Gestumbl Heiðr 30VIII (Heiðr 77)/5 — áat ‘has neither’
Hverr er sá inn eini, er sefr í ösgrúa,
ok af grjóti einu görr?
Föður né móður áat sá inn fagrgjarni;
þar mun hann sinn aldr ala.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hverr er sá inn eini, er sefr í ösgrúa, ok görr af grjóti einu? Sá inn fagrgjarni áat föður né móður; þar mun hann ala aldr sinn. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Who is that, the lone one, who sleeps in the ash-grate, and is struck from stone alone? That bright-eager one has neither father nor mother; there he must spend his life. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle.
readings
[5] áat: á 2845, R715ˣ, ‘ugad’ 281ˣ, eigat 597bˣ
notes
[5] áat ‘has not’: Mss 2845 and R715ˣ have the positive á ‘has’, but the poetic negative suffix is needed for sense and to complement the negating conjunction né ‘nor’ in l. 4 (cf. Heiðr 1873, 258; Edd. Min.; Skj B). Mss 281ˣ and 597bˣ have the 3rd pers. pl. with negative suffix eigat, though the subject is sg.
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- | ||