddr bndinn mundi vera, er hann s at �rr lt sga brnnar ofan fyrir augun; en �at er s augnanna, [*] � hug�isk hann falla mundu fyrir sjninni einni samt; hann [*] hr�i hndrnar at hamar-skaptinu sv at hvtnu�u knarnir. En bndinn gr�i sem vn var, ok ll hjnin: kllu�u ka- fliga, b�u sr fri�ar, bu�u at fyrir kv�mi alt �at er �au ttu. En er hann s hr�zlu �eira, � gekk af honum m�rinn, ok sefa�isk hann; ok tk af �eim s�tt brn �eira, �jlfa ok Rsku, ok gr�usk �au � skyldir �jnustu- mnn �rs, ok fylgja �au honum jafnan s�an.

Lt hann �ar ptir hafra, ok byrja�i fr�ina austr Jtun-heima, ok alt til hafsins; ok � fr hann t yfir hafit �at it djpa; en er hann kom til lands, � gekk hann upp, ok me� honum Loki, ok �jlfi, ok Rskva. � er �au hf�u ltla hr� gngit, var� fyrir �eim mrk str; gengu �au �ann dag allan til myrkrs. �jlfi var allra manna [*] ft-hvatastr; hann bar kl �rs, en til vista var eigi gott. � er myrkt var or�it, leitu�u �eir sr til nttsta�ar, ok [*] fundu fyrir sr skla nakkvarn mjk mikinn, vru dyrr nda, ok jafn-brei�ar sklanum; �ar leitu�u �eir sr ntt- bls. En of mi�ja ntt var� land-skjlfti mikill, gekk jr�in undir �eim skykkjum, ok skalf hsit. � st� �rr upp, ok ht lagsmnn sna; ok leitu�usk fyrir, ok fundu af-hs til hgri handar i mi�jum sklanum, ok gengu �annig; sttisk �rr dyrrin, en nnur �au vru innar fr honum, ok vru �au hr�dd, en �rr helt hamarskaptinu, ok hug�i at vrja sik; � heyr�u �au ym mikinn ok gn. En er kom at dagan, � gekk �rr t, ok sr hvar l ma�r skamt fr [*] honum skginum, ok var s eigi ltill; hann svaf, ok hraut strkliga. � �ttisk �rr skiIja hvat ltum verit haf�i of nttina; hann spnnir sik mgingjr�um, ok x honum smgin; en �v vaknar ma�r s, ok st� skjtt upp; en � er sagt at �r var� bilt einu sinni at sl hann me� ham- [*] rinum; ok spur�i hann at nafni, en s nfndisk Skrmir: [*] 'en eigi �arf ek,' sag�i hann, 'at spyrja �ik at nafni: knni ek at � ert sa�rr; en hvrt hfir � drgit braut hanzka minn?' Seildisk � Skrmir til, ok tk upp hanzka sinn; sr �rr � at �at haf�i hann haft of nttina fyrir skla, en afhsit �at var �umlungrinn hanzkans. Skrmir spur�i ef �rr vildi hafa fru-neyti hans, en �rr jtti �v. � tk Skrmir ok leysti nestbagga sinn, ok bjsk til at eta dgur�, en �rr �rum sta� ok hans flagar. Skrmir bau� � at �eir lg�i mtu-neyti sitt, en �rr jtti �v; � batt Skrmir nest �eira alt einn bagga, ok lag�i bak sr; hann gekk fyrir of daginn, ok steig hldr strum, en s�an at kveldi leita�i Skrmir �eim nttsta�ar undir eik nakkvarri mikilli. � m�lti Skrmir til �rs at hann vill lggjask ni�r at sofna; 'en �r taki� nest-baggann, ok bi� til ntt-ver�ar [*] y�r.' �v n�st sofnar Skrmir, ok hraut fast; en �rr tk nest-baggann ok skal leysa; en sv er at sgja, sem -trligt mun �ykkja, at engi knt fekk hann leyst, ok engi lar- ndann hreyft, sv at � v�ri lausari en �r. Ok er hann sr at �etta verk m eigi ntask, � var� hann rei�r, greip � hamarinn Mjllni tveim hndum, ok steig fram �rum fti at �ar er Skrmir l, ok lstr hfu� honum; en Skrmir vaknar, ok spyrr hvrt laufs-bla� nakkvat felli hfu� honum, e�a hvrt �eir hf�i � matazk, ok s bnir til rkkna. �rr sgir at �eir munu � sofa ganga. Ganga �au � undir a�ra eik. Er �at �r satt at sgja, at ekki var [*] � ttalaust at sofa. En at mi�ri ntt � heyrir �rr at Skrmir hrtr, ok s�fr fast, sv at dunar skginum. � stndr hann upp, ok gngr til hans, rei�ir hamarinn ttt ok hart, ok lstr ofan mi�jan hvirfil honum; hann knnir at hamars-mu�rinn s�kkr djpt hfu�it. En �v bili vaknar Skrmir, ok m�lti: 'hvat er n? fell akarn nakkvat hfu� mr? e�a hvat er ttt um �ik, �rr?' En �rr gekk aptr skyndiliga, ok svarar at hann var � nvakna�r, sag�i at � var mi� ntt, ok enn v�ri ml at sofa. � hugsa�i �rr �at, ef hann kv�mi sv fri at sl hann it �ri�ja hgg, at aldri skyldi hann sj sik s�an; liggr n ok g�tir ef Skrmir [*] sofna�i fast. En ltlu fyrir dagan � heyrir hann at Skrmir mun sofnat hafa; stndr � upp, ok hleypr at honum, rei�ir � hamarinn af llu afli ok lstr �unn-vangann �ann er upp vissi; s�kkr � hamarrinn upp at skaptinu. En Skr- mir sttisk upp, ok strauk of vangann, ok m�lti: 'hvrt munu fuglar nakkvarir sitja trnu yfir mr? mik gruna�i, er ek vakna�a, at tros nakkvat af kvistunum felli hfu� mr; hvrt vakir �, �rr? Ml mun vera upp at standa ok kl��ask, en ekki eigu �r n langa lei� fram til borgar- innar er kllu� er t-gar�r. Heyrt hfi ek at �r hafi� kvisat milli y�var at ek v�ra ekki ltill ma�r vxti, en sj skulu �r �ar strri mnn, er �r komi� tgar�. N mun ek r�a y�r heil-r��i: lti �r eigi strliga yfir y�r, ekki munu hir�mnn tgar�a-loka vel �ola �vlkum kgur- sveinum kpur-yr�i; en at �rum kosti hverfi� aptr, ok �ann �tla ek y�r btra af at taka. En ef �r vili� fram [*] fara, � stfni �r austr, en ek n nor�r lei� til fjalla �essa er n munu �r sj mega.' Tkr Skrmir nest-bag- garm, ok kastar bak sr, ok snr �vrs braut skginn fr �eim, ok er �ess eigi getit at �sirnir b��i � heila [*] hittask.

�rr fr fram lei� ok �eir flagar, ok gekk fram til mi�s dags; � s �eir borg standa vllum nkkurum, ok sttu [*] hnakkann bak sr aptr, �r �eir fengu st yfir upp; ganga til borgarinnar, ok var grind fyri borg-hli�inu, ok lokin aptr. �rr gekk grindina, ok fekk eigi upp lokit; en er �eir �reyttu at komask borgina, � smugu �eir milli spalanna ok kmu sv inn; s � hll mikla, ok gengu �annig; var hur�in opin; � gengu �eir inn, ok s �ar marga mnn tv bkki, ok flesta rit stra. �v n�st koma �eir fyrir [*] konunginn, tgar�aloka, ok kvddu hann, en hann leit seint til �eira, ok glotti um tnn, ok m�lti: 'seint er um langan [*] veg at spyrja t�inda, e�a er annan veg en ek hygg, at �essi [*] svein-stauli s ku�rr? en meiri muntu vera en mr lzk �; e�a hvat �rtta er �at er �r flagar �ykkizk vera vi� bnir? Engi skal hr vera me� oss s er eigi kunni nakkvars konar list e�a kunnandi um fram flesta mnn.' � sgir s er s�ast gekk, er Loki heitir: 'kann ek � �rtt, er ek em al-binn at reyna, at engi er hr s inni er skjtara skal eta [*] mat sinn en ek.' � svarar tgar�aloki: '�rtt er �at, ef � fnir, ok freista skal � �essar �rttar;' kalla�i utar [*] bkkinn at s er Logi heitir skal ganga glf fram, ok freista sn mti Loka. � var tkit trog eitt, ok borit inn hallar- glfit, ok fylt af sltri; sttisk Loki at �rum nda, en Logi at �rum, ok t hvrr-tvggja sem t�ast, ok mttusk mi�ju troginu; haf�i � Loki etit sltr alt af beinum, en Logi haf�i ok etit sltr alt ok beinin me�, ok sv trogit; ok sndisk n llum sem Loki hf�i ltit leikinn. � spyrr tgar�aloki hvat s inn ungi ma�r kunni leika. En �jlfi sgir at hann mun freista at rnna skei� nkkur vi� einn-hvrn �ann er tgar�aloki f�r til. Hann sgir, tgar�aloki, at �etta er g� �rtt, ok kallar �ess meiri vn at hann s vel at sr [*] binn of skjtleikinn, ef hann skal �essa �rtt inna; en � l�tr hann skjtt �essa skulu freista. Stndr � upp tgar�a- loki, ok gngr t, ok var �ar gott skei� at rnna ptir slttum vlli. � kallar tgar�aloki til sn sveinstaula nakkvarn, er nfndr er Hugi, ok ba� hann rnna kpp vi� �jlfa. � taka �eir it fyrsta skei�, ok er Hugi �v framar at hann snsk aptr mti honum at skei�s nda. � m�lti tgar�a- loki: '�urfa muntu, �jlfi, at lggja �ik meir fram, ef � skalt vinna leikinn; en � er �at satt, at ekki hafa hr komit �eir mnn er mr �ykkja fthvatari en sv.' � taka �eir [*] aptr annat skei�, ok � er Hugi er kominn til skei�s nda, ok hann snsk aptr, � var langt klf-skot til �jlfa. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'vel �ykkir mr �jlfi rnna; en eigi tri ek honum n at hann vinni leikinn, en n mun reyna, er �eir rnna it �ri�ja skei�it.' � taka �eir nn skei�; en er Hugi er kominn til skei�s nda ok snsk aptr, ok er [*] �jlfi eigi � kominn mitt skei�it; � sgja allir at reynt er um �enna leik. � spyrr tgar�aloki �r, hvat �eira �rtta mun vera er hann muni vilja birta fyrir �eim, sv miklar sgur sem mnn hafa grt um strvirki hans. � m�lti �rr at hlzt vill hann �at taka til, at �reyta drykkju vi� einnhvrn mann. tgar�aloki sgir at �at m vel vera; ok gngr inn hllina, ok kallar skutil-svein sinn, bi�r at hann taki vtis-horn �at, er hir�mnn eru vanir at drekka af. �v n�st k�mr fram skutilsveinn me� horninu, ok f�r �r hnd. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'af horni �essu �ykkir � vel drukkit, ef einum drykk gngr af, en sumir mnn drekka af tveim drykkjum, en engi er sv ltill drykkju- ma�r, at eigi gangi af �rimr.' �rr ltr hornit, ok snisk ekki mikit, ok er � hldr langt, en hann er mjk �yrstr; tkr at drekka, ok svelgr allstrum, ok hyggr at eigi skal �urfa at lta optar at sinni hornit. En er hann �raut [*] �rindit, ok hann laut r horninu, ok sr hvat lei� drykkinum, [*] ok lzk honum sv, sem all-ltill munr mun vera at n s l�gra horninu en �r. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'vel er drukkit, ok eigi til mikit; eigi munda-k tra, ef mr v�ri sagt fr, at sa�rr mundi eigi meira drykk drekka; en � veit ek at � munt vilja drekka af �rum drykk.' �rr svarar engu, str hornit munn sr, ok hyggr n at hann skal drekka meira drykk, ok �reytir drykkjuna, sem honum vannsk til �rindi, ok sr nn at stikillinn hornsins vill ekki upp sv mjk sem honum lkar; ok er hann tk hornit af munni sr ok sr, lzk honum n sv, sem minna hafi �orrit en inu fyrra sinni; er n gott beranda bor� horninu. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'hvat er n, �rr? muntu n eigi sparask til eins drykkjar meira en �r mun hagr vera? Sv lzk mr, ef � skalt n drekka af horninu inn �ri�ja drykkinn, sem �essi mun mestr �tla�r; en ekki [*] muntu mega hr me� oss heita sv mikill ma�r sem �sir kalla �ik, ef � grir eigi meira af �r um a�ra leika en mr lzk sem um �enna mun vera.' � var� �rr rei�r, str hornit munn sr, ok drekkr sem kafligast m hann, ok �reytir sem lngst drykkinn; en er hann s hornit, � haf�i n hlzt nakkvat munr fngizk, ok � b�r hann upp hornit, ok vill eigi drekka meira. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'au�-st er n at mttr �inn er ekki sv mikill sem vr hug�um; en vill-tu freista um fleiri leika? Sj m n, at ekki ntir � hr af.' �rr svarar: 'freista m ek nn of nakkvara leika, en undarliga mundi mr �ykkja, � er ek var heima me� sum, ef �vlkir drykkir v�ri sv ltlir kalla�ir. En hvat leik vili �r n bj�a mr?' � m�lti tgar�aloki: '�at gra hr ungir sveinar er ltit mark mun at �ykkja, at hfja upp af jr�u ktt minn; en eigi munda-k kunna at m�la �vlkt vi� sa�r, ef ek hf�a eigi st fyrr at � ert miklu minni fyrir �r en ek hug�a.' �v n�st hljp fram kttr einn grr hallarglfit, ok hldr mikill; en �rr gekk til, ok tk hndi sinni ni�r undir mi�jan kvi�inn, ok lypti upp, en kttrinn beyg�i knginn, sv sem �rr rtti upp hndina; en er �rr seildisk sv langt upp sem hann mtti lngst, � ltti kttrinn einum fti, ok f�r �rr eigi framit �enna leik. � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'sv fr �essi leikr sem mik var�i; kttrinn er hldr mikill, en �rr er lgr ok ltill hj str- mnni �v sem hr er me� oss.' � m�lti �rr: 'sv ltinn sem pr kalli� mik, � gangi n til einnhvrr, ok fisk vi� mik; n em ek rei�r.' � svarar tgar�aloki, ok litask um bkkina, ok m�lti: 'eigi s ek �ann mann hr inni, er eigi mun ltil-r��i �ykkja at fsk vi� �ik;' ok nn m�lti hann: 'sjm fyrst, kalli mr hingat krlinguna, fstru mna [*] lli, ok fisk �rr vi� hana, ef hann vill; flt hfir hon � mnn er mr hafa litizk eigi -strkligri en �rr er.' �v n�st gekk hllina krling ein gmul. � m�lti tgar- �aloki, at hon skal taka fang vi� sa�r. Ekki er langt um. at gra: sv fr fang �at at �v har�ara er �rr kn�isk at fanginu, �v fastara st� hon; � tk krling at leita til �rag�a, ok var� �rr � lauss ftum, ok vru ��r svip- tingar all-har�ar, ok eigi lngi �r en �rr fell kn �rum fti. � gekk til tgar�aloki, ba� �au h�tta fanginu, ok sag�i sv, at �rr mundi eigi �urfa at bj�a fleirum mnnum fang hans hll; var � ok li�it ntt, vsa�i tgar�aloki �r ok �eim flgum til s�tis, ok dvljask �ar ntt-langt g�um fagna�i.

En at morgni, �egar daga�i, stndr �rr upp ok �eir flagar, kl��a sik, ok eru bnir braut at ganga. � kom �ar tgar�aloki, ok lt stja �eim bor�; skorti � eigi g�an fagna�, mat ok drykk. En er �eir hafa matazk, � snask �eir til fr�ar. tgar�aloki fylgir �eim t, gngr me� �eim braut r borginni; en at skilna�i � m�lti tgar- �aloki til �rs, ok spyrr hvrnig honum �ykkir fr� sn or�in, e�a hvrt hann hfir hitt rkara mann nakkvarn en sik. �rr svarar at eigi mun hann �at sgja, at eigi hafi hann mikla -sm� farit �eira vi�-skiptum; 'en � veit [*] ek at �r munu� kalla mik ltinn mann fyrir mr, ok uni ek �v illa.' � m�lti tgar�aloki: 'n skal sgja �r it sanna, er � ert t kominn r borginni—ok ef ek lifi ok mega-k r�a, � skaltu aldri optar hana koma; ok �at veit tra mn, at aldri hf�ir � hana komit, ef ek hf�a vitat �r at � hf�ir sv mikinn krapt me� �r, ok � haf�ir sv n�r haft oss mikilli -fru. En sjn-hvrfingar hfi ek grt �r, sv at fyrsta sinn, er ek fann �ik skginum, kom ek til fundar vi� y�r; ok � er � skyldir leysa nestbaggann, � haf�a-k bundit me� gres-jrni, en � fannt eigi hvar upp skyldi lka. En �v n�st laust � mik me� hamrinum �rj hgg, ok var it fyrsta minst, ok var � sv mikit, at mr mundi ndask til bana, ef hf�i komit; en �ar er � stt hj hll minni set-berg, ok �ar stt-u ofan �rj dala fer- skeytta ok einn djpastan, �at vru hamarspor �in; setber- ginu br ek fyrir hggin en eigi stt � �at. Sv var ok of leikana, er �r �reyttu� vi� hir�mnn mna. � var �at it fyrsta, er Loki gr�i; hann var mjk soltinn, ok t ttt; en s er Logi ht, �at var villi-eldr, ok brndi hann eigi seinna sltrit en trogit. En er �jlfi �reytti rsina vi� �ann er Hugi ht, �at var hugi minn, ok var �jlfa eigi v�nt at �reyta skjt-fri vi� hann. En er � drakkt af horninu, ok �tti �r seint l�a,—en �at veit tra mn, at � var� �at undr, er ek munda eigi tra at vera m�tti; annarr ndir hornsins var t hafi, en �at sttu eigi; en n, er � k�mr til s�varins, � mun-tu sj mega, hvrn �ur� � hfir drukkit s�num.' �at eru n fjrur kalla�ar. Ok nn m�lti hann: 'eigi �tti mr hitt minna vera vert, er � lyptir upp kt- tinum, ok �r satt at sgja, � hr�ddusk allir �eir er s, er � lyptir af jr�u einum ftinum; en s kttr var eigi sem �r sndisk; �at var Mi�gar�s-ormr, er liggr um lnd ll, ok vannsk honum varliga lng�in til, at jr�ina tki spor�r ok hfu�; ok sv langt seildisk � upp at skamt var � til himins. En hitt var ok mikit undr um fangit, er � fekkzk vi� lli; fyrir �v at engi hfir s or�it, ok engi mun ver�a, ef sv gamall er at lli b�r, at eigi komi llin llum til falls. Ok er n �at stt at sgja, at vr munum skiljask, ok mun � btr hvrratvggju handar at �r komi� eigi optar mik at hitta; ek mun nn annat sinn vrja borg mna me� �vlkum vlum e�a �rum, sv at ekki vald munu �r mr f.' En er �rr heyr�i �essa tlu, greip hann til hamarsins, ok breg�r lopt; en er hann skal fram rei�a, � sr hann �ar hvrgi tgar�aloka, ok � snsk hann aptr til borgarinnar, ok �tlask � fyrir at brjta borgina; � sr hann �ar vllu v�a ok fagra, en enga borg. Snsk hann � aptr, ok frr lei� sina, til �ess er hann kom aptr �r�- vanga.

III. BALDER

Annarr sonr �ins er Baldr, ok er fr honum gott at sgja: hann er bztr, ok hann lofa allir. Hann er sv fagr -litum ok bjartr sv at lsir af honum; ok eitt gras er sv hvtt at jafnat er til Baldrs brr, �at er allra grasa hvtast; ok �ar ptir mttu marka hans fgr�, b��i hr ok lki; hann er vitrastr sanna, ok fgrstr tali�r ok lknsamastr. En s nttra fylgir honum at engi m haldask dmr hans. [*] Hann br �ar sem heitir Brei�a-blik, �at er himni; �eim sta� m ekki vera -hreint, sv sem hr sgir:

Brei�ablik heita, �ar er Baldr hfir sr of grva sali; �v landi er ek liggja veit f�sta feikn-stafi.

IV. THE DEATH OF BALDER

�at er upphaf �essar sgu, at Baldr inn g�a dreym�i drauma stra ok h�ttliga um lf sitt. En er hann sag�i sunum draumana, � bru �eir saman r� sn, ok var �at grt at bei�a gri�a Baldri fyrir alls konar hska; ok Frigg tk svardaga til �ess, at eira skyldu Baldri eldr ok vatn, jrn ok alls konar mlmr, steinar, jr�in, vi�irnir, sttirnar, drin, fuglarnir, eitr, ormar. En er �etta var grt ok vitat, � var �at skmtun Baldrs ok sanna at hann skyldi standa upp �ingum, en allir a�rir skyldu sumir skjta hann, sumir hggva til, sumir brja grjti. En hvat sem at var grt, saka�i hann ekki, ok �tti �etta llum mikill frami. En er [*] �etta s Loki Laufeyjar-son, � lka�i honum illa er Baldr saka�i ekki. Hann gekk til Fn-salar til Friggjar, ok br sr konu lki; � spyrr Frigg ef s kona vissi hvat �sir hf�usk at �inginu. Hon sag�i at allir skutu at Baldri, ok �at, at hann saka�i ekki. � m�lti Frigg: 'eigi munu vpn e�a vi�ir granda Baldri; ei�a hfi ek �git af llum �eim.' � spyrr konan: 'hafa allir hlutir ei�a unnit at eira Baldri?' � svarar Frigg: 'vx vi�ar-teinungr einn fyrir vestan Val-hll; s er Mistilteinn kalla�r; s �tti mr ungr [*] at krfja ei�sins.' �v n�st hvarf konan braut; en Loki tk Mistiltein ok sleit upp, ok gekk til �ings. En H�r st� utarliga mannhringinum, �v at hann var blindr. � m�lti Loki vi� hann: 'hv sktr � ekki at Baldri?' Hann svarar: '�v at ek s eigi, hvar Baldr er, ok �at annat, at ek em vapnlauss.' � m�lti Loki: 'gr-�u � lking annarra, manna, ok veit Baldri sm� sem a�rir mnn; ek mun vsa �r til, hvar hann stndr; skjt at honum vndi �essum.' H�r tk Mistiltein, ok skaut at Baldri at tilvsun Loka; flaug skotit ggnum hann, ok fell hann dau�r til jar�ar; ok hfir �at mest -happ verit unnit me� go�um ok mnnum. [*] � er Baldr var fallinn, � fellusk llum sum or�-tk, ok sv hndr at taka til hans; ok s hvrr til annars, ok vru [*] allir me� einum hug til �ess er unnit haf�i verkit; en engi mtti hfna: �ar var sv mikill gri�a-sta�r. En � er �sirnir freistu�u at m�la, � var hitt � fyrr, at grtrinn [*] kom upp, sv at engi mtti �rum sgja me� or�unum fr snum harmi. En �inn bar �eim mun vrst �enna ska�a, sem hann kunni mesta skyn, hvrsu mikil af-taka ok missa sunum var fr-falli Baldrs. En er go�in vitku�usk, � m�lti Frigg ok spur�i, hvrr s v�ri me� sum, er eignask vildi allar stir hennar ok hylli, ok vili hann r�a hl-veg [*] ok freista ef hann fi fundit Baldr, ok bj�a Hlju t-lausn, ef hon vill lta fara Baldr heim s-gar�. En s er nfndr Hrm�r inn hvati, sonr �ins, er til �eirar farar var�. � var tkinn Sleipnir, hestr �ins, ok leiddr fram, ok steig Hrm�r �ann hest, ok hleyp�i braut.

En �sirnir tku lk Baldrs ok fluttu til s�var. Hring- horni ht skip Baldrs, hann var allra skipa mestr; hann vildu go�in fram stja, ok gra �ar bl-fr Baldrs; en skipit gekk hvrgi fram. � var snt Jtunheima ptir ggi �eiri er Hyrrokin ht; en er hon kom, ok rei� vargi, ok haf�i hgg-orm at taumum, � hljp hon af hestinum, en �inn kalla�i til ber-srki fjra at g�ta hestsins, ok fengu �eir eigi haldit, nema �eir fldi hann. � gekk Hyrrokin [*] fram-stafn nkkvans, ok hratt fram fyrsta vi�-brag�i, sv at eldr hraut r hlunnunum, ok lnd ll skulfu. � var� �rr rei�r, ok greip hamarinn, ok mundi � brjta hfu� hnnar, �r en go�in ll b�u hnni fri�ar. � var borit t skipit lk Baldrs; ok er �at s kona hans, Nanna, Neps dttir, � sprakk hon af harmi, ok d; var hon borin blit, ok slgit eldi. � st� �rr at, ok vg�i blit me� Mjllni; en fyrir ftum hans rann dvergr nakkvarr, s er Litr nfndr; en �rr spyrndi fti snum hann, ok hratt honum eldinn, ok brann hann. En at �essi brnnu stti margs konar �j�: fyrst at sgja fr �ni, at me� honum fr Frigg ok valkyrjur ok hrafnar hans; en Freyr k krru me� glti �eim er Gullin-bursti heitir e�a Sl�rug-tanni; en Heimdallr rei� hesti �eim er Gull-toppr heitir; en Freyja kttum snum. �ar k�mr ok mikit flk hrm�ursa, ok berg- risar. �inn lag�i blit gullhring �ann er Draupnir heitir; honum fylg�i s�an s nttra, at hina nundu hvrja ntt drupu af honum tta gullhringar jafn-hfgir. Hestr Baldrs var leiddr blit me� llu rei�i.

En �at er at sgja fr Hrm�i, at hann rei� nu n�tr d�kkva dala ok djpa, sv at hann s ekki, fyrr en hann kom til rinnar Gjallar, ok rei� Gjallar-brna; hon er �k� lsi-gulli. M�gu�r er nfnd m�r s er g�tir brar- innar; hon spur�i hann at nafni e�a �tt, ok sag�i at hinn fyrra dag ri�u um brna fimm fylki dau�ra manna; 'en eigi dynr brin minnr undir einum �r, ok eigi hfir � lit dau�ra manna; hv r�r � hr hlveg?' Hann svarar at 'ek skal r�a til hljar at leita Baldrs, e�a hvrt hfir � nakkvat st Baldr hlvegi?' En hon sag�i at Baldr haf�i �ar ri�it um Gjallarbr; 'en ni�r ok nor�r liggr hlvegr.' � rei� Hrm�r �ar til er hann kom at hl-grindum; � steig hann af hestinum, ok gyr�i hann fast, steig upp, ok keyr�i hann sporum, en hestrinn hljp sv hart, ok yfir grindina, at hann kom hvrgi n�r. � rei� Hrm�r heim til hallar- [*] innar, ok steig af hesti, gekk inn hllina, s �ar sitja ndvegi Baldr, br�ur sinn; ok dval�isk Hrm�r �ar um nttina. En at morgni � beiddisk Hrm�r af Hlju at Baldr skyldi r�a heim me� honum, ok sag�i hvrsu mikill grtr var me� sum. En Hl sag�i at �at skyldi sv reyna, [*] hvrt Baldr var sv st-s�ll sem sagt er; 'ok ef allir hlutir heiminum, kykvir ok dau�ir, grta hann, � skal hann fara til sa aptr, en haldask me� Hlju, ef nakkvarr m�llr vi�, e�a vill eigi grta.' � st� Hrm�r upp, en Baldr lei�ir hann t r hllinni, ok tk hringinn Draupni, ok sndi �ni til minja, en Nanna sndi Frigg ripti ok nn fleiri gjafar, Fullu fingr-gull. � rei� Hrm�r aptr lei� sna, ok kom sgar�, ok sag�i ll t�indi �au er hann haf�i st ok heyrt.

�v n�st sndu �sir um allan heim �rind-reka, at bi�ja at Baldr v�ri grtinn r hlju; en allir gr�u �at, mnninir, ok kykvendin, ok jr�in, ok steinarnir, ok tr, ok allr mlmr; sv sem � munt st hafa, at �essir hlutir grta, � er �eir koma r frosti ok hita. � er sndi-mnn fru heim, ok hf�u vel rekit sn �rindi, finna �eir hlli nkkurum hvar [*] ggr sat; hon nfndisk �kk. �eir bi�ja hana grta Baldr r hlju. Hon svarar:

'�kk mun grta �urrum trum Baldrs blfarar; kyks n dau�s naut-k-a-k karls sonar; [*] haldi Hl �v es hfir!'

En �ess geta mnn, at �ar hafi verit Loki Laufeyjar-son, er flest hfir ilt grt me� sum.

V. HE�INN AND HGNI

Konungr s er Hgni er nfndr tti dttur, er Hildr ht. Hana tk at hr-fangi konungr s er H�inn ht, Hjarranda- son. � var Hgni konungr farinn konunga-stfnu; en er hann spur�i at hrjat var rki hans, ok dttir hans var braut tkin, � fr hann me� snu li�i at leita H�ins, ok spur�i til hans at H�inn haf�i siglt nor�r me� landi. � [*] er Hgni konungr kom Noreg, spur�i hann at H�inn haf�i siglt vestr um haf. � siglir Hgni ptir honum allt til Orkn-eyja; ok er hann kom �ar sem heitir H-ey, � [*] var �ar fyrir H�inn me� li� sitt. � fr Hildr fund f�ur sns, ok bau� honum mn at s�tt af hndi H�ins, en �ru or�i sag�i hon at H�inn v�ri binn at brjask, ok �tti Hgni af honum engrar v�g�ar vn. Hgni svrar stirt dttur sinni; en er hon hitti H�in, sag�i hon honum, at Hgni vildi enga s�tt, ok ba� hann bask til orrostu, ok sv gra �eir hvrir-tvggju, ganga upp eyna, ok fylkja li�inu. � kallar H�inn Hgna, mg sinn, ok bau� honum s�tt ok mikit gull at btum. � svarar Hgni: 'of s� bauzt-u �etta, ef � vill s�ttask, �v at n hfi ek drgit Dins-leif, er dvergarnir gr�u, er manns bani skal ver�a, hvrt sinn er brt er, ok aldri bilar hggvi, ok ekki sr grr, ef �ar skeinisk af.' � svarar H�inn: 'sver�i hlir � �ar, en eigi sigri; �at kalla ek gott hvrt er drttin- holt er.' � hfu �eir orrostu � er Hja�ninga-vg er kallat, ok br�usk �ann dag allan, ok at kveldi fru konungar til skipa. En Hildr gekk of nttina til valsins, ok vak�i upp me� fjlkyngi alla � er dau�ir vru; ok annan dag gengu konungarnir vg-vllinn ok br�usk, ok sv allir �eir er fellu hinn fyrra daginn. Fr sv s orrosta hvrn dag ptir annan, at allir �eir er fellu, ok ll vpn �au er lgu vgvlli, ok sv hlfar, ur�u at grjti. En er daga�i, st�u upp allir dau�ir mnn, ok br�usk, ok ll vpn vru � n. Sv er sagt kv��um, at Hja�ningar skulu sv b�a ragna-r�krs.

VI. THE DEATH OF OLAF TRYGGVASON

Sveinn konungr tjgu-skgg tti Sigr�i hina str-r�u. Sigr�r var hinn mesti -vinr lfs konungs Tryggva-sonar; ok fann �at til saka at lfr konungr haf�i slitit einka-mlum vi� hana, ok lostit hana and-lit. Hon ggja�i mjk Svein konung til at halda orrostu vi� lf konung Tryggvason, ok kom hon sv snum for-tlum at Sveinn konungr var full- kominn at gra �etta r�. Ok snimma um vrit sndi Sveinn konungr mnn austr til Sv-�j�ar fund lfs konungs Sva-konungs, mgs sns, ok Eirks jarls; ok lt sgja �eim at lfr, Noregs konungr, haf�i lei�angr ti, ok �tla�i at fara um sumarit til Vind-lands. Fylg�i �at or�-snding Dana-konungs, at �eir Svakonungr ok Eirkr jarl skyldi hr ti hafa, ok fara til mts vi� Svein konung, skyldu �eir � allir samt lggja til orrostu vi� lf konung Tryggva- son. En lfr Svakonungr ok Eirkr jarl vru �essar fr�ar al-bnir, ok drgu � saman skipa-hr mikinn af Sva- vldi, fru �v li�i su�r til Dan-markar ok kvmu �ar sv, [*] at lfr konungr Tryggvason haf�i �r austr siglt. �eir Svakonungr ok Eirkr jarl heldu til fundar vi� Danakonung, ok hf�u � allir saman -grynni hrs.

Sveinn konungr, � er hann haf�i snt ptir hrinum, � sndi hann Sigvalda jarl til Vindlands at njsna um fr� lfs konungs Tryggvasonar, ok gildra sv til, at fundr �eira Sveins konungs m�tti ver�a. Frr � Sigvaldi jarl lei� sna, ok kom fram Vindlandi, fr til Jmsborgar, ok s�an fund lfs konungs Tryggvasonar. Vru �ar mikil vinttu-ml �eira me�al, kom jarl sr hinn mesta k�rleik vi� lf konung. str�r kona jarls, dttir Burizleifs konungs, var vinr mikill lfs konungs, ok var �at mjk af hinum fyrrum tng�um, er lafr konungr haf�i tt Geiru, systur [*] hnnar. Sigvaldi jarl var ma�r vitr ok r�ugr; en er hann kom sr r�a-gr� vi� lf konung, � dval�i hann mjk fr�ina hans austan at sigla, ok fann til �ess mjk msa hluti. [*] En li� lfs konungs lt geysi illa, ok vru mnn mjk heim-fsir, er �eir lgu albnir, en ve�r byr-v�n. Sigvaldi jarl fekk njsn leyniliga af Danmrk, at � var austan kominn hrr Svakonungs, ok Eirkr jarl haf�i � ok binn sinn hr, ok �eir hf�ingjarnir mundu � koma austr undir Vindland, ok �eir hf�u kve�it, at �eir mundu b�a lfs konungs vi� ey � er Svl�r heitir, sv �at, at jarl skyldi sv til stilla [*] at �eir m�tti �ar finna lf konung.

� kom pati nakkvarr til Vindlands, at Sveinn Dana- konungr hf�i hr ti, ok gr�isk brtt s kurr, at Sveinn Danakonungr mundi vilja finna lf konung. En Sigvaldi jarl sgir konungi: 'ekki er �at r� Sveins konungs at lggja til bardaga vi� �ik me� Dana-hr einn saman, sv mikinn hr sem �r hafi�. En ef y�r er nakkvarr grunr �v, at -fri�r muni fyrir, � skal ek fylgja y�r me� mnu [*] li�i, ok �tti �at styrkr vera fyrr, hvar sem Jms-vkingar fylg�u hf�ingjum; mun ek f �r ellifu skip vel skipu�.' Konungr jtti �essu. Var � ltit ve�r ok hag-sttt; lt konungr � leysa flotann, ok blsa til brott-lgu. Drgu mnn � segl sn, ok gengu meira sm-skipin ll, ok sigldu [*] �au undan haf t. En jarl sigldi n�r konungs-skipinu, ok kalla�i til �eira, ba� konung sigla ptir sr: 'mr er kunnast,' sgir hann, 'hvar djpast er um eyja-sundin, en �r munu� �ess �urfa me� �au in stru skipin.' Sigldi � jarl fyrir me� snum skipum. Hann haf�i ellifu skip, en konungr sigldi ptir honum me� sinum str-skipum, haf�i hann �ar ok ellifu skip, en allr annarr hrrinn sigldi t hafit. En er Sigvaldi jarl sigldi utan at Svl�r, � r�ri mti �eim skta ein. �eir sgja jarli at hrr Dana- konungs l �ar hfninni fyrir �eim. � lt jarl hla�a seglunum, ok ra �eir inn undir eyna.

Sveinn Danakonungr ok lfr Svakonungr ok Eirkr jarl vru �ar � me� allan hr sinn; � var fagrt ve�r ok bjart sl-skin. Gengu �eir n upp hlminn allir hf�ingjar me� miklar sveitir manna, ok s er skipin sigldu t hafit mjk mrg saman. Ok n sj �eir hvar siglir eitt mikit skip ok gl�siligt; � m�ltu b�ir konungarnir: '�etta er mikit skip ok kafliga fagrt, �etta mun vera Ormrinn langi.' Eirkr jarl svarar ok sgir: 'ekki er �etta Ormr hinn langi.' Ok sv var sem hann sag�i; �etta skip tti Eindri�i af Gimsum. Ltlu s�ar s �eir hvar annat skip sigldi miklu meira en hit fyrra. � m�lti Sveinn konungr: 'hr�ddr er lfr Tryggvason n, eigi �orir hann at sigla me� hfu�in skipi snu.' � sgir Eirkr jarl: 'ekki er �etta konungs skip, knni ek �etta skip ok seglit, �v at stafat er seglit, �at Erlingr Skjlgsson; ltum sigla �, btra er oss skar� ok missa flota lfs konungs en �etta skip �ar sv bit.' En stundu s�ar s �eir ok kndu skip Sigvalda jarls, ok viku �an �annig at hlmanum. � s �eir hvar sigldu �rj skip, ok var eitt mikit skip. M�lti � Sveinn konungr, bi�r � ganga til skipa sinna, sgir at �ar frr Ormrinn langi. Eirkr jarl m�lti: 'mrg hafa �eir nnur str skip ok gl�silig en Orm hinn langa, b�um nn.' � m�ltu mjk margir mnn: 'eigi vill Eirkr jarl n brjask, ok hfna f�ur sns; �etta er skmm mikil, sv at spyrjask mun um ll lnd, ef vr liggjum hr me� jafn-miklu li�i, en lfr konungr sigli hafit t hr hj oss sjlfum.' En er �eir hf�u �etta talat um hr�, � s �eir hvar sigldu fjogur skip, ok eitt af �eim var drki all-mikill ok mjk gull-binn. � st� upp Sveinn konungr, ok m�lti: 'htt mun Ormrinn bera mik kveld, honum skal ek stra.' � m�ltu margir, at Ormrinn var fur�u mikit skip ok frtt, ok rausn mikil at lta gra slkt skip. � m�lti Eirkr jarl, sv at nakkvarir mnn heyr�u: '�tt lfr konungr hf�i ekki meira skip en �etta, � mundi Sveinn konungr �at aldri f af honum me� einn saman Danahr.' Dreif � flkit til skipanna, ok rku af tjldin, ok �tlu�u at bask skjtliga. En er hf�ingjar rddu �etta milli sn, sem n er sagt, � s �eir, hvar sigldu �rj skip all-mikil, ok fjr�a s�ast, ok var �at Ormrinn langi. En �au hin stru skip, er �r hf�u siglt, ok �eir hug�u at Ormrinn v�ri, �at var hit fyrra Traninn, en hit s�ara Ormrinn skammi. En � er �eir s Orminn langa, kndu allir, ok m�lti � engi mt, at �ar mundi sigla lfr Tryggvason; gengu � til skipanna, ok skipu�u til at- lgunnar. Vru �at einkaml �eira hf�ingja, Sveins konungs, lfs konungs, Eirks jarls, at sinn �ri�jung Noregs skyldi eignask hvrr �eira, ef �eir fldi lf konung Tryggvason; en s �eira hf�ingja er fyrst gengi Orminn, skyldi eignask alt �at hlut-skipti er �ar fengisk, ok hvrr �eira �au skip er sjlfr hry�i. Eirkr jarl haf�i bar�a einn geysi mikinn, er hann var vanr at hafa viking; �ar var skgg ofan- ver�u bar�inu hvrutvggja, en ni�r fr jrn-spng �ykk ok sv brei� sem bar�it, ok tk alt s� ofan.

� er �eir Sigvaldi jarl r�ru inn undir hlminn, � s �at �eir �orkll dy�rill af Trananum ok a�rir skip-stjrn- ar-mnn, �eir er me� honum fru, at jarl sn�ri skipum undir hlmann; � hl�u �eir ok seglum, ok r�ru ptir honum, ok kllu�u til �eira, spur�u, hv �eir fru sv. Jarl sgir, at hann vill b�a lfs konungs: 'ok er meiri vn at fri�r s fyrir oss.' Ltu �eir � fljta skipin, �ar til er �orkll nfja kom me� Orminn skamma, ok �au �rj skip er honum fylg�u. Ok vru �eim sg� hin smu t�indi; hl�u �eir � ok snum seglum, ok ltu fljta, ok bi�u lfs konungs. En � er konungrinn sigldi innan at hl- manum, � r�ri allr hrrinn t sundit fyrir �. En er �eir s �at, �a b�u �eir konunginn sigla lei� sna, en lggja eigi til orrostu vi� sv mikinn hr. Konungr svarar htt, ok st� upp lyptingunni: 'lti ofan seglit, ekki skulu mnir mnn hyggja fltta, ek hfi aldri flit orrostu, r�i Gu� fyrir lfi mnu, en aldri mun ek fltta lggja.' Var sv grt sem konungr m�lti.

lfr konungr lt blsa til sam-lgu llum skipum snum. Var konungs skip mi�ju li�i, en �ar annat bor� Ormrinn skammi, en annat bor� Traninn. En � er �eir tku at tngja stafna Orminum langa ok Orminum skamma, ok er konungr s �at, kalla�i hann htt, ba� � lggja fram btr hit mikla skipit, ok lta �at eigi aptast vera allra skipa hrinum. � svarar lfr hinn rau�i: 'ef Orminn skal �v lngra fram lggja, sem hann er lngri en nnur skip, � mun -vint ver�a um sxin dag.' Konungr sgir: 'eigi vissa ek at ek �tta stafnbann b��i rau�an ok ragan.' lfr m�lti: 'vr � eigi meir baki lyptingina en ek mun stafninn.' Konungr helt boga, ok lag�i r strng, ok sn�ri at lfi. lfr m�lti: 'skjt annan veg, konungr �annig sem meiri er �rfin; �r vinn ek �at er ek vinn.'

lfr konungr st� lyptingu Orminum, bar hann htt [*] mjk; hann haf�i gyltan skjld ok gull-ro�inn hjlm; var hann au�-kndr fr �rum mnnum: hann haf�i rau�an kyrtil stuttan utan yfir brynju. En er lfr konungr s at ri�lu�usk flotarnir, ok upp vru stt mrki fyrir hf�ingjum, � spyrr hann: 'hvrr er hf�ingi fyrir li�i �v er ggnt oss er?' Honum var sagt at �ar var Sveinn konungr tjguskgg me� Danahr. Konungr svarar: 'ekki hr��umk vr bley�ur ��r, engi er hugr Dnum. En hvrr hf�ingi fylgir �eim mrkjum er �ar eru t fr hgra veg?' Honum var sagt at �ar var lfr konungr me� Sva-hr. lfr konungr sgir: 'btra v�ri Svum heima at sleikja um blt- bolla sna en ganga Orminn undir vpn y�ur. En hvrir eigu �au hin stru skip, er �ar liggja t bak-bor�a Dnum?' '�ar er,' sgja �eir 'Eirkr jarl Hkonar-son.' � svara�i lfr konungr: 'hann mun �ykkjask eiga vi� oss skapligan fund, ok oss er vn snarpligrar orrostu af �v li�i; �eir eru Nor�-mnn, sem vr erum.'

S�an grei�a konungar at-r�r. Lag�i Sveinn konungr sitt skip mti Orminum langa, en lfr konungr Snski lag�i t fr, ok stakk stfnum at yzta skipi lfs konungs Tryggvasonar, en �rum megin Eirkr jarl. Tksk �ar � hr� orrosta. Sigvaldi jarl lt skotta vi� sn skip, ok lag�i ekki til orrostu.

�essi orrosta var hin snarpasta ok all-mann-sk�. Fram- byggjar Orminum langa ok Orminum skamma ok Trananum fr�u akkeri ok stafn-lj skip Sveins konungs, en ttu vpnin at bera ni�r undir ftr sr; hru�u �eir ll �au skip er �eir fengu haldit. En konungrinn Sveinn ok �at li� er undan komsk fl�i nnur skip, ok �ar n�st lg�u �eir fr r skot-mli. Ok fr �essi hrr sv sem gat lfr konungr Tryggvason. � lag�i �ar at sta�inn lfr Svakonungr; ok �egar er �eir koma n�r strskipum, � fr �eim sem hinum, at �eir ltu li� mikit ok sum skip sn, ok lg�u fr vi� sv bit. En Eirkr jarl s-byr�i Bar�anum vi� hit yzta skip lfs konungs, ok hrau� hann �at, ok hj �egar �at r tngslum, en lag�i � at �v, er �ar var n�st, ok bar�isk til �ess er �at var hro�it. Tk � li�it at hlaupa af hinum sm�rum skipunum, ok upp strskipin. En Eirkr jarl hj hvrt r tngslunum, sv sem hro�it var. En Danir ok Svar lg�u � skotml ok llum megin at skipum lfs konungs, en Eirkr jarl l valt sbyrt vi� skipin, ok tti hgg-orrostu. En sv sem mnn fellu skipum hans, � gengu a�rir upp sta�inn, Svar ok Danir. � var orrosta hin snarpasta, ok fell � mjk li�it, ok kom sv at lyk�um, at ll vru hro�in skip lfs konungs Tryggvasonar nema Ormrinn langi; var �ar � alt li� komit, �at er vgt var hans manna. � lag�i Eirkr jarl Bar�anum at Orminum langa sbyrt, ok var �ar hggorrosta.

Eirlkr jarl var fyrir-rmi skipi snu, ok var �ar fylkt me� skjald-borg. Var � b��i hggorrosta, ok spjtum lagit, ok kastat llu �v er til vpna var, en sumir skutu boga-skoti e�a hand-skoti. Var �a sv mikill vpnabur�r Orminn, at varla mtti hlfum vi� koma, er sv �ykt flugu spjt ok rvar; �v at llum megin lg�u hrskip at Orminum. En mnn lfs konungs vru � sv �ir, at �eir hljpu upp bor�in, til �ess at n me� sver�s-hggum at drepa flkit. En margir lg�u eigi sv undir Orminn, at �eir vildi hggorrostu vera. En lfs mnn gengu flestir t af bor�unum, ok g�u eigi annars en �eir br�isk slttum vlli, ok sukku ni�r me� vpnum snum.

Einarr �ambar-sklfir var Orminum aptr krappa-rmi; hann skaut af boga, ok var allra manna har�-skeytastr. Einarr skaut at Eirki jarli, ok laust stris-hnakkann fyrir ofan hfu� jarli, ok gekk alt upp reyr-bndin. Jarl leit til, ok spur�i ef �eir vissi, hvrr skaut. En jafn-skjtt kom nnur r sv n�r jarli, at flaug milli s�unna ok handarinnar, ok sv aptr hf�a-fjlina, at langt st� t broddrinn. � m�lti jarl vi� mann �ann er sumir nfna Finn, en sumir sgja at hann v�ri Finskr, s var hinn mesti bog-ma�r: 'skjt-tu mann �ann hinn mikla krapparminu!' Finnr skaut, ok kom rin boga Einars mi�jan, �v bili er Einarr dr it �ri�ja sinn bogann. Brast � boginn tv hluti. � m�lti lfr konungr: 'hvat brast �ar sv htt?' Einarr svarar: 'Noregr r hndi �r, konungr!' 'Eigi mun sv mikill brestr at or�inn,' sgir konungr, 'tak boga minn, ok skjt af,' ok kasta�i boganum til hans. Einarr tk bogann, ok dr �egar fyrir odd rvarinnar, ok m�lti: 'ofveikr, ofveikr allvalds boginn!' ok kasta�i aptr boganum; tk � skjld sinn ok sver�, ok bar�isk.

lfr konungr Tryggvason st� lypting Orminum, ok skaut optast um daginn, stundum bogaskoti, en stundum gaflkum, ok jafnan tveim snn. Hann s fram skipit, ok s sna mnn rei�a sver�in ok hggva ttt, ok s at illa bitu; m�lti � htt: 'hvrt rei�i �r sv sl�liga sver�in, er ek s at ekki bta y�r?' Ma�r svarar: 'sver� vr eru sl� ok brotin mjk.' � gekk konungr ofan fyrirrmit ok lauk upp hs�tis-kistuna, tk �ar r mrg sver� hvss, ok fekk mnnum. En er hann tk ni�r hinni hgri hndi, � s mnn at bl� rann ofan undan bryn-stkunni; en engi vissi hvar hann var srr.

Mest var vrnin Orminum ok mannsk�ust af fyrirrms- mnnum ok stafnbum; �ar var hvrttvggja, valit mest mann-flkit ok h�st bor�in. En li� fell fyrst um mitt skipit. Ok � er ftt st� manna upp um siglu-skei�, � r� Eirkr jarl til upp-gngunnar, ok kom upp Orminn vi� fimtnda [*] mann. � kom mt honum Hyrningr, mgr lfs konungs, me� sveit manna, ok var� �ar inn har�asti bardagi, ok lauk sv, at jarl hrkk ofan aptr Bar�ann; en �eir mnn er honum hf�u fylgt fellu sumir, en sumir vru s�r�ir. �ar var� nn in snarpasta orrosta, ok fellu � margir mnn Orminum. En er �yntisk skipan Orminum til varnarinnar, � r� Eirkr jarl annat sinn til uppgngu Orminn. Var� � nn hr� vi�-taka. En er �etta s stafnbar Orminum, � gengu �eir aptr skipit, ok snask til varnar mti jarli, ok veita har�a vi�tku. En fyrir �v at � var sv mjk fallit li� Orminum, at v�a vru au� bor�in, tku � jarls mnn v�a upp at ganga. En alt �at li� er � st� upp til varnar Orminum stti aptr skipit, �ar sem konungr var.

Kolbjrn stallari gekk upp lypting til konungs; �eir hf�u mjk lkan kl��a-bna� ok vpna, Kolbjrn var ok [*] allra manna mestr ok fr�astr. Var� n nn fyrirrminu in snarpasta orrosta. En fyrir � sk at � var sv mikit flk komit upp Orminn af li�i jarls sem vera mtti skipinu, en skip hans lg�u at llum megin utan at Orminum, en ltit fjl-mnni til varnar mti sv miklum hr, n �tt �eir mnn v�ri b��i strkir ok frknir, � fellu n flestir ltilli stundu. En lfr konungr sjlfr ok �eir Kolbjrn b�ir hljpu � fyrir bor�, ok sitt bor� hvrr. En jarls mnn hf�u lagt utan at sm-sktur, ok drpu � er kaf hljpu. Ok � er konungr sjlfr haf�i kaf hlaupit, vildu �eir taka hann hndum, ok fra Eirki jarli. En lfr konungr br yfir sik skildinum, ok steyp�isk kaf; en Kolbjrn stallari skaut undir sik skildinum, ok hlf�i sr sv vi� vpnum er lagt var af skipum �eim er undir lgu, ok fell hann sv s�inn at skjldrinn var� undir honum, ok komsk hann �v eigi kaf sv skjtt, ok var� hann hand-tkinn ok drginn upp sktuna, ok hug�u �eir at �ar v�ri konungrinn. Var hann � leiddr fyrir jarl. En er �ess var� jarl varr at �ar var Kolbjrn, en eigi lfr konungr, � vru Kolbirni gri� gefin. En �essi svipan hljpu allir fyrir bor� af Orminum, �eir er � vru lfi, lfs konungs mnn; ok sgir Hall- fre�r vandr��a-skld, at �orkll nfja, konungs br�ir, hljp s�ast allra manna fyrir bor�.

Sv var fyrr ritat, at Sigvaldi jarl kom til fruneytis vi� lf konung Vindlandi, ok haf�i tu skip, en �at hit ellifta, er vru mnn str�ar konungs-dttur, konu jarls. En � er lfr konungr haf�i fyrir bor� hlaupit, � p�i hrrinn allr sigr-p, ok � lustu �eir rum s� Sigvaldi jarl ok hans mnn, ok r�ru til bardaga. En s Vinda- snkkjan, er str�ar mnn vru , r�ri brott ok aptr undir Vindland; ok var �at margra manna ml �egar, at lfr konungr mundi hafa steypt af sr brynjunni kafi, ok kafat sv t undan langskipunum, lagizk s�an til Vindasnkkj- unnar, ok hf�i mnn str�ar flutt hann til lands. Ok eru �ar margar fr-sagnir um fr�ir lfs konungs grvar s�an af sumum mnnum. En hvrn veg sem �at hfir verit, � kom lfr konungr Tryggvason aldri s�an til rkis Noregi.

VII. AU�UN

Ma�r ht Au�un, Vest-firzkr at kyni ok f-ltill; hann fr utan vestr �ar fjr�um me� um-r�i �orsteins bnda g�s, ok �ris stri-manns, er �ar haf�i �egit vist of vetrinn me� �orsteini. Au�un var ok �ar, ok starfa�i fyrir honum �ri, ok � �essi laun af honum—utan-fr�ina ok hans um-sj. Hann Au�un lag�i mestan hluta fjr �ess er var fyrir m�ur sna, �r hann stigi skip, ok var kve�it �riggja vetra bjrg. Ok n fara �eir utan he�an, ok frsk �eim vel, ok var Au�un of vetrinn ptir me� �ri strimanni; hann tti b Mri. Ok um sumarit ptir fara �eir t til Grn-lands, ok eru �ar of vetrinn. �ess er vi� getit at Au�un kaupir �ar bjarn-dri eitt, grsimi mikla, ok gaf �ar fyrir alla eigu sna. Ok n of sumarit ptir � fara �eir aptr til Noregs, ok ver�a vel rei�-fara; hfir Au�un dr sitt me� sr, ok �tlar n at fara su�r til Danmrkr fund Sveins konungs, ok gefa honum drit. Ok er hann kom su�r landit, �ar sem konungr var fyrir, � gngr hann upp af [*] skipi, ok lei�ir ptir sr drit, ok leigir sr hr-brgi. Haraldi konungi var sagt brtt at �ar var komit bjarndri, grsimi mikil, 'ok s-lnzkr ma�r.' Konungr sndir �egar mnn ptir honum, ok er Au�un kom fyrir konung, kv�r hann konung vel; konungr tk vel kv�ju hans, ok spur�i s�an: 'ttu grsimi mikla bjarndri?' Hann svarar, ok kvezk eiga drit eitthvrt. Konungr m�lti: 'villtu slja oss drit vi� slku ver�i sem � keyptir?' Hann svarar: 'eigi vil ek �at, herra!' 'Villtu �,' sgir konungr, 'at ek gefa �r tvau [*] ver� slk, ok mun �at rttara, ef � hfir �ar vi� gefit alla �na eigu.' 'Eigi vil ek �at, herra!' sgir hann. Konungr m�lti: 'villtu gefa mr �?' Hann svarar: 'eigi, herra!' Konungr m�lti: 'hvat villtu � af gra?' Hann svarar: 'fara,' sgir hann, 'til Danmrkr, ok gefa Sveini konungi.' Haraldr konungr sgir: 'hvrt er, at � ert ma�r sv vitr at � hfir eigi heyrt fri� �ann er milli er landa �essa, e�a �tlar � giptu �na sv mikla, at � munir �ar komask me� grsimar, er a�rir f eigi komizk klakk-laust, � at nau�-syn eigi til?' Au�un svarar: 'herra! �at er y�ru valdi, en engu jtum vr �ru en �essu er vr hfum �r �tlat.' � m�lti konungr: 'hv mun eigi �at til, at � farir lei� �na, sem � vill, ok kom � til mn, er � frr aptr, ok sg mr, hvrsu Sveinn konungr launar �r drit, ok kann �at vera, at � sr g�fu-ma�r.' '�v heit ek �r,' sag�i Au�un.

Hann frr n s�an su�r me� landi, ok Vk austr, ok � til Danmrkr; ok er � uppi hvrr pnningr fjrins, ok ver�r hann � bi�ja matar b��i fyrir sik ok fyrir drit. Hann k�mr fund r-manns Sveins konungs, �ess er ki ht, ok ba� hann vista nakkvarra b��i fyrir sik ok fyrir drit: 'ek �tla,' sgir hann, 'at gefa Sveini konungi drit.' ki lzk slja mundu honum vistir, ef hann vildi. Au�un kvezk ekki til hafa fyrir at gefa; 'en ek vilda �,' sgir hann, 'at �etta kv�misk til lei�ar at ek m�tta drit fra konungi.' 'Ek mun f �r vistir, sem it �urfi� til konungs fundar; en �ar mti vil ek eiga hlft drit, ok mttu �at lta, at drit mun deyja fyrir �r, �ars it �urfu� vistir miklar, en f s farit, ok er bit vi� at � hafir � ekki drsins.' Ok [*] er hann ltr �etta, snisk honum nakkvat ptir sem [*] rma�rinn m�lti fyrir honum, ok s�ttask �eir �etta, at hann slr ka hlft drit, ok skal konungr s�an meta alt saman. Skulu �eir fara b�ir n fund konungs; ok sv gra �eir: fara n b�ir fund konungs, ok st�u fyrir bor�inu. Konungr hug�i, hvrr �essi ma�r myndi vera, er hann kndi eigi, ok m�lti s�an til Au�unar: 'hvrr er-tu?' sgir hann. Hann svarar: 'ek em slnzkr ma�r, herra,' sgir hann, 'ok kominn n utan af Grnlandi, ok n [*] af Noregi, ok �tla�a-k at fra y�r bjarndri �etta; keypta-k �at me� allri eigu minni, ok n er � or�it mikit fyrir mr; ek n hlft eitt drit,' ok sgir konungi s�an, hvrsu farit haf�i me� �eim ka rmanni hans. Konungr m�lti: 'er �at satt, ki, er hann sgir?' 'Satt er �at,' sgir hann. Konungr m�lti: 'ok �tti �r �at til liggja, �ar sem ek stta-k �ik mikinn mann, at hpta �at e�a tlma er ma�r gr�isk til at fra mr grsimi, ok gaf fyrir alla eign, ok s �at Haraldr konungr at r�i at lta hann fara fri�i, ok er hann vrr vinr? Hygg � at �, hv sannligt �at var �innar handar, ok �at v�ri makligt, at � v�rir drepinn; en ek mun n eigi �at gra, en braut skaltu fara �egar r landinu, ok koma aldri aptr s�an mr aug-sn! En �r, Au�un! kann ek slka �kk, sem � gefir mr alt drit, ok ver hr me� mr.' �at �kkisk hann, ok er me� Sveini konungi um hr�.