Mark Eirdr 6II/4 — kunni ‘he knew’
Vǫrgum eyddi Vinða fergir;
víking hepti konungr fíkjum;
þjófa hendr lét þengill stýfa;
þegnum kunni ósið hegna.
Aldri frásk, at Eirekr vildi
allréttligum dómi halla;
hôla kunni sér til sælu
sigrs valdari guðs lǫg halda.
Fergir Vinða eyddi vǫrgum; konungr hepti víking fíkjum; þengill lét stýfa hendr þjófa; kunni hegna þegnum ósið. Aldri frásk, at Eirekr vildi halla allréttligum dómi; valdari sigrs kunni hôla halda lǫg guðs til sælu sér.
The vanquisher of the Wends [= Eiríkr] destroyed outlaws; the king put an end to piracy fiercely; the prince caused thieves’ hands to be struck off; he knew how to punish men for wrong behaviour. Never was it heard said, that Eiríkr wished to sway the right judgement; the wielder of victory [WARRIOR] knew well to observe the laws of God for his well-being.
readings
[4] kunni: kunni hann all
notes
[4] kunni ‘he knew’: ÍF 35 retains the pron. hann ‘he’ (so all mss), which makes the l. hypermetrical.
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- | ||