RvHbreiðm Hl 80III/8 — it ‘the’
Kœnn hlaut lofðungr linna
láð; segik vísa dáðir;
gramr prýddi sá gumna
gjǫfum; kunni sið jǫfra.
Ógnbeiðis naut auðar
ǫld; leyfum bǫr skjaldar,
þvít ljósan veg vísi
vann; nús mælt it sanna.
Kœnn lofðungr hlaut láð linna; segik dáðir vísa; sá gramr prýddi gumna gjǫfum; kunni sið jǫfra. Ǫld naut auðar ógnbeiðis; leyfum bǫr skjaldar, þvít vísi vann ljósan veg; nús it sanna mælt.
The clever lord obtained the land of serpents [GOLD]; I recount the ruler’s deeds; that monarch adorned men with gifts; he knew the custom of princes. People enjoyed the wealth of the war-craver [WARRIOR]; we [I] praise the tree of the shield [WARRIOR] because the ruler gained glowing glory; now the truth has been told.
notes
[8] nús it sanna mælt ‘now the truth has been told’: Holtsmark (Hl 1941, 139) suggests that the second skald, whose stanza focuses on Óláfr’s generosity, added this clause as a gentle corrective to the first poet – as Óláfr’s nickname kyrri ‘the Quiet’ shows, he was not known for his bellicose exploits.
grammar
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 |