Gísl Lv 1II/1 — skalk ‘I’ll’
Kátr skalk enn, þótt ætli
aldrán viðir skaldi
(jǫrn taka oss at orna)
unda teins (at beinum).
Hverr deyr seggr, en, svarri,
snarts dreng skapat hjarta,
(prúðr skalk enn í óði)
eitt sinn (á þrek minnask).
Kátr skalk enn, þótt viðir teins unda ætli skaldi aldrán; jǫrn taka at orna oss at beinum. Hverr seggr deyr eitt sinn, en, svarri, snart hjarta [e]s skapat dreng; prúðr skalk enn minnask á þrek í óði.
I’ll still be cheerful, although the trees of the wounds’ rod [SWORD > WARRIORS] intend to rob the poet of his life; the irons begin to warm us [me] to the bones. Every man dies some time, but, lady, a valiant heart has been given to the young warrior; brave, I shall yet again commemorate deeds of courage in poetry.
readings
[1] skalk (‘skal ek’): skal 219
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- | ||