Anon Mv III 22VII/5 — máttu ‘can you’
Árar stukku, þegar þeir
þessa heyrðu gietið vess;
síðan yrðir sæl brúðr
sveitir þeira háleit:
‘hvessu máttu …
hælaz,’ kvað meyin sæl;
‘þennan kalla eg mier mann;
minna sie eg að þier vinnz.
Árar stukku, þegar þeir heyrðu þessa vess gietið; síðan yrðir sæl, háleit brúðr sveitir þeira: ‘Hvessu máttu hælaz …,’ kvað sæl meyin; ‘eg kalla mier þennan mann; eg sie, að minna vinnz þier.
The messengers ran away as soon as they heard this verse mentioned; then the blessed, exalted bride addresses their troops: ‘How can you boast …,’ said the blessed Virgin; ‘I claim this man for myself; I see that less is achieved for you.
readings
[5] máttu: so 1032ˣ, ‘m[...]v’ 721
notes
[5]: After máttu ‘can you’, the scribe of 721 mistakenly continued to complete the l. with the words from st. 14/1-2 above, which had the same onset. He accordingly wrote í hendr oss himiríkis, lit. ‘against us of the heavenly kingdom’, which was then crossed out. The next words, which form the conclusion of l. 1, are no longer legible. They must have alliterated and carried internal rhyme. Skald supplies the form of address helskass ‘hell-troll’ (hap. leg.) (see NN §3368). Wrightson reads hjer ‘here’, which is unmetrical (two words are missing, not one).
grammar
Verbs: Preterite-present verbs
The present tense of these verbs is like the past tense of strong verbs, and their past tense is weak.
| eiga | mega | kunna | skulu | munu | muna | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indic. pres. | sing. pl. | 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd | á átt á eigum eiguð eigu | má mátt má megum meguð megu | kann kannt kann kunnum kunnuð kunnu | skal skalt skal skulum skuluð skulu | mun munt mun munum munuð munu | man mant man munum munið muna |
| indic. past stem subj. pres. stem subj. past stem | átt- eig- ætt- | mátt- meg- mætt- | kunn- kunn- kynn- | skyld- skyl- skyld- | mund- myn- mynd- | mund- mun- mynd- | ||