Sigv Erlfl 1I/2 — inn ‘the’
Út réð Erlingr skjóta
eik, sás rauð inn bleika,
— iflaust es þat — jǫfri,
arnar fót, at móti.
Skeið hans lá svá síðan
siklings í her miklum
(snarir bǫrðusk þar sverðum)
síbyrð við skip (fyrðar).
Erlingr, sás rauð inn bleika fót arnar, réð skjóta út eik at móti jǫfri; þat es iflaust. Skeið hans lá svá síðan í miklum her siklings, síbyrð við skip; snarir fyrðar bǫrðusk þar sverðum.
Erlingr, who reddened the pale foot of the eagle, caused the oak vessel to be launched against the ruler [Óláfr]; that is without doubt. His warship lay thus afterwards in the great host of the prince [Óláfr], alongside [his] ship; brisk men fought there with swords.
readings
[2] sás rauð inn bleika: sá eldin bleiki 61; inn (‘hinn’): enn Holm2, J2ˣ, 68, Holm4, 325V
notes
[2] inn ‘the’: While the main ms. and several others have a form that is unambiguously the def. art. (inn or hinn), a substantial number of mss have the form enn which could conceivably be adverbial ‘again, further’. However, constructions with def. art. + adj. + noun are common in poetic language (NS §43), as in prose, and the def. art. is more likely in context, hence inn bleika fót ‘the pale foot’.
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 |