Mér kom (mundar fúra)
meyjar hold í eyju
(fátt segir Freyr it réttra)
fjarri allt nema varrar.
En, sás oss vill kenna,
atgeirs, af því fleira,
Baldr (mun sjá til sjaldan)
segi allvesall (þegja).
Hold meyjar kom fjarri mér í eyju, allt nema varrar; Freyr fúra mundar segir fátt it réttra. En Baldr atgeirs, sás vill kenna oss fleira af því, segi allvesall; sjá mun til sjaldan þegja.
The maiden’s flesh came nowhere near [lit. far from] me on the island, all except the lips; the Freyr <god> of flames of the hand [GOLD > MAN = Eindriði] says few things more true. But may the Baldr <god> of the halberd [WARRIOR] who wants to accuse us [me] further about that speak completely wretched; this man [the accuser] will too seldom be silent.
[3] fátt it réttra ‘few things more true’: The phrase is grammatically sg. Kock (NN §2013; Skald) disputes the need for emendation, reading fátt it rétta. This would mean ‘few things [that are] true’, presumably referring to the speech of the accuser rather than the poet, but this seems unlikely given that the accuser is not introduced until the second helmingr.
Pronouns and determiners: Definite article
The definite article is normally suffixed to nouns, except in some cases where it is used with an adjective. If the noun form ends in a vowel, the 'i' in the article is dropped. If the noun form ends in 'um', the 'm' and 'i' are both dropped. E.g. hesta (acc. pl.) > hestana (acc. pl. definite); hestum (dat. pl.) > hestunum (dat. pl. definite)
masc. | fem. | neut. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
sing. | N A G D | inn inn ins inum | in ina innar inni | it it ins inu |
pl. | N A G D | inir ina inna inum | inar inar inna inum | in in inna inum |