3. After 1200 and 1250
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a. Phonology
i. Vowels in stressed syllables
— After 1200:
• sjalfr : sjálfr. a, o, ǫ, u > á, ó, ô/á, ú | –lf, lg, lk, lm, lp. Icelandic only. Ex. halfr : hálfr, sjǫlfum : sjálfum (< sjôlfum), holpinn : hólpinn, ulfr : úlfr, etc. Date: a little before 1200. Occasional lengthening before ln, ls: háls, bólstr. Use nonlengthened forms prior to the 13th century. Also note: skáld does not occur with / a: / in internal rhyme prior to the 14th c.
— After 1250:
• sôrum : sárum. á v. ô. Coalescence in < á > ca. 1250. Use < á > after 1250.
• bœr : bær. œ > æ (Icelandic). Date: shortly before 1250. Use < æ > after 1250.
• mjǫk : mjök. ǫ > ø (< ö >). Date: Found in some mss as early as the 13th c. Use < ö > after 1250.
ii. Consonants
• vesa : vera. s > r. Ex. es > er (verb), vesa > vera. Date: first traces ca. 1150 (Einarr Skúlason, Rǫgnvaldr kali). Use r–forms from 1150 on when required by internal rhyme; use r–forms consistently after 1250. Note that this change occurred earlier in Norway than in Iceland.
• ð > þ > t | f, k, p–. Stages (þ-stage preserved in the oldest literature):
• merkþa : merkta. þ > t | [+long syllable]– . Date: as early as 1200.
• vakþa : vakta. þ > t | [+short syllable]– . Date: ca. 1250. Note: there is no information on when the change ð > þ occurred: most textual editions retain the etymological spelling < ð >.
• Gizurr : Gissur. tz (< z >) > ss | V–V. Date: ca. 1250.
b. Morphology
• es : er (relative particle). Chronology: es is found in the earliest mss, still occurs in mss until 1250, although er becomes increasingly common from 1200 onwards. Use er after 1250. Note that this change occurred earlier in Norway than in Iceland.
• of : um. Of still found in mss 1250, alongside um. Use of prior to 1250.
• fyr : fyrir. As above.
— Mediopassive:
• leggsk : leggz(k). The ending –sk is still found in mss after 1250 (especially with monosyllabic verbs: komsk, etc.). After 1200 z(k) forms occur; after 1300 the s–forms disappear. Use –sk prior to 1250.