GunnLeif Merl I 23VIII/6 — in ‘the’
‘Farask mun krístni, kirkjur falla;
sás harmr hǫfugr; herr es í landi.
Þá mun enn eflask in auma þjóð;
áðr es harðla hnekt hennar kosti.
‘Krístni mun farask, kirkjur falla; sás hǫfugr harmr; herr es í landi. Þá mun in auma þjóð enn eflask; kosti hennar es áðr harðla hnekt.
‘Christianity will vanish, churches collapse; that is a grievous sorrow; the [invading] army is in the land. Then the miserable people will gain strength once more; prior to that their welfare is sorely checked.
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 |