Steinn Nizv 7II/1 — myndi ‘would’
Eigi myndi undan
allvaldr Dana halda
— oss dugir satt of snotran
sælinga kon mæla —,
ef menn fyr sæ sunnan,
— sverð reiddusk at ferðir —
þeirs herskildi heldu,
hrafnfœði vel tœði.
Allvaldr Dana myndi eigi halda undan—dugir oss mæla satt of snotran kon sælinga—, ef menn fyr sunnan sæ, þeirs heldu herskildi, tœði hrafnfœði vel; ferðir reiddusk sverð at.
The mighty ruler of the Danes [= Sveinn] would not have fled—it is fitting for us [me] to speak the truth about the wise descendant of wealthy people—, if men south of the sea, who held the war-shield, had supported the raven-feeder [WARRIOR] well; troops swung swords at [each other].
readings
[1] myndi: mundi all
notes
[1] myndi (3rd pers. sg. pret. subj.) ‘would’: The subj. form of the verb is required by the syntax. The indic. (mundi 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic., so all mss) is very rare in hypothetical main clauses (see NS §199 anm.).
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- | ||