HSt Rst 27I/5 — mátti ‘could’
Annarr ǫðlings manna
ókvíðinn réð síðan
— stígr varð stála sveigi
strangr — í bjarg at ganga.
Hôtt fjall hvárki mátti
— hans vas líf þrotit — klífa
eldrunnr ǫlna foldar
upp eðr niðr frá miðju.
Síðan réð annarr manna ǫðlings at ganga ókvíðinn í bjarg; stígr varð strangr sveigi stála. Ǫlna foldar eldrunnr mátti hvárki klífa hôtt fjall upp eðr niðr frá miðju; líf hans vas þrotit.
Then one of the ruler’s men started to go, fearless, up the crag; the route was hard for the swinger of steel weapons [WARRIOR]. The tree of the fire of the land of fish [(lit. ‘fire-tree of the land of fish’) SEA > GOLD > MAN] could climb neither up nor down the high mountain from the middle; his life had come to an end.
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- | ||