Nú skulum gǫfgan geisla
guðs hallar vér allir,
ítr þanns Óláfr heitir,
alstyrkan vel dyrka.
Þjóð veit hann und heiða
hríðblôsnum sal víða
— menn nemi môl, sem innik,
mín — jartegnum skína.
Nú skulum vér allir dyrka vel gǫfgan geisla guðs hallar, alstyrkan, þanns heitir ítr Óláfr. Þjóð veit hann skína jartegnum víða und hríðblôsnum sal heiða; menn nemi môl mín, sem innik.
Now we all should honour well the splendid light-beam of God’s hall [HEAVEN > = Óláfr], the all-strong one, who is called glorious Óláfr. People know he shines with miracles widely beneath the storm-blown hall of heaths [SKY/HEAVEN]; may men understand my words as I tell them.
[1] nú skulum ... geisla ‘now we should ... beam’: The skothending depends on hearing the s of skulum together with nu (‘nus-’) to rhyme with geis-, a reminder that skaldic poetry was meant for the ear, not the eye.
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- |