SnSt Ht 90III/6 — kann ‘knows how’
Mǫrg þjóð ferr til siklings sala;
sœmð es þar til allra dvala;
tiggi veitir seima svala;
satt es bezt of hann at tala.
Bresta spyrjum bauga flata
— bragna vinr kann gulli hat*a —
— œðri, veitk, at gjǫflund gata
grundar vǫrðr — fyr hringa skata.
Mǫrg þjóð ferr til sala siklings; sœmð es þar til allra dvala; tiggi veitir svala seima; es bezt at tala satt of hann. Spyrjum flata bauga bresta fyr skata hringa; vinr bragna kann hat*a gulli; veitk, at vǫrðr grundar gata œðri gjǫflund.
Many people travel to the halls of the sovereign; honour accrues to all who stay there; the ruler gives out cool gold; it is best to tell the truth about him. We [I] learn that flat circlets burst before the chieftain of rings [GENEROUS MAN]; the friend of men [= Skúli] knows how to hate gold; I know that no guardian of the ground [RULER] got a nobler generous disposition.
notes
[6] kann hat*a gulli ‘knows how to hate gold’: This means ‘give away gold’ i.e. ‘be generous’. Kann ‘knows’ is not used purely as a pleonastic auxiliary here. Ms. R reads ‘hatta’, which must be a scribal error.
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- | ||