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Translator's Preface.

J his Translation was undertaken to further my own studies in the Old Norse, it has been lately revised , or rather rewritten, and is now offered to the English reader in the hope that it may excite attention toward a language and literature, of vast importance to the English student, but hitherto little understood or •valued in England.

Of the characteristics of our age, not the least curious assuredly is its indifference to what was done before it; we are so eagerly bent on going forward that we cannot spare a glance behind. ,^!Vo matter what our Forefathers said or did, their time is gone by, ours is come in; peace be to their ashes! but let us move on." And so we scramble on, whither we

hardly know 5 blind Titans, exhibiting- superhuman energy, doing- a great deal of work, but doing 1 it, as the blind are like to do, ill.

In no fact of our existence does this carelessness for the Past show itself more strongly than in our Language5 we have mutilated, and in some respects wellnigh forgotten, the speech of our ancestors, and have got instead a monstrous mosaic, a patchwork of various tongues which we have picked up and pieced together as we went along*.

Some one will exclaim, that the anomalous condition of our Language is no fault of the present Age, that it has only succeded to sins entailed on it by those that came before, and that it adds very little to the store of mutilation, nay strives hard in many ways to bring about a purer state of things. To this it may be answered, that the present Age is responsible for the sins of those that preceded it, if it can atone for them and will not5 no one will deny that this is a case where the entail might be docked with the greatest advantage; as to its adding very little to the mutilation, any one who has the heart to read Novels, Annuals, and a certain class of Periodicals, must be aware that these are

just so many mints for forging- base and barbarous words, some of which are continually becoming current in the mouths of those who have not taste enough to distinguish gold from brass; and as to the efforts of the Age to bring about a better state of tilings, they are, and will remain as good as useless so long as the main remedy is neglected.

In good truth it seems hopeless to expect that Englishmen should ever get to understand their native tongue till they are taught it, and by teaching I mean, till they study its structure and literature, just as they study the structure and literature of any other language of which they are wholly ignorant. Hitherto on the contrary it seems to have been assumed as granted that we take in our mother's tongue along with their milk; our instruction in English rarely reaches beyond the

CJ «J •

nursery, or if continued is conveyed to us under the dreary auspices of Lindley Murray.

To me it seems plain that such learning by suction is very unfitting; it is not too much to demand that the People of England be taught English; that at any rate there should be found in all Public Schools and Universities, men sufficiently acquainted with their native

tongue from its rise till the present day to instruct our youth in the speech and Literature of their country. To some this may seem an easy task, if it be so easy I would it were done, but perhaps it is harder than many think; in my opinion a man who could teach English with comfort to himself and profit to his hearers — a man in short who will earnestly do his days-work and not make a job of it — should have a thorough knowledge of Anglo Saxon, and Anglo Norman, of our Old, Middle, and New English, beside a considerable proficiency in the Old Norse, and early German tongues. There are men in England capable of doing this, but as yet they are few and far between.

But though the sum of our English instruction amounts to zero, or less, there are some signs which show that the night of our forgetfulness is far spent, and the dawn at hand; by the praiseworthy efforts of isolated students the results worked out in the School of German Philology founded by Grimm are becoming more and more known among us. The Anglo Saxon Grammar of the Author of this work has been excellently translated by Mr. Thorpe, and has tended not a little towards awakening a taste for that tongue long so

shamefully neglected; a livelier interest is taken in reprints of our Old English Authors; and it may not perhaps be too much to expect that we shall soon have a Professor of English in the University of Oxford. Should the present Translation he instrumental in furthering this good work, the pains spent on it will he amply repaid; putting aside the study of Old Norse for the sake of its magnificent Literature, and considering it merely as an accessory help for the English student, we shall find it of immense advantage, not only in tracing the rise of words and idioms, hut still more in clearing up many dark points in our early History; in fact so highly do I value it in this respect, that I cannot imagine it possible to write a satisfactory History of the Anglo Saxon Period without a thorough knowledge of the Old Norse Literature.

Before I close I wish to add a few words on my Translation; it is, I hope, a faithful rendering of Rask's more complete Icelandic Grammar, which he published at Stockholm in 1818 under the Title ,,Anvisning till Islandskan eller Nordiska Fornsprfd;ct, af Erasmus Christian Rask. Fran Danskan ofversatt och omarbctad af Forfattaren." I have been induced to pass over the

Author's Preface, partly because the information contained in it has been already made known to the English reader in the Preface to the Author's Anglo Saxon Grammar, partly because many references are made in it to works since superseded by the progress of Old Norse Philology. I may mention that the short Praxis appended is of my own selection, and I hope it may prove useful to beginners in the Old Norse. Homburg vor der Hohe, August 7 th 1845.

FIRST PART.

The System of the Alphabet

CHAPTER I.

On the forms of the Letters.

Runes.

1. The art of writing was already known in the North long before the introduction of Christianity; the characters then in use are called Runes (run pi. riinir, old runar). They were in the oldest times only 16 in number, the forms names and power of which may be seen in Table A.

It is easy to see that all the names are chosen with reference to the forms; in the case of fe (cattle) for instance horns were thought of; in that of ur (rain) pouring showers; in that of purs (a giant) a fat belly; in that of 6s (the mouth of a river), streaming water; etc.

2. Our forefathers kept far into the Christian times the old characters in inscriptions on gravestones staves and calendars, for which they were far more fit than the Roman letters, even then already much distorted by the monks and tricked out with many curves. In the mean lime their number was increased by the pricked Runes (Tab. B.), which take the name of pricked ur, purs, etc. For C, Q, X, and Z, peculiar

characters were first found out in later limes, for the sake of making the Runic alphabet agree entirely with the Latin. These are therefore quite spurious, and are never met with in any old inscription.

3. Of the Runic orthography it is especially to be remarked, that in the oldest period it never doubled any letter; that the words were commonly separated by one, sometimes two points; that the arrangement of ihe lines was irregular and must be found out by the context; that the Runic characters were often written reversely from right to left; and that some letters in remote places and in different times seem to have had different meanings; which is especially the case with the vowels, though here a difference of Dialect mav have had some in-

o */

flnence. In Books it seems Runes were never used in these old times, because there was then a want of suitable writing materials. Two famous variations are the Helsing and Staf-karis Runes: the former are distinguished by the want of the down stroke, only the cross stroke being left; the latter by a very long down stroke, on which several Runes are written by means of their proper cross strokes under one another.

4. The antiquity of Runes has indeed been denied by many learned men, but yet seems thoroughly credible for the following reasons.

At the introduction of Christianity and for some time after they were in general use over the whole North, in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, and we have demonstrably heathen runic stones, on which Thor is invoked; but if they were invented by the monks for any secret use, their employment on gravestones would be against tin's view; if on the other hand they had been framed by others after the Latin or Greek alphabet, for the sake of forming a national system of writing, it would have been impossible that they should have been spread so far in so short a time, and besides we should not miss so many needfu! letters among them. At the same time they are spoken of so often in ihe oldest Sagas as signs for writing in the heathen times, e. g. in Eigia on the charmed stake set up against King Eric B'odyxa, in Grettla, and many others;

HUNKS

nay in songs which are manifestly heathen, as Rigsmal. Sigurdrivomal , Havamal, Skirner's Journey, where some of them are even mentioned by name, as burs, nau5; that all doubt must fall away; in the Voluspa itself it is said Str. 20. Skaro a ski'Si. They scored on the tablet

Skuld hina briSjo. Skuld as the third, (i. e. Norna.)

That they were sometimes used of old in Sorcery is rather a reason for, than an objection against, their high antiquity. All old writers assign with one voice their introduction into the North to Odin; and this is supported by the fact that by far the most Runic stones are found in Sweden, especially in (he neighbourhood about Upsala, which was the headseat of the old worship of Odin. The Runes have great likeness to the very oldest Greek alphabet, and this coincides completely with the old story of our forefathers having flitted hither from the country north of the Black Sea; it is also known from Ovid that the dwellers in those regions were already at the birth of Christ in possession of the art of writing.

5. Of Runes, their use, age, and the like, many Icelanders have written treatises; as Olaf Thordson Hvitaskald, in an appendix to the Skalda. Bjorri of Skardsa, John Gud-mundson the learned, Ruginan, John Olafson of Grun-nawick in his Runologin; Eggert Olafson has also treated this subject; but of all these the first only has been printed. Vonn, A b rah am son, Verelius, Celsius, and several Danes and Swedes have made themselves renowned by collecting and explaining Runic stones, but at the same time have seldom paid attention to the language, grammar and orthography. Again many learned antiquarians of both these nations have, by mutual abuse, by which they supplied (he want of enquiry, reason and knowledge, deprived their works on Runes of almost all interest and worth, stifled the truth, and finally awakened general disgust for the subject itself.

Common Letters.

6. The Latin Alphabet was introduced into the North by two different hands, the Anglo Saxons and the Germans; the German monkstyle obtained the preference, though with the •eiention of some Anglo Saxon characters, particularly the two

p and 8, besides the framing of manifold abbreviations, hence

arose a peculiar Scandinavian Blackletter, in which JE was

ktDt in the Latin form, 6 was written as o with a stroke

through it (see Tab. F,) which still remains in Dansk. A was

not met with, or was written as a double a contracted (Tab. F.)

vhich is also found in maiiy printed Icelandic books, and

vhich Baden, Abrahamson, arid others have tried to introduce

again into Dansk; just as the Germans also have fused fs,

ch and tz, into so many separate forms.

7. Such was the arrangement of the alphabet over the hole North: and thus we find it in all old Swedish laws id deeds, till nearly about the' time of the Reformation the

v:lermanw, a, and 6 were brought in, and along with these was formed a new a; besides these changes b and 8 were first resolved into th and dh, and afterwards vanished altogether out of both speech and writing *.) Among the Icelanders as among other European Nations, the true old Latin characters have begun very much in later times to drive out the blackletter, and all

* As an example of this I may quote the beginning of the West-gothland Laws according to the oldest codex in the Royal Library (at Stockholm), it comes, if the accentuation be preserved, very near to the Icelandic. "Kryster ser fyrst i laghum varum, ba aer cristnae var , oc allir cristnir konongaer, bcendaer, oc allir bocarlaer, biscupajr oc allir boclacrSir maen. Varbaer barn til kirkju boret oe bebiz cristini, ba seal fabir ok nioSer fa guS-faebur oe guSmobor oc salt oc vatn, bat seal baerae til kirkju, ba seal a prest kallae, nan seal a kirkjuboli boa3."

The same alphabet (with 5) is also used in the addition to this cod.; which however otherwise betrays a much later hand.

LETTERS

5

good Editions of old Poetry, Sagas, Laws etc., are printed in Koinan type, p and ae have been all along retained, 6 is now often written with two strokes or points over it, (but never 6), 8 has been laid aside since the Reformation, and supplied by p or d, through its sound is siill left in daily talk among the Icelanders, and is strictly separate from that of either of the Letters mentioned above. Even in Editions of old Sagas it has been usually neglected, because the Printing Offices had no proper type for the purpose. In Njala and the late Stockholm Edition of Sturluson's Edda and the Skalda it is carefully preserved.

8. The Icelandic Alphabet now in use is therefore the following:

9. Olaf Thordson Hvitaskald in the appendix to the Skalda, John 01 a f s o n of Grunnawick in his Islenzka retrittan; and also Eggert Olaf'son, under the title: "Nockiar 6re-gluligar reglur urn pa5 hvornveg rett eigi a5 bokstafa pa mi lifandi islendsku tiingu" - have written on the Icelandic orthography with this alphabet, of which treatises only the first named has been printed.

CHAPTER II.

Of Pronunciation*

10. The Icelandic Pronunciation is in the highest decree regular, and corresponds exactly to the system of spelling, which is however arranged after a peculiar manner, the most suitable certainly that could have been invented for this language, but wholely differing from the present Swedish method.

Towels.

11. Every vowel has two sounds, the one simple and soft, the other hard and diphthongic, or as it were in composition with some soft consonant, and commonly distinguished by a stroke or accent over the letter. Some vowels have two such mixed sounds, the one formed of v< the other of j.

12. A is sounded therefore 1. like a Swedish a. e. g. saga, a tale, danska the dansk tongue , at fara to fare , baka to bake etc.; 2. with a stroke over it, like av or au (not Germ. a«)j e - »• fra (read frav) from, tap (taup) pitli, strength, drattr (drautl'r) drawing.

13. This a has already in old writers begun to take the sound of a (Engl. o), particularly in cases where it followed after r, in order to aroid the hard sound vav; in these cases therefore o is often written in its stead by old writers, and always by the new: but that in the oldest times it really had the sound a (av) appears partly from the rhyme, e. g. in Stur-luson's Hattalykill,

Slikt er sva It is so

Siklingr a That a king hath etc.

and in Skalda 2.

Harcks Ii5ar varu. Hareks men were etc.,

partly from derived words or forms, where it is invariably, like

a broken into <c. e. g. varu or voru they were, in the conj.

M. S. (e. g. in the excellent cod. No. 7. in the Royal Libr. at Stockholm.) If in editing old works we were (o mark it as a, we should at once be able, without changing the orthography, to express its original as well as its later and softer pronunciation; e. g. van (von) hope, vagr (vogr) an inlet, va (vo) fought , qvan (qvon) (also qvaen) « wife, woman, (quean) hanum (honum) to him, man, pi. manum (afterwards mun-um) might v. etc.

14. To a belongs also the diphthong 02, which is pronounced like aj or iij; e. g. raeSa, to talk, aBtla to mean.

15. E is sounded 1. alone like a or high e in the Swed. word engel (French e in ap res etc. English e in fellow or ai in hair)) e. g. herrar lords, flest most) elska to love, verk work, hestr horse, her army. It has 2. the lower sound of e in the Swed. hfva, reta, (Fr. e) always before the sound of i or j; ei must by no means therefore be pronounced like German ei (which the Icelanders would write 0°) but as the low e in seg, fel etc.; with an aftersound of./; e. g. bein bone, eit one, seigr slow, so also nei, nay, no, etc.

16. E takes the same low or deep sound before gi and gjj since g is then pronounced as j, e g degi (read dt-ji) dat. of dagr day, pegja (pei-ja) to be silent, vegir (vejir) pi. of vegr (va'g'r) a way etc , which are therefore often found written deigi, peigia, veigir etc., however wrongly according to origin, and needlessly according to the simple rule. Some indeed assert that we should read vajir, etc., where the root has the sound of a; if this be right I dare not decide, but it is noi general.

'. 17. With v E forms no diphthong, but on the other hand one with j before it; this is commonly written e (or ie), and is sounded 1. as je, namely when it is long, viz at the end of a syllable, or before a simple consonant; e. g. tre", tree f vel guile, mer to me, bref letter, lek played, gre"t wept, re"na to cease', so also in the derived forms ire's (Gen. of tre) etc., read trje, vjel, etc. 2. as ja when it has a short and hard tone, i. e. before a double conson. or a position, e. g. rettr right, helt held, fell, fell, fretta to spy out; so also her here,

and some words, which in old writers seem to have had a simple e (a), e. g. ek. I. eta to eat, el a hail-or snow-storm: and in the modern bena to serve', (read rjatt'r hjalt) etc.

18. E has commonly the same high sound (ja) after k and g, though the accent in usually left out in these cases; e. g. ker. jar.', kem / come, gera to make, geld I pay , get can. (v); read kjiir, kjam, gjara, etc., with a hard k or g and soft j as in Dansk). But ei is an exception (by rule. 15.) e.g. geit shegoat, leipr a thole, and the word gefa to give, in which e has the deep sound, for which reason it has been changed into i in Dansk and Swedish.

19. The Diphthong e is thus in its nature opposed to the others, since its vowel follows its consonant, and seems therefore most fitly written with an inverted accent, which has been also adopted by the Icelandic Literary Society: according to this it would be most correct to write tre, vel, mer, lek, gret, rettr, helt, fell, fretta, her, el etc., but in old M.S. (e. g. the abovementioned cod. No. 7. 4*p in the Royal Libr. Stockholm), and in old printed Books it is written e, or often as simple e without any accent, which last however is wrong and misleading. By this would be confounded together;

vel well and vel guile. leSr leather and leSr borrowed.

\ierarmy « her hfre. seSr feeds v. » seftr custom.

el feeds » el hailstorm, iletta to cleave » fletta toplait.

fell fells (v.) » fell fell. let dissuades v let left. v.

lek leaks (v.) » lek played (v). setti placed v setti seventh. ver defends (v.) » ver we. letti dissuaded v letti stopped.

20. I is pronounced 1. nearly as in the Swedish words vild, visst, which sound especially when it is long seems to approach that of the deep e, e. g. at vilja to will, viss certain, vita to know, lifa, to live, himin heaven, haskaligr dangerous, missir loss, landi landsman; e is therefore often found in its stead especially in terminations, e. g. haskalegr, misser, lande etc., which is however wrong by the simple rule that e by itself sounds like d: 2. with a stroke over it, as in the Swed. word frij vis, Engl. free, e. g. UT life, rikr rich, brixl abuse.

21. Besides this i when it comes before another vowel is always taken as the conson. j, which in old times was as little distinguished from the vowel i as v from u; but since it has been agreed in all good editions to separate these last, it seem that we have the same reason to exercise the same right towards the first. The Icelandic Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge, and the so called Smabokafelag (Tract Society), have carried this distinction into execution, and caused to be printed sjon sight, bjarga to help, bjork birch, gjora to do, byrja to begin, fylgja to follow, etc. and this I mean to follow throughout in this work, because it gives the spelling without any essential change much greater clearness and perspicuity; at the beginning of words, e. g. jor5 earth, jarn iron, it has already long been in general use, because it there seems to be a little harder.

22. After the vowel e indeed i is also properly a cons.; but since e in this connection loses its common sound of a, and i also seems almost fused along with it into one sound, which comes near to the long or broad e, and since the tongue has other diphthongs of the same kind (au, ey) which it is impossible to avoid; it seems best to retain ei as a Diphthong, which indeed no one has attempted to change.

23. 0 is pronounced 1. like the Swed. a (Engl. o), or as the high in Swed. o in bort, fromtna (the Russian and Finnish o\ e. g. opinn open (o-pin), orka to be able, hola cavern, spor. traces footsteps; 2. with an accent it takes a deep and broad sound, almost like or, e. g. ro rest, rot root, g65r good, ddttir daughter, otti and ogn fright.

24. U is sounded 1. almost like deep Swed. 6 in hog, rok or German ?/, e. g. hugr mind, thought, sumar summer, stu-fiull, term for the subordinate letters in alliterative verse, urt wort, unna to grant. O is therefore often found instead of M, especially in endings, e. g. heroS for heru8 pi. of heraC, district, skf onum Dat. pi. def. of sk^ cloud, orvonum the same of or arrow, dryckjor drinkingbouts; which is however wrong because the Iceland, o has its owii fixed, and much

higher sound: the word gu5 god is pronounced nearly as gv65 or gviiS: 2. with an accent over it, like the common u in Swedish and Dansk, (French ou Engl. oo); but this sound is again double as in Swedish: viz, in some cases broad almost like uv, e. g. bus house, ut out, dukr cloth (duck), ungr young, lidi moisture, hufa cap, hood; in other words as the Swed. u in dubbel, ung, the Dansk in gudelig, konst etc. (Engl. young) with no aftersound of v, e. g. hun she, puki goblin, (Puck), kiiga to force. If we were to write this u, the sound would be much more exactly expressed, and some words quite separate in origin pronunciation and meaning would be distinguished; thus e.g. duf'a dove, kuga, puki, and hun she, but hun in pi. hunar bearcubs. This u seems to occur especially before f, g, and k. In old M. S. no distinction is made between u and v, but they are now entirely separate in general use.

25. Y, is now sounded exactly like i, and has therefore 1. a sound which is very near deep e', e. g. fyrir for, ySr your, gyfjingr a jew; 2. like long i, e. g. b^fjr he bids, flfgr he flies. It is therefore merely an etymological sign which is used when the sound i comes from o, u; and the sound i from jo, ju, or u, and in some few Primitives, where the other kindred tongues have y or o; e. g. myrkr murk, syster sister, Swed. syster, Dansk so'ster etc. The name of the letter however is pronounced altogether as it is in Swed. and Dansk.*

f This letter is found, in consequence of its sound, interchanged with i in numerous cases; e. g. fyrir and firir; some moderns have made it a rule to write y where the sound i comes from two other letters, and accordingly where the Primitive has ja,jo, etc. But that this rule is false is proved by the universal custom of old writers; we never find among them dyrfast, byrni, myfji, etc., but dirfast to be venturesome; from djarfir daring, birni dat. of bjorn bear, mi8i dat. of mjoSr mead. By the same rule we should also write vytum for vitum we know, from veit," and gifjia for gySja goddess from guff, because ei is a diphthong but a a simple vowel. Just as wrong is ?/ for / e. g. ryki for riki and the like.

26. The Diphthong ey has consequently entirely the same sound as ei, and is used only where the Prim, has au, ju.

jo, or the kindred tongues b, e. g. deyfla to kill, from dauffr, dead, geyma to keep, from gaumr care, hey hay, (Swed. ho,) it is therefore often interchanged in careless writing with ei.

27. O has the sound of high b in the Swed. dorr, smor, e.g. gyora is sounded as the Dansk ffjore, stofiull milking place.

28. The Diphthong of b is au, which is pron. like a broad b, or nearly as bj e. g. auga eye, rauSr red, autt lonely (read ojga, rqjdr, qjlt,) for which sake some very late writers have wished to change it into by. and write oyga, royCr, etc.

29. 0 was adopted late by the Northmen: In old times au or av was written for this letter also, and this custom has been carried on till the latest times by many, especially in those cases, where b is derived from a. In order to remedy the confusion thus occasioned it has been finally determined to use av onely for the vowel b, and au onely as the diphthong; e. g. favSur or foSur ace. s. of fafiir father', favr or for, a journey, faring from fara to fare. But in order to read old books, in which this distinction is not observed, it is needful to know the word before hand; as as a small help it may however be remarked that the sound is always simple b, where the Prim, has simple a; and always the dipthongic sound au, where the Prim, has d; e.g. brag8ra/nc& pi. brogd, whether it be spelt bravgfi or braugS; but fang wrestling, pi. faung, though it be sometimes written favng.

30. The strokes over the vowels are thus by no means signs of tone, since the simple vowels in the word as often have the tone, and a tone altogether the same, e. g. blasa to turn toward, and blasa to blow, atti heated (v), and alii had, on-ned, have exactly the same tone. Nor does this stroke at all denote the prosodiacal length of the vowels, for the simple are often long, and the diphthongic short, or quite toneless e. g. hetja hero, vel well, mattr meat, ves*ll vile, amattliga sadly, sexaeringr, a sixoared (boat}, but it denotes an addition or essential alteration in the sound itself.

31. The same method of marking the accent has not been always used; at one time two dots were placed instead of the accent (see Tab. D.), out of which ignorant compositors (e. g. in Resen's Edition of Sturlusons Edda) afterwards made a, 0, for d, 6, etc. Others placed besides a single dot over the simple vowels in order to make the distinction more plain (Tab. E.). Later still the vowels themselves were doubled, yet so as to fuse them as far as possible into a single form; as may be seen in Tab. F. But of these signs ij, and tv, together with the double o and y, as well as those with double dots, are all most probably of the 16th or 17th century, and now happily quite laid aside, the old simple system of spelling having been again generally adopted.

Consonants.

32. C is used by old writers indiscriminately with k, especially at the end of monosyllables, e.g. calla to call, scip ship, dryccr drink, mjoc much, ec I, oc and, mic me; for ka'la, skip, drickr or drykkr, mjok or mjog, ek or eg, ok or og, mik or mig. It is now used only in ck for kk; e. g. plocka to pluck, bock thank, stsekka to increase. But many write Itk, plokka, pokk, staekka etc., and thus shut c entirely out of the language, a custom which is already old though not general.

33. D is pronounced as the hard Swed. and Germ, d, e. g. dagr day, bardagi battle, halda to hold, hond hand, oddr, point; this sound is found in the beginning of words and syllables, and at the end of syllables after /, n. m, and d.

34. 8 is an aspirated d, and has the sound of the soft Dansk d at the end of the words med, hvad, etc., which sound has vanished entirely out of the modern Swed., but is still found in English, as weak th both at the beginning and end of words. In the Old Norse tongue it was used at the end of syllables after all vowels and r, f, and g. e. g. me5 with, is pronounced as the Dansk med, gofir good, gerffi did, liffii

lived, byg8r inhabited country, heraS district. In old writers it is sometimes found after /, ra, e. g. fji>18i fullness, dreymffi, dreamed.

35. In some old. MS. $ is used for 8 before vowels within the word, e. g. in the Edda and Skalda. In later times 8 has been every where replaced by {) or d, the first of these is least confusing, because }> with its true hard sound never occurs at the end of a syllable, and therefore leaves Ihe reader in doubt only in compound words,e.g. if)rou handicraft,art, ijjran repentance, the first should be read if)rdlt, the second iSran; in (he words, 6fro\ impatience, 6<5ul right of freehold, odulr freetongued, all the three diil-erent sounds are found, if we were 10 write o{>ul, we should confound the two first; and we chose odul, the two last. When 8 is expressed by J), it seems that d may with equal right be written t', but if d be put for 8 we ought also to use / for f). The fittest course therefore is to retain (his letter, agrcably to the nature of the tongue and the constant custom of our forefathe rs.

36. F is pronounced as in Swcd., accordingly 1. as hard f at the beginning of syllables asid before s, e. g. fdtr foot. ofsi arrogance'. 2. as hard v at the end of a word, e. g. ha I' sea, so also before r (ur) as hafr kegoat, arfr heritage, and before all vowels in the middle of the word, e. g. hafa to have, erfa to inherit, are read exactly as in Swed. If f is to be pronounced hard in these cases, it is doubled, e. g. stralV, straffa, oilr or ofiur, ofira, in distinction from ofra to string. which is read avra (ovra). Besides f takes, 3. before /, n, 8, /, at the end of a syllable I he sound of hard b or bb, e. g. taila table, nafn name, hafCi had, hail had (pi), read tabbla, nabbn habb8i, habbt. Some have therefore wished in modern times to introduce bl for /7, as abl for afl strength, tahla for tafia etc. but as we cannot also write nabn, habSi etc., this only serves to destroy an old and simple rule. 4. If another consonant especially d or t, follow after///, the sound becomes mn, e.g. nefna to name is pronounced nabna, but imperf. nefndi sounds like na'mndi, and the supine nefnl like narnnt, hefnd hamnd, and the like; we often therefore find hemtid for hefnd, jamnt (or jamt) for jafnt. This pronounciation is general when d follows, but 5. if the

succeeding conson. he / or **, it is pronounced by many as fl*t, ffs e. g. jafnt, til jafns.

37. Gis pronounced, 1. generally hard and clear e.g. ganga to go, flag clod, dogg dew, regn rain, vagn, rvain etc., read gaunga flag, dogg, and almost regg-n, vagg-n; not rengn, vangn, according to Swed. Pron. or rejn as in Dansk: in the same way borg, berg etc. read borgg or borgg (not borj.); 2. gj and g before the weak vowels (see rule 41) are sounded like the Dansk gj, or soft g, (not as j or Swed. g in gora, nor as the aspirated Germ g) e. g. gefa to give, gaefi gave imp. conj. geir spear (Poet.), gildr strong, gjafir gifts, liggja to lie, skuggi shade, angi steam, p^ngja purse. This sound is found at the beginning of words, and in the middle, when a consonant goes before. 3. If a vowel go before and a soft one or j come after, it sounds entirely like j, e. g. bogi a bow, (read baji) agi chastisement, (read aji or ajji), but in the ace. boga, aga, (read baga aga) fa3gja to smooth (read faija), bag-indi troubles, (read bau-jindi). 4. If another consonant follow after gn, especially d or t, the sound becomes ngn, e. g lygna to become calm, (of storms) is pronounced nearly like ligg'na, but the imperf lyngdi is sounded like lingndi or lingdi, and the sup. lyngt like lingnt or lingt, so also, rigna, rigndi, rignt, to be rained on, etc. 5. but if it be s that follows the sound is very nearly go's, e. g. til gagns (read til gagg's.)

38. H has always a hard and strong sound even before the conson. J, v, I, n, r, e. g. harSr hard, hjarta heart, heri (read hjari) hare, hverfa to vanish, hlaSa to lade, hnottr bowl, globe, hringr ring. It is sometimes found interchanged with k, e. g. kni'fr and hnifr knife, hnottr and knottr. ikring and ihring round about , ( adverb^ from which two separate words were afterwards made in all Northern languages.

39. J has been already spoken of (rule. 21.), I may however add here, that as old writers did not distinguish it from the vowel i, so also they never wrote it before i, because double li would have been confusing in reading and ugly to

CONSONANTS t5

the eye. This sound (ji) however occurs very often in the language, e. g. in all pres. conj. of verbs in ja, where only a is changed into short z. e. g. byggja to build, setja to set, sitja to sit, queftja to hail, berja to slay, to beat, qvelja to plague , temja to tame, venja to wean, etc. besides many nouns. The inconvenience of not having a proper sign for a sound which occurs so often, has been remedied in later limes in various ways: those who write e for t (rule 20.), write i> here, e. g. byggie, setie, sitie, etc. Those on the other hand, who, after the orthography of the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge , as laid down by Conferencerad Stephenson, make a distinction betwen i and j, write ji, e. g. byggji, berji, venji, etc. but since the accent (') has been adopted to denote j before e we should be able, by extending it to these case, to express this sound exactly, without making any new rule, and without deviation from the original system of spelling, all which important advantages, arc hardly to be united by any other plan. Thus it seems best of all to write seli, siti, qvefli, beri, qveli temi, veni, etc. So also in all like cases in the language, vili will) niSi offspring, bilir snowdrift, hverir which, etc. But after g and A- no accent is needed, just as e also in these cases is not accentuated; e. g. byggi, bergi from bergja to taste, veki from vekja to wake, yrki from yrkja to worship. The same sound is also met with at the present time in other verbs in ka and ga, which have no _/ in the in tin.; and also in other words, e. g. eingi mead ( Scotch ince), riki a realm, lingi an youth, jjanki thought, which are wont to be written neither with ie> nor ji; for the rule that i after g and k sounds like / (ji) is still surer than the one, that e in the same cases sounds like r (je); e.g. backi bank (of river); a baki on the back, druckinn, drunken, skuggi shade, etc., are not pronounced as in Swed. and Dansk, back-e, bak-et, druck-en, skugg-a; but are sounded as backji, bakji, driickjin, skuggji; and so in all like cases without exception *. Finally if we wish to keep the accent on all

* I heard however some persons of the west and south district* in Iceland pronounce ecki (not) without /, but it is commonly sounded like eckji.

verbs in jo, and write byggi, bergi, veki, yrki etc., we ought to make use of it also on all other words which have actually^" before other vowels in their inflections, e. g. eingi, seckir, sacks, etc., because we say ein»jum, seckjum in dat. pi., but not lingi, skuggi, because we never say ungja, skuggya, but unga, skugga. Though perhaps this distinction may be regarded as too minute and needless.

40. K. is sounded 1. hard, as in Swed., before the hard vowels (rule 41.), and all conson. e.. g. kala to be frost-bitten, aka to drive, sok a thing, it is also generally written for ch, e.g. kristr, kor; and by many instead of q, e. g. kvinna, kvelja; it is also used double by many instead of c.k, e. g. ekkja or eckja widow, sakka or sacka soundinglead, sokk or sock sunk, 2. kj and k before the weak vowels are sounded like the Dansk £;'. i.e. as hard k with a slight aftersound of j; by no means like the Swed. kj, Engl. ch, Ilal. ci, which is quite strange to the Icelander, and very hard to pronounce; e. g. kenna to know, kirkja or kyrkja a church; where k and kj have the same sound but must be written differently, because in the one case a weak, in the other a hard vowel follows after them; k has the same sound in all like cases; so in silki silk, merki mark etc. (see rule 39).

41 . The so called hard vowels, before which y and k sound hard, like Ital. gh, ch, are a, a, o, 6, u, u, o, au; the weak before which they are soft like the Dansk gj, kj, are therefore, €B, e, ei, i, i, y, y, ey. In connection with the former accordingly we must necessarily insert j if g and k are to have the softer sound; e. g. gjarn ready, milling, in fern, gjorn because gorn pi. garnir smallguts, has a quite different sound, so also kjor choice, because kor sick-bed (said of the bedridden state of the weak and old), is wholly different both in sound and meaning: kjot flesh, is sounded soft, but kottr cat hard, as in the Swed. word. In like manner we must write gjalfr sea (Poet.), kjalki jaw, cheek, kjoll frock, gjosa to sprinkle, gjora to do, etc. Before o, u, and au, the soft gj or kj is never heard, we must consequently pronounce kuldi cold, skaut bosom, gufa fog, gaupn the hollow of the hand', and all

such like words with hard k and ff. In connection with the weak vowels on the contrary, it would be utterly superfluous, and useless to insert j, because g and k have always the soft sound of ffj, kj in Dansk.

It is therefore most correct to write kaer dear, kettir cats, geigr fear, danger, gimsteinar gemstones, kimina a jeerer, gylla to gild, k^r kine, keyri a whip etc., (not kjaer, kjettir ?j ei ? r ) gjimsteinar etc.) There is however an exception, when, e after g and k does not sound like je, but like d, namely in the pi. of subst, in andi, derived from verbs in ga or ka, (without y), e. g. from eiga to own comes eigandi owner, and this has in pi. eigendr (read eigandr not eigjend'r), so also elskandi lover, pi. elskendr (not elskjendr). But these cases are in part few, and in part produce no confusion, because it has been an old custom to retain j (i) in the pi. of subst. in jandi, e. g. verjendr, ssekjendr, mnbyggjendr, from verjandi a warder, saekjandi pleader, inbyggjandi indweller, etc., never verendr, nor sa?kendr, inbveeendr.

42. Double // has a very hard sound like al or ddl with a hard d, e. g. falla to fall (read fad fa), fullr full, (fadfr); it is therefore sometimes found interchanged with dl, e. g. a milli and a midli between, frilla and fridla concubine, from mi5 in the midst, and fn'Sr fair. That the sound is not 8/, is heard plainly in the word eftli nature, and elli age, eld, and again that it is not // is heard in the masc. name Atli (Attila), and allir nil But from this pronunciation // those cases must be excepted in which d, t, or * follow, e. g. felldi felled, allt, alls, all, of all, where // is sounded as in Swed. So also compound words, and derivatives where each / belongs to a separate syllable, e. g. til-lag contribution, Hal-land, Hoi-land, Val-land (meaning sometimes Italy sometimes France), mikil-latr high-minded, litil-latr lowly-minded, and new words of foreign origin skatollifi etc.: rl has a sound very near that of the hard //, or when pronounced distinctly sounds almost like rdl, e. g. karl an old man, varla scarcely, which are also often written kail, valla, though less correctly, for kail is a subst. from kalla, and valla the Gen. pi. of vollr a vale, plain.

43. Double nn has also a like hard sound, but only when it comes after a diphthongic vowel in the same syllable; e. g. einn one, sounds like hard eidn or eiddn ; so also klenn, small, (read kljedn} fi'nn (fidri) fine'., onn (odn for ofn) oven, brunn (brudri) brown, black, kaenn clever, keen, (read kjajdn). But should nn belong to the following syll., or if it be a simple vowel that goes before, the sound is the same as in Swed., e. g. a-nni river (dat. sing, with art.), ey-nni island (in the same case), (read av-nni, ej-nni); so also kanna to survey, ken, hann he , brenna to burn etc.; rn has a sound very near that of the hard nn, or when plainly pronounced it may be pretty nearly described byrnd: it alway makes, like r/and the hard // and nn, the foregoing vowel as hard and sharp as possible; e. g. horn, (read hodn or kordn), jam iron (read javdn or javrdn). It has been often interchanged with nn, e. g. steirn for steinn stone, vcern for vaen fair, but inflection easily shows which of the two is the right, e.g. ace. stein, vaen-nan, show that n is essential in these and like words, and that it is as wrong to write steirn vcern as it would be to write storl, s&rl, for stoll stool, and ssell happy.

44. The old writers often used, though the custom was never general, // and nn in all cases before d and t without regard to the radical form; e. g. elldr/frv?, villdi from vilja to mill, skylldi should from skulu, as well as fylldi filled from fylla to fill, mseilli said from msela to say, lannd for land, fhenndi or fra3ndi friend, vanndi from venja, kenndi from kenna etc. This nnd however has been long since entirely laid aside, as also Ud in cases where the root has a simple / or //; but since Id and It alone denote in all cases the same sound, and since conformity with $8, md, nd, r$, mt, nt, rt, seem to demand it, the linperf. and Fart, ought certainly, even where the Infin. has //, to be written Id, It', we always write for instance skemdi, skemdr skemt, from skemma to joke, brendi, brendr brent, from brenna to burn, firti, firtr firt, from firra to place at a distance, and also lagSi, JagSr lagt, from leggja to lay, and bygSi, bygSr bygt, from byggja to build, as well as sag5i, sagffr sagt, from segja to say, in the same way klipti, kliptr klipt, from klippa to clip, which also the pronunciation would seem to demand (rule 45),

porr hvesti augun a orminii. ,,Tho>r whetted his eyes upon the worm" says Sturluson in the Edda ch. 48. from hvessa to whet etc. It would thus be of little use to etymologize so strictly in a single case against the established analogy of countless instances. But in declension // and nn are wont to be retained when they are essential, e. g. fall falls, a fall, allr, alls, all, hallr a stone, halls gen., bann a ban banns.

45. Pt after a simple vowel is pron. between ft, and pt, for which reason it has been entirely changed by many moderns into ft both in prose and verse, e. g. eplir (or eftir) after, lopt (or loft) air, lift

46. Ov is often found even in old M. S. interchanged with kv, e. g. kvistr, kveld etc. It has been, like c, retained by the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge, hut rejected by the Icelandic Literary Society, so much is certain lhat it is of no kind of use either as an etymological sign, or as an abbreviation in writing, but on the contrary a hindrance; e. g. qvikr and kykr quick, (alive}, qvonbon and konbon courtship, are the same words; koma to come makes in the Imperf, kom or qvam, pi. komu or qvdmu, corij. kjami or qvami, and thus according to the rule the same sound in the same word is spelt differently, and many derivatives are separated from their primitives. Within the word q is not readily used, but only at the beginning; we write therefore commonly vokvi sap, soekva (or sokkva) to sink; though sokqva or socqva etc., are also found in old writers. But this system of spelling is less right, even though q should be retained, because v after ck is never essential in the old Norse; but only, like,/ in beckja etc., inserted for the sake of euphony, which may be seen in the cases cited, and from the word ek sock / sink.

47. Z never occurs at the beginning of a word, hut at the end it was used by old writers, 1. as an abbreviation for */ especially in the Pass., and sometimes in superlatives, e. g. sockvaz to be sinking, optaz oftenest; this has now almost entirely given way to sockvast optast etc.; 2. as an etymological sign for s before which d or t has fallen away, e. g. lanz for lands, veizla feasting for veitsla, from veita to fca:t, lezt

for let-st, helzt from heldr rather, bezt from betr better, etc. So also in foreign words in which ti before a vowel has the sound of si, e. g. spazia margin from spatium, disputazia, sitazia, porzion, qvittanzia, but never where the sound becomes ts e. g. confirmatsion.

48. Z is also used by old writers, 3. for s before which r has fallen away, e. g. in the superl. aztr is often written for astr, because this degree used to be derived from the comp. ar (ari), as it were instead of arstr; e. g. harS-aztr, hardest, agaet-aztr most famous, and also in the shorter superl. e. g. fyztr first, naBztr nearest, for fyrstr etc. But the superl. can be derived in Icelandic just as lawfully as in Angl-Sax. Swed. and other Gothic tongues, both old and new, immediately from the positive, when all cause to write z in these cases falls away, except in those few instances, where the pos. itself or the rootform has an essential r; e. g. harSastr, aga?tastr, so also na?str from the old na in nala?gr nearlying, but fyrstr (or fyztr) from the old for or fur before, staerstr (or sta?ztr) greatest from stdr, so also horskr (or hozskr) sniff, clever. But the use of z for rs is now almost entirely rejected; otherwise it ought to be employed in all 2nd and 3rd pers., sing, of the Pres. Pass, bu elskazt, harm elskazt, pat faezt it is got etc. 4. old writers often used z for the s of the gen. especially after d, t, II, where it is hard to guess at the object in view, unless it was wished to show, that d, t, and the last /, had lost their sound, e. g. landz, hestz, gen. of hestr horse, allz, of all etc. But this mode of writing is now wholly laid aside.

49. The first two uses of z are so conflicting the one to the other, that it is impossible to reconcile them; according to the first we ought to write harftarz, (or hardaz), betz, heldz, leggiaz, lagdzr etc., by the other harftazt, bezt, helzt leggiazt, lagztr etc. The former is perhaps the original way, according to the manifestly old Greek use of £ for <*, and would have the advantage, if it could be used for st in all cases, e. g. zanda, feza etc., for slanda, festa, to stand, and

fasten, of making the writing shorter; the latter has also a very old though wavering use in its favour; as well as conformity with other new European tongues, (e. g. Iial. mercanzia, spazio etc.) It also serves if it he used in all the cases where d or / before s become mute, materially to shorten writing; e. g. vizka rvisdom (from vitr), gcexka fjoodness (from goSr), and this just in cases where a number of contending conson. would otherwise give the language a barbarous appearance, e. g. islenzkt for tslcndskt, styztr thorfcst for stijtt&r, elzlr for eldsfr or dldslr. So also in all 2. pers. pi. Pass. e.g. piS elskizt ye love one another, bifi elskitfuzl ye fared one another etc.; together with all dissyllabic and many monosyllabic supines Pass. e. g. luckazt, lekizt, synzl, sezt etc., where otherwise, inconsequently enough, in the case of the longer their origin is left unmarked, while in that of the shorter it is marked contrary to the demands ol pronunciation, e. g. (uckast, tekist, rtntsf, settst. That system of spelling also sec-ins more natural which leaves out that which speech rejects, and distinctly marks that which it plainly distinguishes, than thai which on the other hand distinctly marks what has fallen away, while it describes the actual sound by an abbreviation. Besides according to the first use it is impossible to show when d or t should be heard before s and when no(. e. g. leifiz, sedz, tired, sew * which bv the last method are most aceiir.rtelv distinguished : e. jr.

*. »

JeiSst, sczt.

50. In what cases indeed according to the demands of the language d and / should be heard before *, and in what not, it is hard to decide, if this be not m-ide known in the spelling. In general d is heard uiu-ner than /, viz. always when it is radical in the word and comes alter a vowel (and thus is properly S), e. g. blafts of a leaf, rafis of advice,. hofuftsmaCir headman, overseer, gofis maims a. quod w««//*.v, hraefisla fright, rapist if is decided, redst if was derided, nvafisl it was said, so also if it come after f, #, r or the like (thus again <3); e.g. or?s a word's, bragfis a trick's etc. In all Pass, supines from Part, in ddr, the essential ft of the words is retained, e. g. trraedst is cured, gracddr cured, from graeda fo cure.

from leiSast to be weary etc. Perhaps even virSst it seems and the like. But hardly ever after n, I, or where there is a hard d except it be altered in pron. to 8; e. g. lanz from land, elztr from eldri older, binzst to abstain, refrain oneself, stenzt to hold out unless we wish to say lanfts, binSst, stenSst etc.: yet dd is kept in the gen. e. g. saddr sated, sadds etc., t which is essential is heard in all gen. e. g. b.if a boat bats, hatlr hat halts, hvatr brisk hvats etc., but never in the sup. Pass, whether it be essential or not, e. g. spilzt from spilt spilla to spoil, aminztr spoken of, from amint aniinna to call to mind, qveikzt lighted, from qvcikt qveikja to light; so also sezt seated Mm, from sett selja, baezt to hare been increased., from ba?tt b<T?ta. In like manner in Sup. Pass, of all verbs which form the imperf. and Part. Pass, by inserting o", which is not radical in the word; for this 8 is changed invariably in the Sup. Act. into /, and t always falls away in the Sup. Pass. e. g. gjora gjorSi, gjoroY, Sup. gjorl Sup. Pass, gjorzt; so also bygzt to have been built, from bygt byggja, sagzt, from sagt segja to say, skemzt to hare been Jeered from skemt skeinma, and all like these. The rule might therefore perhaps l;e shortly laid down thus, I. 3i is kept every where (except perhaps between a hard conson. and s in position, e. g. virzt Sup. Pass, of virSast it seems.) 2. dd is kept before a single s (in Gen.); hut is changed before s in connection with more conson. into ft (in Sup. Pass.) 3. d i'alls away every where before s which the;; becomes z, (unless ii be sometimes changed into 8). 4. t and it are constantly retained before simple .s- (in gen.) but arc thovvn out always before * in position (in Sup. Pass.)

51. P is au aspirated /, as S is an aspirated d, its sound has fallen out of all modem languages except the new Greek (0) and English (tit}, winch last in suhst. and verbs comes very near it, e. g. pruung Hiring , peinkja to thi?ik etc. In old Norse it has always the same sound, except in ptonouns or particles which in daily speech are ailracied like enclitics (o the foregoing word; e. g. a ;pfi-pinni in thy days, h>itir-fni hatt 1hon? where it has the sound of S, dependant however on th«i preceding letter (34). The word pu is often

HEADING

thus conn-acted witli verbs, in which case u loses its accent, and p is changed into 8, d, or /, as the foregoing letter may require; e. g haf-8u Imper. of hafa to have, kom-du iinper. of koina, ris-tu of n'sa to rise, at the end of syllables it is never found except when written instead of ff (35.)

Reading.

52. The first syll. has always the chief tone in all Icelandic words, be they long or short, compound or simple. In dissyllabic words the second syll. is therefore short; e. 2:. lida

V *j

to ride. In trisyllables the middle has a stronger tone than the last, as in ibe Svved. compounds upptaga, anfora; e. g. manneskja mankind., mauaSir months, drjugari arrogant, a?tlafii intended. In compounds alone where the last part is monosyllabic, the last syll. takes a stronger tone than the penultimate, e. g. perutre peartree. papirsork a s/we? of paper. Words of four syll. have the lesser tone on the penult, e. g. 6ana?gfir dissatisfied, hirfiligr suitable, avinningT winnings, twaer pappirs-arkir two sheets of paper. In compounds and derivatives alone where the last part is monosyllabic, this takes a stronger tone than the penultimate; e. g. Egypialand Egypt, manneskjuligl manlike, human.

53. An exception from the rule (hat the fi»st syllah. has always the chief tone seems to occur in some prepositions; e. g. amdti against, amilli between, igegnum through, which are pron. with the same tone as the Swed. words emot, ~enitllan; but these are properly only compounds of two words which are often and more correctly written separate, a moti, i gegnum, a mefian, and accordingly the first part, or actual prep, always falls away in all compounds formed with these words; e. £. mi Hi hi I midroom, motstafia opposition.

54. In spelling and reading the Icelanders always divide words according to their etymological nature, so that conson. between two vowels are all given to that which stands first,

if derivation or composition do not require a different arrangement; e. g. dag-ar, hrafn-ar ravens, hepp-inn lucky, elzt-i eldest, elsk a, aetl-a. The Swedish Academy in its treatise on spelling, and Botin in his work entitled ,,The Swedish Language in speech and writing" prove that the Swedish still follows the same laws; though in every day use the national system of spelling has been lau! aside, and that of the southern nations adopted. Thus the Icelanders write just as correctly hT-it the life (subst. with art. affixed), as lif life, haf-a to have as haf have, and have no need of fc (as in Swed.) because f always stands at the end of a syll. when it has the weak sound (v.)

55. Position indeed makes the foregoing vowel prosodi-acally long, but gives it a sharp short tone, as in the Swed. lort (borrt), hand, and the like. The words sverft sword, h;;r$r hard, boro, board, kaldr cold, hagl hail, f>egn thane, horn haven, vopn weapon, vatn water, are pron. accordingly as srarrd, harrft'r, ftorro, kallft'r, hagf/J, Tpegyn, hobbn (rule 36), vappn, vattn; even though the vowel were long before the position occurred, e. g. matr meat, smi8r a smith, are long in the Noinn., but the i)at. with art. matnum, smifaium, sounds nearly as mattnurn, smiffinuin. So also dalnum. to the dale, stoinum to the stool, etc.

56. Note, that r or ur final (the rune /fi) never makes a position alter another conson., but is considered as a peculiar short syll. in itseif, which however is seldom or never reckoned in verse. The sound is ur or or, with a very short and obscure vowel sound; e. g. al-r awl, tek-r he fakes, efi-r or, either. whiVh are not read affr, ter'kr, eftor. but al'-r, tek-'r, eti-'r, or alor t elf or e$or; and in Poetry e. g.

G'lafrr ska I ek 61 meS { asum i ond- j vegi , drecka j glad shall I ale with ^Esir in the high-scat drink —

where gla8r skal ek is reckoned as a dactyl; Almaltugr Guo" | allra j stetta •Almighty God over all ranks —

here ugr guS is reckoned as a spondee or trochee. In general also r only makes a position within a word after 8 and f, e. g. okra to practice usury, viSra to air, hafrar oats, read ok-ra, vi'dfira, havvrar.

57. The double cons, are pronounced plain and hard even after diphthongic vowels, e. g. full foul, leiddr led, slattr mowing-time, harra to be highl manti met, which must by no means be confounded with ful femin. of/)i//; leiSr treary, slatr flesh , hara of hair, maeti meets; veggi wait, but vegr way etc. Double conson. have therefore the same effect on the foregoing vowel as a position, but single conson. always make the foregoing vowel long, e. g. vel well, man-saungr lovesong, vef) n*arjrr, pled fie, pat that, til to etc., which must not be pronounced veil, till etc., but vel, tel, etc. like stel.

58. Before m and n all vowels and diphthongs are pron. with a nasal sound, e. g. heimr world, raun trial ^ a-nni (in dat. sing with art) to the river, a-na ace of the same, ku-nni kii-na dat. and arc., sing, with art of kii con:, am and anum dat. pi. (with and without art.) of a; kum and kunuin, the same of ku. But this never takes place where a cons, comes between; e. g. gagn gain, read fja/jgn, (not as in Swcd. f/angn) botn bottom, read botfn , (not as in the Dansk bund), stefn stem (of a *hip) stabbn, (not as the Dansk slarn), seinn s/orv in the masc. read sejddn or sy'd'n, einni one, in dat. fern. ejtfni; since nn after a vowel in the same syll. is pron. as if there were a d between.

59. When three conson. meet the weakest commonly falls out in pronunciation; e. g. halft half, hvirfli dat. sing, of hvirftll a crown, top, volgt lukewarm, margt much, many, are pron. nearly as harlt, hvirr/i, vollt, marrt, which last is also often written mart. In the same way are found ynnlingr, yrflingr, and yrlingr, a wormling; in the words islenzskt, danskt, hai-dly any Ic is heard; in gagns, lu-afus a crow's, vatns water's eta, scarcely any n, for which reason the last is often written vatz or vaz because t is also very little heard. So also r is hardly heard at all before sf and nd, or nt, e. g. verstr norst.

lyrstr first, alstirndr full of stars, ferny rm four cornered:, which sound nearly as vesstr, fisstr, alstinndr, ferhinnt. Of fnd. fnt, fnt , grid, gnt, and lid, lit, mention has been made already (rules. 36, 37, 42.)

60. An unaccented vowel at ihe end of polysyllabic words often falls away in daily speech before a word which begins with a vowel; this is seldom marked in prose, but in poetry it is usual in such cases to put an apostrophe after the vowel which is not heard; e. g. iaka' amoti, taktu' amoti

61. According to a constant custom handed down from the earlest times, the Icelanders only write Proper names with great initial letters, e. g. Haraldr, Irar, SvipjoS Sweden, but gu8, djofull devil, konungr, jarl earl etc.

The old Pronunciation.

62. It has been much doubled whether the Icelandic system of pron. just described, is the genuine old one which was used when the (ongue itself was spoken over all the three Northern realms. The language must, it is said, have undergone a change; the pronunciation must have been at first much nearer to the system of orthography, and been altered in later times by the Icelanders, just as the old Greek pronunciation has Iseen plainly much mutilated by the New Greeks. That however the tongue should have been materially changed is contrary to ;sll experience; it is well known that the remote position of ihe country, the very little foreign intercourse, and the love of the people for its annals and national poetry, have kept up the language to such a degree, thai the common people still read the old Sagas for amusement, and the poets without exception still compose their songs after the old alliterative laws. That the pronunciation ought to be nearer the system of oithogra-phy, that is in other words, more like the present Swedish, or Dansk pronunciation, (for on any other supposition it is actually nearer than in any other European tongue), seems to

be an absurd demand, since according to all analogy it IB more probable, that they who have kept the entire grammatical structure of the old tongue, and nearly all its stock of words, should also have the old pronunciation, than those who have distoned and lost so large a portion of the inflections, and have bartered so many old for foreign words, that they can not now without laborious study understand the old authors and Poets, which holds good in nearly same degree of all three Scandinavian nations. A comparison with the Greek speaks in favour of the Icelandic pronunciation: for it is just the •Swed. and Dansk which in their present form are entirely new tongues, while the Icelandic as an original tongue answers to the old Greek and Latin; with the sole exception that it is now alive in speech and writing. There are some who hold uj> the pronunciation of the common people on the continent as the genuine old one, allowing that the polished pronunciation of Swed. and Dansk can not by any possibility be suited to the old Norse; hut they seem not to consider that the speech of the people in each of the three realms is split into so many and so different dialects, that the Inhabitants of one valley often have the greatest difficulty in understanding those from another. Now since all these, especially those who live in the districts more remote from the coast, have a like right to regard theirs as the true old pron., we should thus have more than a hundred modes of pronouncing one and the same tongue. Such a variety bears plain evidence of the destruction of one whole, or the mingling ol several dissimilar parts, which in the present case becomes clear on a contrast with the Icelandic, where very nearly the same pronun. reigns in all classes and over the whole immense Island, in districts which have little or no intercourse wi.h one another.

63. Besides the Icelandic system ol % Pron. bears in itself the best proof that it is genuine. In it there is no doubt whether we ought to write a or o, <e or «, kv or r. kj or //, etc., because each and all of these signs has its own sound, clearly and plainly distinguish! from the others; nor whether / (e) or a should be used in endings, since by these different

cases and genders are denoted, which it would be as absurd to confound in Icelandic as in Latin. The Icelandic has in the main a single sign for each sound, and no really mute letters in its words: but if sometimes a sign has two or more sounds, these are so clearly dintinguisht by accents, position or some such plain and simple rule, that it is impossible to interchange them. This seems to bear as strong evidence of antiquity and originality, as the condition of the Dansk, and still more perhaps of the Swed. orthography of the numberless changes which these tongues have undergone in later times. Any one important alteration in the Icelandic pronunciation of the old Norse, based on that which is now used on the continent would thus destroy the whole ancient and simple system, and in some cases even the structure of the tongue itself; e. g. if we were to read a as a. 1. This simple sound would have two signs 0, and o which is the one now in use. 2. By this means a number of different words would be confounded; e. g. bava billow, bora to bore, far danger, for a drain, g-Ut tlie space between an open door and the rvaJl , gott good etc. 3. The diphthong of a would then be wanting, answering to 6 from o, u from u etc. In the same way were we to read ce as a we should, 1. have two signs for the same sound, since e is always sounded like a, when it stands alone; 2. we should confound a number of words otherwise entirely different in pronunciation, origin, and meaning, e. g. for he goes from fara, with faer he gets from fa; hetta a hood, and ha^tta to go; ferfi journey, fa3rS going (Swed fore) etc. 3. Tho diphthong of a would then be wanting, answering to ei of c, f of i, y of y. 4. Not only would the whole vowel system thus be destroyed, but also the rules for the vowel changes, by which a simple vowel, is always replaced by another simple one, and a diphthong by another diphthong. Again if au were read as av the diphthong to o would 1. be wanting. 2. It would be unaccountable how this sound should have become o in modern tongues; e. g. haukr han-lt, daufr death etc.; and 3. how the old Norsemen could have written au for o almost indifferently etc. If the hard sounds //, ?»/, were rejected the Masc. and Fein, of numberless adj. would be ron-

founded. It was just by changes of this kind that the old original system of Inflection was in the middle ages first neglected, next mutilated, and at last irrevocably lost; and thus it seems quite wrong to wish to fasten on the old IS 7 orse any new system of pronunciation which has arisen out of its own mutilation.

64. In addition many clear reasons for the Icelandic Pronunciation may be found in other old tongues; thus that d had anciently the sound of av, seems incontrovertible when we compare 1. the AS. savel with sal sow/, feava with fair (ace. faa) few, savan with sa to sow, cnavan with kna to be able, savon with sao saw. 2. Latin names and words, as Nicolaus Icel. Nikolas, Paulas Icel. Pall; caulis AS carl or cavel, Icel. kal, caurus, Icel. kari, the wind Poet. H. Lapp words borrowed from our old Scandinavian tongue, e. g. blawrs, Icel. blar blue, grawes, Icel. gra'r gray etc. The Germ, words blau, grau etc., also confirm this position though not nearly so strongly as the Lappish exam; ties, because the Germ, is an independant kindred tongue, in which these expressions are as old as in Icel. and may have their own peculiar pronun. as is the case with so many others; e.g. (Ham, reiten etc.) whence we can draw no conclusion as to the sound of hiis, rifia, but the Lappish are plainly borrowed from our forefather's tongue, not from the modern Swed., in which they have quite another sound. 4. Besides the Dialect ef the common people has still the same sounds in many parts; e. g. in the plain country in Funen d, 6, a, ei, au, are heard; there fa is said for fa to get, go for god, good, hal for hdl heel, bem for ben bone, leg, dau for dod death, agreeing exactly with the Icelandic sound. In Smaland also <i is at least said for a (0), and in other Swedish Provinces other peculiarities of the old tongue have been retained. 5. With regard to d the analogy of other old tongues, speaks for the right pronunciation, thus e. g. the Latin paucus has become the Italian poco, aurum oro, French or etc., and yet no one has wished to read pacus arum (pocus orum). It wouid require too much room to reckon up in this place all the Icelandic sounds that diiler from the Swed.; the

one just defended is perhaps one of the most disputed, but I will still make one or two remarks; the broad sound of 6 may be proved very nearly in the same way, Icel. sto a place is written in A. S. stovj the name of the Northern God OSin is written in an A. S. Sermon on Antichrist (in Lye) Ovfyen: domari judge, doomer, dempster., is called in Lappish duobmar, grop ditch graupe; the hard //, r/, is written by the Ferro Islanders, who have long since forgotten the old orthography, but have often retained the actual sound, dl, e. g. trodl for troll troll, jadl for jarl earl and the like.

65. In what has been here said it is not meant that the Icelandic pronunciation of the present day was in all its parts entirely universal in old times over the whole North, it is probable that there was some difference in pronunciation in different places, though this could not have been very great, since there was it is plain but one language, and that one which had reached so high a pitch of cultivation and regularity. That which I should be especially inclined to regard as less genuine in the Icel. pronunciation is the sound of u, y and £, as well as au and ey, all which properly reduce themselves to the two letters u and y.

66. About u there can be no doubt; but u (without accent) may perhaps have had the sound of the short Engl. u in nut, but) the Dansk o in hos, the Swed. o in sporde, menniskor, Idrorik, e(c. We may thus comprehend 1. why it is so often interchanged with o; e. g. gull and goll (poet.), tiingur and tiingor tongues, etc.; however incorrectly by the rule that o is always sounded as a (Engl. o); 2. how it is retained in the Ferro Dialect as u (not y or o), e. g. gudl as in all Northern tongues; though in some words it is found replaced by y or 0, e. g. urt rvort Swed. ort, Dansk urt; brunnr bronm, Swed. brunn, Dansk brbnd; punnr thin Swed. tunn, Dansk tynd, tukt schooling , old Swed. ihokt, New Swed. tukt etc. It is therefore probable that in old times the form was different in different parts, but that the most general was that of the deep simple o (very nearly the same as li see rule 24.)

67. Y seems then to have had the sound of the present Icel. u, Germ. «, Swed. deep o in hob, or simple y in lycka, etc.; f on the contrary that of Swed. and Dansk y, in by, sky, dyr etc. Which are sounded as yj (Icel. uj\ or iigj.) This may be concluded 1. from its Icel. name y. 2. from its interchange with ti, e. g. lykla and lukla of keys (gen. PI.), dyra, dura of doors; 3. from the Swed. and Dan*k where it has always become y or «, e. g. dyr door, Swed. dorr, fyrir fo/bre Swed. /ore, flfgr A<? /fres, Swed. flyger, byfir Ae A/ifr, Swed. bjuder, Dansk byder; and 4. even from some Icelandic words according to the present pron. on the Island, e. g. yckr yc two (Dual), kyrr still quiet, dryckr drink, etc.; 5 from the fact that it is denoted on Hunic stones by h (not j), e. g. h h ty 1 s I fc I CG '- s ystir. In the Ferro Dialect however it is entirely the same as i, e. g. fikil Icel. lykill key, diir, Jcel. dyr, etc. In old writers it is also interchanged with i (e. g. in the Codex Hegius of the Edda firir is written for fyrir), so that this also is not thoroughly sure.

(58. Au has without doubt been a diphthong of o, hut probably formed with v, (instead of ; according to the present sound), and pronounced as many Norsemen still pronounce ait, e. g. in Laurvig; which is so sounded that it is hard to say whether it be ov, er; or ar that is heard; (but in no wise like the Germ, au which comes nearer to a or o): This seems clear from the sign itself, since it appears impossible that it should enter into the head of any one to denote an articulation of j by u. It has also been retained, or rather has become, mi 9 on in Lappish; e. g. grauls, Icel. grantr. gruel; route as Fjellslrom writes it, others route, Finnish rattta, Icel. raudi -iron. But there can be no question of the sound «t>, because that has its own sign a, which is changed into au, as o is into o, there remains then no other sound but or to be thought of. Nevertheless it has become ej in the Ferro Dialect, e. g. leikur. !cel. loukr, /cek, which shows that the pronunciation bj also is no new Icelandic invention.

69. Ey was then the second diphthong of o, formed with /, and had therefore the sound of the present Icel. au, (nearly Germ, eu)', for 1. it is thus pronounced still in Norway, e. g. hoj, Icel. hey, hay, (Germ, heu), hojre heyra to hear; 2. It is also quite distinct from ei in ihe Ferro Dialect, where it has commonly become of (or 6j), e. g. hdjgi hay, hdjra to hear. 3. In the Peasant dialect of Fiinen also it has the same sound as au, thus nearly like oj 4. We may thus understand the reason of the system of writing au and ey ; had there been in old times a clear comprehension of o as a simple vowel, and a simple sign for it in the alphabet, without doubt 6u or o with an accent would have been written, and oi or oy; but since from the analogy of the Latin and Greek, and the sign ce itself, this 5 was regarded as already a kind of diphthong, it was hard, agreably to other tongues, the other vowels, and the old sound itself, to find any more suitable signs than au and ey.

70. These conjectures, should they be allowed to pass by any Philologist, and be followed in reading the old Scandinavian tongue, would in nowise disturb, but rather strengthen and carry out the Icelandic system; since they distinguish y from i, and ey from ei, and settle their pronunciation In analogy with the other vowels and diphthongs; u and y * simple vowels, it and y diphthongs, and au is the diphthong to 0, but by this arrangement each sign takes its own proper sound, and the pronunciation, on the whole, is brought somewhat nearer to the spelling and the Dialect of the Continent. — The whole system of the vowels would then be shortly as follows

a a ae

6 au ey

e — ei

i — i

o 6, 03 (73)

u u —

y i

* nevertheless remain.

For jet, jo, e, i, etc. have as little to do with the vowels, as, va, vo, ve, vi, etc.

71. But that a knowledge of pronunciation and accentuation, in the old Norse at least, is quite indispensable for its use in etymology, and the right understanding of iis words •when read, would be perhaps quite plain, if it were considered, that very many inflections are alone marked by vowel changes, e.g. bindi is Pres. conj. but byndi Imperf. conj.; there is the same distinction between gripi and gripi, viki and viki, etc.; and also that many words quite different in origin and meaning can only be distinguished by accent and pronunciation, e. g. I will quote in addition to the words mentioned iu rule 19. the following;

magr meagre. magr son in law.

leti laziness. leti voice.

sin sinew. sin her (sua).

vin friend. vi'n wine.

fora old. forn victim.

bur son (poet.} bur storeroom, barn.

hattr hat. hattr arrangement of time.

leiti hillock. laeti gestures.

frio'r peace. friflr fair.

lita to paint. liia to look.

hof temple. h<5f measure.

nyt gain. n^t I enjoy etc.

It is easy to understand how often the whole sense of a passage may be changed, when such words are confounded together; as an actual example I will only quote one strophe of Skafiis song in Goranson's Edition of Gylfaginning; in which she says why the seastrand was so hateful to her:

"Sofa ek maka "Sleep can I not

saefar bebjum 4 on the seastrand

fugls jarmi fyrir; for the birds cry;

sa mik vekr, the horse (sea), that comes

er af viSi kemr, from the woods, waketh

morgun hvern mar." me every morning,"

Which is without connection or meaning, but becomes, when read with its proper accents, quite plain and simple : "Sa mik vekr, "He waketh me,

er af \ffii kemr as he comes from the sea,

morgun hvern mar." every morn the mew." vi'5i is the dat. of vi'Sir sea (Poet.), but viSi dat. of viSr withy, tree, wood; and mar is a seamew, but mar a horse, or (Poet.) the sea.

But to require fixed rules for the Icelandic accentuation, is the same thing as to ask in Swed. when o, and when a, etc. should be written. One is forced to know the word and its sound, when it is not possible to hesitate a moment about its accentuation. The modern pronunciation however always demands an accent or a diphthong before ng and nk (73), which mode of writing is also found in some old M. S. In addition i and y take the accent in daily speech before gi and gj, contrary however in both cases to etymology, and the analogy of other instances; e. g. sprack pi. sprungu, conj. sprfngi; imperf. pi. stigu stepped, conj. sti'gi, and flugu flew, conj. ftygi, agreeing with the pronunciation of e before gi k ,

SJ,

CHAPTER III.

On the change of sound in the old Norse.

72. The system of Inflection often requires, besides the proper endings, a change of vowel within the word itself; and the formation of derivatives often takes place by means of a similar change, according to rules which hold good throughout the language. The vowels separate themselves, in this respect, into two classes, in which they are commonly interchanged among themselves, so that it is very seldom that any vowel of the one, is replaced by one belonging to the other. The A-class contains a, o, e, i, a, &, ei, i. (and ja. jd* ja, jo, e, ?.); The O-class the rest, namely o, u, y, o, «, y. au, e y> (together with jo and jii).

73 JE alone seems to belong to both classes, because both a and 6 are changed into <B ; but Olaf Hvitaskald re-marks, and this is often found to be confirmed by old M. S., that <s was looked upon as offensive, in case it was not derived from a, and that accordingly ce was in preference used in those cases where the root form had 6; this ce, which has been retained in later times by the new tongues on the Continent, (e. g. bondi husband, peasant, PI. bcendr, brdSir brother, PL broeSr, Swed. bonder, brdfler.) is therefore the only one which belongs to the 0-class. In like manner au and ey, seem sometimes to belong to the A-class, but this is only in the syllables aung, eyng, which are derived from any. But in old writers (as also still among the inhabitants of Dalasyla) ong, eng, and ang, are found in its stead, sounds completely within the A-class; and this pronunciation, which agrees with the Angl. Sax. and Dansk, is perhaps the true and original one.

74. A is changed, 1. into b before all endings which contain u (0), e. g. haka in ace. hoku, pi. hokur, dat. pi. hokum; faSir, ace. fofrur; but if the word be polysyllabic, a in the chief syll. becomes o, and in the others u, e. g. bakari baker. dat. pi. bokurum, heraS district ', dat pi. heruSum. In the same way a is changed in .nil neut. pi. and fern. sing, of substantives and adj. which end in a conson., e. g. hjarta. PI. hjortu, herafi, pi. heruS, haf sea, pi. hof , sok suit, glafir glad, fern-and neut. pi. glo'5, spakr wise, fern, and neut. pi. spok: 2. often into e before the endings i (e), and r (vr), e. g. dagr dat. sing, degi, faSir pi. nom. feftr; and always in the sing, of monosyllabic Pres. (in the 2. Conjug.), c. g. from taka, tek I take. from fara, fer I fare* go, from falla, fell I fall; and also in many deriv. lenda to land from land, nefna to name from nafn name etc.

75. 6 is changed, 1. into a before endings which contain a, e. g. sak-ar of a thing, sak-a of things, from sok. Only where a position comes between, or v is inserted, can essential o be retained, e. g. dogg dew, gen. doggvar or daggar; 2. Into e before the endings i and r; e. g. borkr bark, dat.

3»

CHANGE OP SOUND IN OLD NOHSE.

berki, mork a woody plain, gen. merkr, so also sekr guilty, from sok, etc.; 3. Essential o and Jo (which are never interchanged with a, Ja,} are changed into y; e. g. troll a troll, an evil spirit, at try Ha to bewitch, smjor butter , smear, at smyrja to smear , mjoll meal, at mylja to grind ; that y must be used here (not trilla, smirja, milja, etc.) is shown by the kindred tongues, and the Icelandic inflection of the word; e. g. Dansk trylle ; and the Icel. imperf. smurSi smeared, mulSi ground.

76. E is changed in deriv. into i, thus illvirki, if/doer, from verk, virSa to value, from ver5 worth.

77. Ja is changed into jo and i, as Jo into Ja and z; e. g. djarfr daring, fern, djorf, and dirfast to be daring; bjorn bear, Gen. bjarnar, dat. birni; hjorS herd hjar5ar, and hirSa to herd, watch; just in the same cases as a is changed into o, e; and o into a, e, (rules 74. 75.)

78. A'ng is changed into aung and eing, (never eyng), or according to old pronunciation and orthography, ang into ong, eng (rule 73.); dnk or ank is changed in the same way; e. g. at ganga (ganga) to go, Pres. geing (geng), PI. gaungum, (gongum), conj. geingi (gengi), krankr (krankr) weak, fern, kraunk (kronk), at kreinkja (krenkja) to be sick, etc. But if several conson. come between, d remains unchanged; e. g. angraSr sorrowful, fern. angruS, hangit kjot hung flesh, dat. hangnu kjoti.

79. Aung is changed into dng, and eing or eyng; and aunk is altered in the same way; e. g. taung tong , gen. tang-ar, or by another method of inflect, teingr; haunk hank, gen. hankar, or heinkr. These are also found with ey, teyngr etc., but ei seems more right in those cases where d can also be used; ey on the other hand from essential au can never be interchanged with d (by rules 75. 77. 78.) e. g. f>raungr thronged close, comp. J)reyngri, and the verb f>reyngja to throng, squeeze.

80. A 1 before the endings i and r becomes ce, e. g. {)ra$r thread, dat. sing. f>raeSi, pi. JmeSir; so also in deriv., e. g. |>rae5a to thread, mal measure, inaela to measure, rettlatr righteous, rettlaeti righteousness, etc.; but e only before a hard

position, especially with /, or r, thus helsi nscklace, helm-ingr (helfmgr) owe half, from halfr A«r//V alvcpni full mail, from vapn weapon.

81. 0 and M are changed into y before the ending «, and in many deriv.; e. g. sonr (sunr) son, dat. syni, tyrfa /o turf, from lorf ^wr/^ styfija to stay from stoS « stay, gylla /o ^//rf from gull, fylla from fullr.

82. 0' is changed into ce for o? by rule 73.), e. g. fo"tr foot, dat. faeli (foeli) pi. f'aetr (Ibetr), bondi peasant, pi. b.-endr, (boandr); so also hsela (hcela) /o praise, from hoi praise, haefa (hccfa) #0 behoove, become, from hof. On the other hand into y, if a hard position especially with / come between; (comp. rule 80.) e. g. fylki a province, small kingdom, from folk, whence also fylkir'A7/?<7 (poet.); dylg-jur feud from dolgr foe.

83. U' is changed into y, chiefly in deriv., e. g. hyfia to whip vulg. hide, from huS hide, h)'sa to house from bus house,

mice from mus mouse.

84. ^' and ju in(o y especially in deriv., e. g. Ijos light, at tysa to light, ljuga to lie, lygi a /ze, brjola to break bryt, fljuga to fly, pres. flV'g.

85. An 1. into cy, e. g. leysa to toosc from laus loose, teyma to lead, team, from taumr m'w, trace, heygja to bury in a barrow, from haugr a barron- . etc.; 2. Into o, e. g. ro5i redness from rauSr red. dofi sluggishness from daufr rfea/", s/0w, prauka and proka to drudge.

86. In addition the vowels in monosyll. Imperf. are changed in a peculiar way.

a (short) into w, e. g. drack dranJc pi. drucknm, spann 5/>aw spunnun>, part, druckinn etc.

a (long) into a, e. g. drap slew pi. drapum, sat sat satum.

ei into i, e. g. rcif tore pi. rifum, leit saw pi. litum, part, rifinn, litinn; so also in deriv. hit! heat from heitr hot, fitna to grow fat from feitr fat.

au 1. intow, e.g. fraus /roz«» pi. frusum, lauk

locked pi. lukum, so also in deriv. flug flight from flaug flew, hlutr lot, share, hlaut, obtained.

au 2. into o, in part, from imperf. in au, e. g. frosirm frozen, lokinn, locked, floginn flown, hlotinn obtained; and also in deriv., e. g. frost frost, lok end, lock, dropi a drop, from draup dripped, dropinn dripped; yet perhaps these words should be derived from the Part.

87. It happens also sometimes that an accentuated vowel loses its accent when the word is lengthened, e. g. spitali spital, lazar house, spitelskr lazar; ut utan; brudr bride, brullaup bridal. In some deriv. also i is changed into i; thus smiSr smith and smiSja a smithy, from snu'Sa to smithy, lifa to live from h'f, bit a bit and biti a bite, from bita to bite, sviSi smart from svio"a to smart, elc. Most of these substan. however would be more rightly derived from part, pass., than from the Infm.; but there is often so great a difference between these tenses, that they seem to presuppose two separate root forms of the same verb, as in Greek; so that it would be an idle attempt to try to bring this change of sound under any rule.

88. A soft j is often inserted between two vowels for the sake of euphony; e. g. ba?r (brcr) a farm house, gen. baejar (bcejar), ek dey Idle, Infin. at deyja; ek fly I fly, at flvja; and also between a conson. and vowel, c. g. ek vil / n-ill at vilja, lem at lernja to beat, ek hryn / tamble at hrynja, spyr ask at spyrja (Scot, speer.), dys stoneheap gen dysjar, rif rib dat. pi. rifjum, gen. pi. rifja, lep at lepja to lap, r\5" at ryflja to root out, let at letja to dissuade ; but in this last case it is needful that the foregoing vowel be simple and low e, i, or y, followed by a simple conson. (never d, or b.) The case is the same if it be gg , ly, rg, ch, Ik, or rk, that comes between the ending and the chief vowel, e. g. bie;g at bigsia

O / w * C?O I wC\J

to take, dryckr drink, gen. dryckjar; from folk battlearray, battle, comes at fylkja to set in array, and from sorg sorron) at syrgja to sorron). If it be //, />•, ng, or nk. that comes between, j is inserted, even where (he foregoing vowel is diph-thongic, (e, ei\ /, y, or ey, e. g. vek at vekja to make, vik at vikja to yield, floki felt f»t fl?ekja to entangle, dreingr serving

man dat. pi. dreingjuin, gen. pi. dreingja, langr long at leingja to lengthen, ungr young, ^ngja upp to renew, make young again.

89. With the same view, but neither so regularly nor so often, f is inserted between two vowels, and v between a conson. and a vowel; e. g. liar high, ace. sing, hafan, defin. hinn hafi; mjor small, ace. mjdfan, def. hinn mjdfi, myrkr murk, ace. myrkvan, dyggr trusty, dyggvan, dockr dark, ace. dockvan. This is especially used where the first syll. has 6, and the last a; e. g. hoggva to hew, soekva to sink, because they would otherwise have to be read hagga, sacka, (by rule IQ.) In old poetry this v is often inserted, where it is now generally left out.

90. V falls away before o, u, and y ; c. g. from verpa to lay eggs, to throw, is formed the Imperf varp, which in the pi. becomes urpuin, in the conj. yrpi and in part, orpinn; from vinna to win Imperf. vann. pi. unnum, conj ynni, part, un-ninn; vefa to weave Imperf. of, part, ofinn. Where it is kept o or 6 has always come in instead of d (rule 13.); e. g. vega to weigh, Imperf vo or vdg, for vd, vdg, vorum or vorum for vdrum, vor our, for vdr, vopn weapon for vdpn, etc.

91. That 8, d, t, and r, often fall away before 5 has been already mentioned. The same happens also before /, which is then doubled in monosyll. words and after vowels; e.g. kallaftr neut. kallat, called, pakiSr (otherwise pakinn) thatcht, neut. pakit, annar another, the second, neut. annat, verSr north neul. vert, harSr hard neut, hart, steindr stained, steint, skyldr bound, pledged, skylt (skillt.), leiCr tiresome, weary, leitt, raudr red, rautt, g68r good, gott, glaSr glad glatt; of two d's (dd) one is usually kept, e. g. leiddr led, neut. leidt, graeddr, healed, gradt, which is right, for it is kept also in the sup. Pass. (as 8) where t has been thrown but; e. g. leiSzt gr«8zt; but sagdt, reyndt, (proved, tried), would be wrong, because the sup. pass., is not sagtizt, reynfat, but sagzt, rcynzt. Some modern writers however keep this needless 0 in their words, e. g. verdt, hardt, steindt, skyldt, leidt, raudf, but never kai-fadt, fyakidt, any more than with 8, vertit, hartt, etc^ because

8 is always changed into d before d, e. g. leiddi imperf. of Iei5a to lead, graeddi imperf. of graefta to heal, etc. N also falls away before t at the close of polysyll. words, e. g. skilit separated, (for skilmt}, tamit tamed (for tamint), £akit (for \>akint), from skilinn, taminn, {takinn; ndt is particularly avoided; which in short words is assimilated to it; e. g. binda to bind, imperf. batt, imperat. bitlu; so also sannr, neut. satt (sannt.) Nd, nn, also are sought to be avoided in position, e. g. annarr pi. a8rir, skilinn skildir, |)akinn ^aktir, (for ann-rir, skilnir, ^aknirJ) In old writers nn and w, are very oAen exchanged forj 8, e. g. saSr for sannr sooth, mu8r for munnr mouth, annarr A. S. oSer , skiliun and skiliftr, fmkinn and {>aki8r, taminn and tamiSr, etc.

92. With k, r is assimilated to ck, when the foregoing vowel is a diphthong, otherwise not; e. g. staecka to max big, enlarge, from sta?rri bigger, mjdcka to make smaller, from mjdrri smaller. The case is the same with 8 in every day speech, (hough it is commonly kept in writing, e. g. bliftka, (blicka?) to shine, blink, vi'8ka (vicka) to widen; n is assimilated if a simple vowel, but cast out if a diphthong, go before, e. g. macki the crest, (the upper part of a horse's neck along with the mane), (Dansk manke), hreckir tricks, mukr monk, kanukr a canon (for kaniinkr from canonicus.)

93. With r, I and n are assim. to //, nn, when a diphthong goes before; e.g. heill whole (for heilr), stoll stool (for stolr), graerin green, (for arcenr) s^nn plain, clear, (for sfnr.) If the foregoing vowel be simple, Ir, nr, are often kept, especially in short words, e. g. hvalr whale, skilr separates, skills, linr mild, sonr son, but they are are also often assim., especially at the end of polysyll. words, e. g. vill (for vilr), j)6gull taciturn, gamall old gen. pi. gamalia, jokull iceberg, minn mine (for minr) hinn the\ that, (for hinr) gen. pi. hinna (for hinrd), f>akinn (for \>akinr), gen. pi. ^akinna, (for ^akin-rd), which takes place in all dissyll. adj. and part, in -inn. But if there be a conson. before, then r falls away entirely, e. g. afl forge, hrafn raven, (for afl-r,) hrafn-r. The same holds good of sr in old writers e. g. ass an As, god, iss ice, lauss loose, hals neck, lax salmon.

(for dsr, isr, lausr, hdlsr, laxr,) but in common speech as, is, laus; so also in 2. and 3. pers. pi. Pres. in the second conjugation, e. g. skin (in old writers skinn) for skinr shines, eys maters, old eyss (for eysr.)

94. All these changes of sound indeed are deep rooted in whole structure and existence of the language, but it is espe-cipally for the sake of inflection and formation of words, that the vowels, and for that of euphony, that the consonants, are changed; which is quite natural, because in all northern tongues the consonants have a very great preponderance.

CHAPTER IV.

On the transition of words.

1. From Old Norse into Swedish.

95. A great number of words are common to the Icelandic and Swed., though they have become much changed in the latter tongue by the system of spelling and pronunciation; as a help towards recognizing them in their older shape, the followin common method of transition should be remarked.

96. The vowel changes are the following

a has become a (Engl. 0.), e. g. raS, rod., Engl. rede, counsel, langr langr, long, fa, fa, few, pa da, then, there, malari, malare, miller.

0 also a e. g. hoi, hal, hole, fol, faJe, foal.

#hasbe- e. g. fraendi, frdnde, friend, saell, sail happy, come a, naer, ndr, near.

e also has e. g. eta, dta, to eat, brenna, brdnna, to burn, become d, (old. E. brenn.), hestr, hast, horse, merki, mdrke,

mark.

cihas be- heitr, het, hot, mein, mehn c moan, reita, reta, come e, to pluck.

1 also e, skin, sken, sheen, vita, veto, to wit, know, fatfir,

fader, father, hirSir, herde, herd, galinn, galen, silly, andi, ande, spirit, breath, spegill, spegel, lookingglass.

TRANSITION OF WORDS

auandey kaupa, kopa, to buy, chaffer, keypti, kopte,

have be- bought, drauinr, drom, dream, dreyma, dromma,

come o, to dream, laus, Ids, loose, Jeysa, losa, to loose,

haukr, hok, hawk, heyra, hora, hear. The case

is the same with ce which comes from 6 (and

is also written ce 73. 82.); graenn grbn, green,

(from at groa to grow); faera, fora, to bring,

(for) fae&a, foda, to feed, (foSur, Engl. food,

fodder,) a3fa, ofva, to practice, plaegja, pldja,

to plough, saekja, soka, to seek.

y also very of- fyrr, forr, before, dylja, dolja, to hide, fylgja, ten becomes o, folja, to follow, yfir, ofver, over.

b becomes a, especially in fern, and neut. pi. sok, sak, suit, grof, ffraf, grave, ditch, born, barn, bairn, (0. Engl.) hof, haf, sea, volr, vail, a plain.

97. The simple vowels o, e, i, y and a, have often been kept in Swed., especially before a position, e. g. orka f verk. viss, mynt, bjorn , which words are written exactly alike in both languages; and also in many cases where the vowel has been shortened, and the consonant following doubled, e. g. skot, skott, shot, brot, brott, crime, lok, lock, lock, til, till, till, to, etc.*

* In this lies the chief root of all the confusion now reigning in the Swedish Etymology. 1. The pronunciation has been changed, and all diphthongs simplified. 2. The old system of orthography has been altered, and new signs adopted (a, a), for sounds which had already generally received signs in the tongue (o, e,); while the old way of distinguishing by accents between the sound in trott and brott, stort and kort, has been laid aside; and yet it has not been possible to bring in the new signs in all cases, but the old system has been partly suffered to exist, and at the same time Etymology has made use of the new signs in many cases, and in others refrained from making them universal. In this way different signs have arisen for one and the same sound, godt fatt, den

But the diphthongs above mentioned, a, as, ei, au, ey, have been invariably changed, commonly in the way given above, but also sometimes differently, e. g. au into a, frrauk, trak, toil, brauk, brak, a fraction, saungr, sang, song, staung, stang , stake, as in the Old Norse itself (85.). The other diphthongs /, o, u, y 1 , have been usually kept on the other hand, though without the accent, e. g. lik, Rk, a body, rdt, rot, root, djiip, djup, deep, pry da, pryda, to trick out, pride oneself, etc., though these too have been sometimes changed, e - g- Ijos, ljus, light, trii tro, belief, dyr, djur, least, etc.

98. The most important changes in the consonants are the following ;

h falls away before all conson. in pronunciation, and is retained only before i and v in writing, e. g. hljofl, Ijnd, a sound, hnyckr, nyck , caprice, hreinn, ren, reindeer, hjarta, hjerta, heart, hveiti, hvete, wheat.

p becomes, 1. t in nominatives and verbs, e. g. Distill, tistel, thistle, J>raeta, trdta, to deny, wrangle, £ola, tala, to bear, JiK'tr tnjter, faih ; 2. d in pronouns and adv., e. g. J)ii, du, thou, pessir, dessa, these, }:ar, der, there, J)a, da, then.

man, and on the other hand two different sounds for the same letter. e. g. dom om, hem fern, and uhen the sound is once departed from there is no means by which it is possible to stop these confusions except custom, we find therefore in writing, fogel fafiel, haf and hof* iiffa and ega, dar and der. and both sides have reason for their system, but were the sound the simple rule, as in the Old Norse, we should be soon all of one mind in the new tongues. In the Dansk orthography, there is the same confusion from the same cause, here too the sound lias been changed, aud the diphthong* thrown away; and though the oricinal aa* <E and o have been kept, yet double signs have sprung up ( no and o. & and ?.) for single sounds, and again, because the accents have been laid asidf. double sounds for the simple signs o, ?. i. w. y and ".

8 becomes d, e. g. bla5, blad, leaf, sior, serf, wont, friSa, freda, to still, appease.

Within the word and at its close the conson. have often, been doubled, e. g. timi timma, hour, daema, domma, to deem, doom, koma, komma, to come, vinir, vdnner, friends, vit, vett, rvitj sviti, svett, sweat.

f between two vowels becomes fv; kljufa klyfca, rifa, rifva, to rive, rend, hof-in, hafcen, the sea.

fn becomes mn, rifna, rcmna, to crack, hafnir, hamnar, harbours, svefn, sdmn, sleep, (very much in the same way as 'vnvos somnus etc).

Other positions like these have often been separated and a vowel inserted, e. g. vapn vapen, weapon, vatn, vatten, water, fugl, fagel, fowl, hagl, hag el, hail.

All masc. signs (r, and one of the double 11, nn, etc.) have fallen away, e. g. koniingr, konung, Iting; plogr, plog, plough, prsel, trdl, thrall; stein, sten, stone, all, al, eel, blar, bla, blue, hvi'tr, hvit, white; nakinn, nalcen, naked, fmn, fin, fine, einn en, one; etc.

99. In the adoption of Icelandic Proper Names, which belong to the old mylhology and history, much confusion has arisen in the new tongues, through the ignorance of our old writers in the pronunciation and etymology of the Old Norse; they commonly made use of Latin renderings , but this latinizing of the old names brought along with it much distortion, which was not suited to our tongue and made new distortions unavoidable. It is not easy to lay down rules for this branch of orthography, but, judging from the transition and use of other words, it seems most advisable, 1. to keep the chief syll. in the word, as far as possible, unchanged; e. g. Vala, (not Vola), Saga, Freya, Reidgotaland, Jotunhem, (not Jo-thunhem). Yet 2. h must fall away before 1 , n and r; e. g. Lidskjalf, Rejdmar, Loder. for Hliftskjalf, HreiSmar, HloSr. 3. j must always be accurately distinguished from i, e. g. Mjoiner, Asbjorn, Njord, (or Njord), Skjold, (Skjold), Thjodolf. 3 JE and au, are supplied by a and o, but all other vowels are kept without regard to accent, e. g. Sdming, Hdner,

Odumla, Kerldgar, Gofer, (not Gautar,) Alf, Asgeir*, Harold, Oden, Lake, Gudrun, Gunnar, Sigurd, Heimdall, (or Hejmdall), Trey. 5. The endings undergo most change; i, ir, nir, ill, and inn especially become e, er, ner, el, en, e. g. Brage, Yngve, Sigurlame, Snorre, Saxe, Mimer, Ymer, Ager, Skid-bladner, Yggdrasel', Oden. 6. r, (ur) should be kept and changed into er, where it is essential; e. g. Balder, Ragna-rocker; but be thown away where it is not essential; (i. e. when it falls away in the Feel, inflection of the word); e. g. Rig, Nidhogg, Sdmund, Asmund, Fornjot; this ending however may be very well kept occasionally in monosyll. names, and in poetry, as an er paragogicum, e. g. Ull-er, Hdd-er, Lopt-er, Starkad-er, Log-er, or Log-en, (not Ldgaren); just as glader, goder, are sometimes used for glad, and god; other endings should be kept unchanged, e. g. Odun, (Auftun,) Arnor, Hjalmar, Bodvar. 7. In Names of women is seems best always to throw away this ending when it is non essential; e. g. Gunnhild, Ragnhild, Sigrid, Urd, Gerd, (or Gerde), Hild (or Hilde), Hejd (or Hejde). The form in e is a later nom. instead of GerSr, HilSr, HeiSr, made from the ace. GerSi, Hildi, HeiSi. 8. Those which have a keep it, as Gyda, Edda, Svafva; but those which have no vowel ending do not take a in Swed.; e. g. Shade, Gondul, Skogul, Gefjun, Idun, Sigyn, Frigg, Sif, Skuld, Hold, Ran. 9. If the name contaiu words which are already well known and current in the new language, these should be adapted to the system of spelling and pronunciation now in use; e. g. Gldsesvall, IdaraJlen, Alfliem, Vanahem, Ake-Thor, or Ak-thor, (not Auka-Thor which

* This name, still in use in Iceland, which also occurs on Runic stones, and in old Histories under the form Asker or Esker, in Angl. Sax. Osgdr, is the same as Oscar, and made up of A's an As, God, and geir a spear, or perhaps a kind of falcon (Germ. Geyer); both which words were of old very common in names e. g. Asvaldr, A. S. Osn-aJd, Ulfgeir, A. S. Vulfgdr, etc. The name Osgar itself occurs often in old A. S. deeds, e. g. in JEHhelm's will, which Lye has inserted in the second part of his Dictionary. As well as in other documents.

is a senseless distortion of the old 6ku-p6r, or according to an old Icelandic orthography Avku-por, 29.), Eysten, Asgard, Valhatt, Bdf-rosty (not Bi-frost, which a Germ, once translated Bienen-frost (Engl. Bee-frost). If the name has a generally received form, no new one need be introduced, e. g. Erik, Hakan, Anund, Olof.

100. The baptismal name is always in Icel. the chief name, by which the person is commonly addressed, e. g. Snorri, Hakon, Finnr, etc. ; which old and once general Norse custom is still retained in the case of Kings, as well as in that of the common people, in all the three Northern Kingdoms. For the sake of clearness the father's name is often added, e. g. Har-aldr Gormson, Snorri Sturluson. Jon porlaksson, G^5a Eiriks-dottir, pun'Sr Snorradottir go5a. But this is not usual if the person has any surname from his look, dwellingplace, character or the like, thus Kagnar LoSbrok, prandr i Gotu, SigriSr storraSa, Kmitr enn riki, Karl tolfti. But these names, as is natural, only apply to one person, and are not handed down from father to son; our forefathers in general, after old national custom, had no family names at all, and yet', in spite of this, the Icelanders can give a better account of their genealogies than any other nation now existing in Europe. In later times however family names, after the German and French fashion, have begun to be adopted even in Iceland; e. g. Fidalin, (from vi'Sidalr), Hjaltalin, etc., especially with Latin or Dansk endings, as Thorlacius, Stephensen, TJior-grimsen, etc.

2. From other tongues into Icelandic.

101. The great question in the new Northern languages at to how foreign words should be written, was quite settled in the Old Norse; they were always written according to the pronunciation they received when embodied into the tongue; from this rule there is not to be found a single exception, e. g. tafla from tabula, djakn (djakni) diaconus, pislill epistola, postuli apostolus, bibh'a (fern, sing.), messa from missa, salmr

from psalmus. This fundamental rule has luckily also been steadily followed by all good Icelandic writers up to the present day, e. g. by Bishop Hannes Finnsson, and Councillor Magnus Stephensen, who are still living in Iceland.

102. In the case of c, Bjorn Haldorson, in his Icel. Lexicon, gives the rule, that it is used only in ck, but that foreign words which have c are written with k or s according to their pronunciation; for which he gives the following examples, Katekismus, (otherwise in Icel. fraeSin), kontrakt, (otherwise samningr) klima (otherwise lopzlag), serimom'a (otherwise kirkjusiSr), sitazi'a (otherwise tilvisan); So also prins from Fr. prince, dans Fr. danse, etc. (never prints, prinz, or prince.)

For the Lat. ck, k is always written, e. g. kor chorus, kronika chronica, Kristr Christus, kristjan christianus, krislin Christina, krisma. For Erench ch on the contrary usually sk, skatol, Skarlotta, maskina, but chocolade is written sukulaft.

103. With t the rule is a little more uncertain, because the use of z is still unsettled; but it seems best (bv rule 49.), 1. to supply it always by z where it has the sound of s; e. g. spazia, visitazia, qvittanzia, ordinanzi'a, konferenzraff, porzion (otherwise skamtr). 2. Only where it comes after e, it seems best to contract the two into x; thus lexia, axia, axion; as the Romans did in cases where they used the same pronunciation, flecto, flexi, flexus, and flexio, (for fleet-si, flect-sus, and flect-sio) ; otherwise we ought to write lekzia, akzicij dkzion. 3. But where a short vowel goes before, and it has the sound of ts, it is always written in the same way; e. g. Refonnatsidn (sifiaskipti), konfirmatsion (staSfesling); th is treated like ch, and is supplied in sound by /, e. g. Iron (otherwise hasseti) throne.

104. Consequently ph must be supplied among the Icelanders, as among the Italians, Spaniards etc., by f; e. g, fysik filosofi, which however seldom comes into question, for the Iceland, words are always used in preference, natturufraefii; heimspeki, heimspekingr Philosopher, heimspekligr philosophic, etc. There are in general very few foreign words, which have

been taken into Icelandic, e. g. hatign is said for Majesty, haskoli, (Highschool), for University, bokahirsla for Library, bokavorSr for Librarian, stafrof alphabet, skaldskapr poetry, triiarbrogS religion, holdgan (holdtaka, holdtekja) incarnation, guSfraeSi theology, guSafrceSi mythology, atsetr resident, atferS (atferli) method, siSferSi morality, hugarfar, character.

105. The common changes which foreign words undergo, are beside chiefly these;

a) they are often contracted, so that a short vowel falls away, e. g. tempra tempero, lina linea, regla regula, mus-teri monasterium, temple, rnunkr also mukr (otherwise hrein-lifismaSr) monacus, klerkr clericus,, kapteinn (otherwise hun-draSshofSingi or skipherra) capitaneus, lojtnant Fr. Lieutenant.

b) The first toneless syll. is often cast away, e. g. spitali spital, Hannes Johannes, (otherwise contracted to Jon). Rasmus Erasmus, dati (soldati anciently malamaSr) soldat, postuli Apostle, biskup Episcopus.

c) But little regard is paid in general to the gender of the word in its original tongue when they denote lifeless things; e.g. partr (hluli), punktr, spegill, sedill, kanall, are masc.; as well as annall, titill, (nafnbdt), eingill, sirkill, st^ll; planeta (reikandi stjarna, reikistjarna). kdmeta (halastjarna), kronika, bibh'a, (ritning-in), on the other hand are fern, like natura (edli), persona (madr), and bestia (qvikindi); and minim or, attest, instrux, neuter.

SECOXD PART.

The System of Inflection.

CHAPTER V.

Of Sn but am i yes.

106. In the Old Norse, as in all other Gothic tongues, the declensions are harder and more artificial than the conjugations; the substantives, or denominatives, in particular have a very complex method of inflection. They are divided among the three usual genders, Masc. Fern, and Neut., and express two Numbers, Sing, and PL, with four cases or relations in each. Moreover when the article, as in Swedish, is affixed, both it and the subst. keep their inflections, so that in this case one and the same word is doubly declined. These inflections are denoted by endings, contractions, and change of vowel.

1. Declension nithout the Article.

107. The nouns subst. distribute themselves in regard to Inflection into two main classes; the one is declined simply and uniformly, the other distinguishes a greater number of endings by more artificial and harder rules. But even in one and the same class all words are not declined alike, we must therefore assume several declensions or methods of inflection under each. The simpler Class is distinguished by containing only words ending in a vowel; the more artificial on the other hand consists of such as end in a consonant. In each of these

divisions the words are again distributed according to their gender • e. g. hjarta and saga belong both to the simple system, but are nevertheless inflected quite differently, because the former is neut. the latter fem. So also akur field, and lifur liver, belong both to the more artificial system, but are differently inflected because the former is masc. the latter fem. To the simpler Class belong all neuters and fem. in a, together with all masc. in i; to the more artificial all other subst., as neut. and fern, in i, all monosyllables with accented vowels, and all words ending in consonants of whatever gender. It is thus indispensable, in order to fix the Class, and particularly the Declension under which each word is ranged, to know its gender.

108. To give sure rules for gender is as impossible in this, as in the other Gothic and in the Sclavonic tongues; it may however be remarked 1. in regard to ending, that masc. may end in z, r, I, n or s-, though all such are not necessarily of that gend. All subst. in a are fem. e. g. bylgja billow, koma coming, rsena sense, etc., with the exception only of herra master, Lord, and some Prop. Names which are masc. e. g. Sturla, Ora?kja; together with the few neuters which come under the first Decl. Most monosyll. subst. the vowel of which is b are also fem. e. g. grof a ditch, grave, for a faring, vok a hole in ice, skor a stairstep-, though here also some neut. must be exceptcd: e. g. fjor lifestrengih, bol bale, troll troll, kjor choice, qvold (for gveld) eventide. All monosyll. subst. having the vowel a but not ending in r, I, n or s, are neut. e. g. malt, land, haf, lag, a layer etc.

109. 2. From the meaning scarcely any other rule can be formed, than that the names of the duties and employments of men are masc., and those of women fem.; e. g. konungr, hofdi'ngi chief, headman, prestr priest, prsell thrall, drottm'ng queen, Ijosa midwife, ambatt sheslave.

110. 3. From the formation of words on the other hand it is easy to find out the gend. of most deriv. and comp. since e. g. all those in domr, ungr, ingr, ingi, leikr^ skapr, na&r,

arL and andi are masc.; all in una, ing, un, a, 8 (d t), ska, sla, at fa, and most in an, ni, fern.; and those in dami, indi, and erni neut. Comp. words keep always the gend. of their last part, which also holds good of the names of countries and towns, c. g. Polinaland Poland, py/kaland Germany, are nout. Noregp (Norvegr) Norway, masc., Danmork Denmark fern, as well as Svipjod Sweden, while Sviariki is neut. HeiSabaer is masc., but Slesvik fern., Lundun London neut. pi. Uppsalir masc. pi. Kanlarabyrgi Canterbury neut. sing. Mikligarffr Constantinople masc. Edinaborg Edinburgh fern, because land riki andbyrgi areneutr.; vegr, baer, salr, and gardr masc.; and mork, bjod, vik and borg fern, (see farther on this point Part. 3. Formation of Words.)

111. An important source for discovering the gend. of Iceland, words is to be found,

4. In the kindred tongues. From Swed. in particular we know the neut., which are by much the most common; masc. and fern, on the contrary are in that language in a state of much greater confusion, so that it seems better in the present condition of the tongue, to assume one common gend. instead of the two. The Dialect of the common people in all three realms is a still more important help than that of the higher classes, because the personal genders are more accurately distinguished in it, and this in such strict accordance with the

w /

Icel., that, in Funen at least, hardly one word in a hundred can be excepled, that has changed its original gend. in the speech of the lower classes.

112. As exceptions from agreement with Swed. we may remark that, n<-ra kidney, skald, vor spring, sumar summer, haust autumn, milti spleen, burning honey, cdik rinerjar, and kalk lime, port, plaz, place, arc neut.; log, Ian; jo! Yufe, laun pay, reward, are neul pi.; but the sing. h!i5 a ittiei or grate iieiit.; while h!i5 a side is fern, egg en e^ is ce::i.; bat egg an edge fern.

113. Of all gend the neut. (or no-sex) is the simplest and so to speak the most steadfast, which bas maintained itself

4*

longest in the language. The masc. (he-sex) again is most akin to the neut. and seems to have been immediately developed out of it; the fern, (she-sex) is both in inflection and formation most separate from the other two. They seem therefore both in Icel., and in other kindred tongues, to be most correctly treated of in the order given above. Of the cases the ace. is always most like the nom., next follows the dat., and last of all the gen., which has most peculiarities. This arrangement seems, both in regard to the mutual Etymological relation of the forms, and the philosophical meaning thereby denoted, to be the best, not only in Icel., but also in Germ, and all Gothic and Slavonic tongues, as well as in Greek and Latin, or the so called Thracian (Phrygian) languages.

114. According to the principles of division above given, (Two head classes and three genders in each), the declensions ought to be six; indeed the simpler class cannot possibly be divided otherwise, but in the more artificial the masc. and fern, have an inflection so complicated, that it seems better for the sake of greater clearness, to divide each of these into two declensions; the whole number thus becomes eight, the regular inflections of which may be seen in the following table.

ar

The endings marked + are those which require besides a change in the vowel of the chief syll. ; should any one regard the four last decl. as too like one another to be separated, the 5ti» and 6% and 7th and 8th ? need only be joined so as to make together two classes under one decl.; in which case the agreement between the two head classes; as well as that with the other Gothic tongues becomes more plain, without at the same time any disturbance in the system.

115. The agreement with the Angl. Sax. system of decl. is evident; the declensions also of the Germ., the Moesogothic> and other old Germ, dialects answer very exactly to those of the Old Norse, though the conflicting views of different writers (Adelungs and Zahns) make the likeness less striking. For the sake of easiness in comparison I will present the following table.

Icel. Germ. Moesogoth.

1 das olir (6) hairto heart.

2 , der affe (4) ahma ^^ ' der funke (5)

3 die welle(7) gajuko likeness

4 das buch (2) vaurd word

o, I vigs nay

61 der fisch < ! > f sunus son

71 i staua right

die bank (3) 9 .,

Si ' inaga}> maid

116. Even the endings themselves have a great likeness to those of other tongues; the gen. in s is the Swed. and Dansk s, Germ, es, s, Lat. is, Grk. os; the dat. in e answers to the Germ. dat. in e, Lat. in i and abl. in e, Grk. in i', the dat. pi. in um to the Germ, en, Swed. om in adverbs, as stundom sometimes, etc.; the gen. pi. in a to the Swed. compounds in which the first part ends in a, e. g. gudaldra, etc., the Neut. have always the nom. and ace. alike as in Greek and Lat., and besides all fern, have (he nom. and ace. alike in the pi.

Simpler Class.

117. The first Decl. contains all neut. in a, e.g. auga eye, hjarta heart, which are thus inflected.

Sing. Nom. auga hjarta

Ace. auga hjarta

Dat. auga hjarta

Gen. auga hjarta

Plur. Nom. augu hjortu

Ace. augu hjortu

Dat. augum hjortum

Gen. augna hjartna

In the same way are declined eyra ear, lunga lung, eysta, testicle, hnoSa ball of thread, bjuga sausage, nyra kidney, as well as some foreign words; e.g. manna, firma, and names of countries in a, which are however rare in old writers, who commonly add (he word land, and also in modern authors, who often make them fern.

118. The reason of the vowel change in the pi. is the ending, of which mention has been already made (74.); it however takes place only in the word hjarta, because none of the others have a in the chief syll. Manna is used only in the sing., liingun and Indiun (otherwise Indialand) rather in the pi. with the art. The object of the n inserted before the a in the gen. pi. seems to be, to distinguish this case from the nom. sing.

119. The second Decl. embraces all masc. in i; e.g. geisli sunbeam, andi spirit, breath, rcem'ngi robber, eigandi owner, which are thus inflected

Sing. Nom. geisli andi

Ace. geisla anda

Dat. geisla anda

Gen. geisla anda

Plur. Nom. geislar andar

Ace. geisla anda

Dat. geislum ondum

Gen. geisla. anda.

In the same way are inflected; dropi a drop, ungi the young of animals particularly fowl, bogi bow, risi giant, skuggi shadow, naungi neighbour, ecki woe (poet.), maki mate, kappi champion, felagi fellow, nagli nail, api ape, asni ass, angi steam, savour, panki thought, tangi a point or tongue of land. Sing. Nom. raeningi eigandi

Ace. racningja eiganda

Dat. raemngja eiganda

Gen. raeningja eiganda

Plur. Nom. raem'ngjar eigendr

Ace. raeningja eigendr

Dat. rseningjtim eigendum (ondum)

Gen. racningja. eigenda (anda).

In the same way are inflected hof&ingi, frelsingi and ley-singi freedman, vili will, domandi doomer, buandi yeoman, elskandi lover, iSkandi worshipper, illvirki illdocr. einlieri Odin's warrior, skipveri shipman, eyskeggi islander, lesandi reader, sa-kjandi suer, verjandi warder, hallandi slope.

120. Dissyllabic words which have a in the first syll. change this into o before u, i. e. in the dat. p!. Those which have dng, or dnk, change this in the same case into aung, aunk, e. g. vangi cheek, jawbone, dat. pi. vaungum; panki paunkum, etc., but « by itself remains unchanged, maki pi. makar straddling, dat. makum.

Trisyllabic words, which have a in the two first syll., change the first into o the second into u, before the ending urn; e. g.

bakari baker, pi. bakarar, dat. bokurum. If they have a in the middle syll. only, this is still changed into u, e. g. ddmari, pi. ddmarar, dat. domurum; so also lesari, kennari teacher, els-kari, etc. But if the first syll. has a and the second another vowel, no change takes place, e. g. naiingi, pi. naiingar, dat. naungum.

121. Those which insert,/ before the ending arc, all in ingi, and some few beside, which all have weak vowels in the penultimate.

122. Like eigandi are declined all pres. part. act. when used as subst. to denote an agent; they are met with most often in the pi. Even those which express something lifeless, and answer to the Swed. neut. uppforande, afseende, etc., are here all masc., and follow the same inflection, but are used only in the sing. e.g. talandi gift of speech , togandi anything slow, tildragandi, inducement, etc. The word buandi is commonly contracted into bondi, pi. bcendr, bcendum, boenda. Fjanda a foe, fiend, is inflected like eigandi, but may also be declined like andi. Fraendi, pi. fraendr is regular, as also braendr (pro Tronder), a Norse tri be from which Trondhem takes its name; this word comes from the male name prandr.

123. The word herra differs only in the nom. from geisli, as also sira * which however is not used in the pi. and eudir end which in old writers is met with regular endi etc.

* This word is used only in Priest's titles before the name, e. g. Sira Ami. "The Revd. Mr. Arne." The Councillor M. Stephensen indeed in his "Gaman og Alvara." "Jest and Earnest" p. 79 seq. has sought to throw it out of the tongue as laughable, because it is only used in French in conversation with Kings and Princes. But in this I can in no wise agree with the learned writer; its use must not be ascribed to an exaggerated respect for the Catholic priesthood, because it is never used of Bishops , who are called Herra Lord a word expressing a much higher rank. Its meaning also in French can hardly be taken into consideration when the question is of Icelandic:

124. Some few old poetic words take in the pi. endings nar instead of ar, e. g. gumi a man, (whence our groom, properly goom, in Bridegroom), pi. gumnar, yet gumar is also found, and the inserted n has without doubt its origin in the gen. gumna, whence it has crept into the other cases. According to the Maesogothic, Allemannic, and Anglo-Sax, the gen. pi. in the simpler class ought always to end in na, which is also actually the case in neut. and fern, which are much the most frequent; but in the masc. again this n has fallen out. The true original inflection would thus seem to have been;

Norn, gumar

Ace. guma

Dal. gumum

Gen. gumna.

But the common is gumnar, gumna, gumnum, gumna; so also skatnar, gotnar, bragnar, which all mean men, warriors, together with flotnar searovers; from oxi also (for uxi) the gen. pi. oxna is found.

the Engl. queen is the highest title while the Dansk grind is a term of coarse abuse (conf. Engl. quean); the Icel. kona and Dansk Icone are so honourable that they are often said of Queens instead of wife, but the Swed. kona is contemptuous. The case is the same with the Germ, gemein and the Dansk gemen, etc., which does not all hinder the use of these words in each of these several language, without any regard to their meanings in another. Moreover the Icel. sira should not doubtless be derived from the French sire, but be taken as the Engl. sire i. e. Father. The common people as is well known still use the word Father in addressing Priests all over Denmark and Norway. Besides the word sira is by no means an Icel. invention but has long ago had its present received sense in Norway also; e. g. it occurs twice in a letter of the year 1297. (Diploraatarium Am. Magn. vol. II. p. 190.), and is again found in a document of the year 1445. which is quoted in Lund's "Forsog til en Beskrivelse over ovre Tellemarken" p. 106. It were to be wished that no word was used in IceJ. which had a worse descent than this.

125. All fern, in a follow the third Declen., e. g. tunga, saga, kyrkja, lina, line

Sing. Norn, tunga sagu

Ace. tiingu sogu

Dat. tungu sogu

Gen. tungu sogu

Plur. Nora, tiingur sogur

Ace. tungur sogur

Dat. tungum sogum

Gen. tungna. sagna.

In the same way are declined; dufadove, |>ufa hillock., grima mash, villa error, qviga heifer, vika week, pipa pipe, perla pearl, gata path, flaska flask, staka verse, haka chin, vala spaewife, skata ray (fish), langa ling (fish) ganga going, Sing. Nom. kyrkja lina

Ace. kyrkju h'nu

Dat. kyrkju h'nu

Gen. kyrkju h'nu

Plur. Nom. kyrkjur linur

Ace. kyrkjur linur

Dat. kyrkju in linum

Gen. kyrkna. lina.

In the same way are declined, eckja widow, reckja bed, manneskja mankind, ha?kja crutch, sylgja umbrella, fylgja ghost, ylgja she elk, bylgja billow, lilja lilly, gryfja mine, ferja ferry, gySja goddess, kanna can, skepna creature, vara ware, tinna flint.

126. By this Decl. are inflected all infin. ma, which are used as subst., e. g. vera being, brenna burning, and in general all fern, in a; names of countries also, especially in the modern language; e. g. Evropa (NorSurhalfan) Affrika (SuSurhalfan) Amerika (Vesturhalfan) etc.

127. That ganga makes gaungu etc. has been already mentioned (74. 78.) vala, volu is also found as volva volvu etc.

128. Words ending in na and ja before which g and k do not come, take no n in the gen. pi. The words koua and

qvinna wife, woman, have both qvenna in the gen. pi. but are otherwise regular.

129. Many of these words are used only in the pi., e. g. maetur (hafa maetur a einhverju to set store on aught), gaetur watch, care, fortolur talking over, atolur curses, reproaches, likur guesses, haerur gray hairs etc.

More artificial Class.

130. According to the fourth Decl. are inflected all neut. that end in consonants, or in i, or which are monosyllabic; e. g. skip ship, land land, sumar summer, qvaeSi song, chaunt, merki standard, tire tree.

Sing. N. A. skip land sumar

Dat. skipi landi sumri

Gen. skips lands snmars

Plur. N. A. skip lond sumur

Dat. skipum londum sumrum

Gen. skipa. landa. sumra.

So also are inflected: bor5 board, table, striS rear, mal measure, bu grange, farmhouse, stra straw * frae seed, hey hay, gler glass, haf sea, lamb lamb, blaS leaf, blade, ax ear of corn, vatn water, tjald tent, gras grass, glas a glass, hofuS head, klausdir cloister, foftur food , fodder, silfur silver, nordur the north, hulslur, holster, veSur weather, mastur mast (of a ship). Sing. N. A. qvaeSi merki tre

Dat. qva?8i merki tr£

Gen. qvaeo'is merkis tres

Plur. N. A. qvaeSi merki tre

Dat. qvaeSum merkjum trjam

Gen. qvaeSa. merkja. trjaa.

In the same way go, klaeSi clothing, epli apple, enni brow, vi'ti punishment, frelsi freedom, ackeri anchor, gaedi goods, ey-Hndi errand, riki realm, fylki province, virki wall, vigi breastwork, nes a ness, sker scar, kyn Aiw, .vca-, rif rib, kn6 hie shade, lee* spe ^cer, derision.

131. Even in this method of inflection there are already greater difficulties, though it is the simplest of the more complex class. The change of vowel has been before spoken of. (74. 78). Contraction takes place only in those cases where the ending begins with a vowel, e. g. mastr-i, mostr-um, mastr-a, the words heraS, hundra5, 65al, are never contracted, but in other respects follow sumar, thus dat. sing. heraSi, dat. pi. he-ruSum, etc. Those in ss, or s after a consonant, take no new s in the gen., e. g. hross, ax, and the like.

132. Those in i take no new i in the dat. but are otherwise regular, yet so that those the characteristic letter of which is g or k, insert^' before the endings um and a; this j is heard indeed in all cases of the word, so that the sound is merld merkis, or inerkji merkjis, but is not usually written before i (39). Some other words which end in conson. also insert j in the same cases; such are all those which have, simple weak vowels (41.), and simple cons, at their close, e. g. sel sheepfold, seljum, selja, and also men necklace, skegg beard, bil panelling, etc.

133. Some few with hard vowels, especially <?, insert j before the endings which begin with a vowel, fjor lifesfrength, fjorvi, fjorvum, fjorva, so also skrok prating, nonsense, mjol, sol a kind of eatable seaweed, etc.; but this is not so strictly observed as the insertion of j.

134. Hie and spe are never used in the pi.; fe goods, cattle, fee, has in the gen. sing, fjar, but is inflected in the pi. like tre; ve halidome, temple, house, is declined in the sing. like tre, in the pi. like skip, as are also the names of the letters in e, the rest are declined like skip.

135. Other irregulars are especially; Ia3ti character, bearing, which makes its dat. pi. latum, gen. lata; megin might, regin the godlike powers, rekin neat, take the vowel a (/?) when they are contracted; e.g. dat. pi. rognum, gen. ragna (whence ragna-rockur twilight of the Gods.} The new word altari (stalli) altar, follows this decl. in the sing., but in the pi. it makes olturu (or oltoru) olturum, altara.

136. Some others change their gend. to fern, in the pi. and are then declined according to the seventh decl. e. g. lim twig, pi. limar, boughs; tal cheating, pi. talar; eingi a mead, eingjar; smiSi smithy, smj'Sar; mund any point of time, mundir; Jmsund thousand, fmsundir. Most of these words however are found perfect in both gend., but the inflection here given is the most common. The word fraeSi knowledge is in the sing. fern, and in-decl., in the pi. on the other hand neut. and declined like qvaefii.

137. Many are found both with and without i in the nom.; e. g. fullting and fulltingi help, haensn and haensni hen; rensl and rensli, a drain, sluice; as also all deriv. in si (sli), the latter form seems more common in the pi., and in the modern tongue.

138. The fifth Decl. embraces all masc. which end in the gen. in s; in the nom. it has the following endings r, I, n and s, e. g. konungr king, hamar hammer, laeknir leech, dalr dale.

Sing. Nom. konungr hamar

Ace. konung hamar

Dat. konungi hamri

Gen. koniings hamars

Plur. Nom. koniingar hamrar

Ace. koniinga hamra

Dat. konungum homrum

Gen. konunga. hamra.

In the same way are declined, hestr horse, eldr fire, ddmr doom, brunnr spring, (burn), ^rall thrall, stdll stool, seat,

steinn stone, sveinn stripling, akur field, aldur age, aptan even,

morgun morn, drottin Lord, chief, kafiall cable, jokull iceberg, biSill n)oer, lover.

Sing. Nom. laeknir dalr

Ace. laekni dal

Dat. I.'t-kni dal

Gen. laeknis dais

Plur. Nom. laaknar dalir

Ace. Inekna dali

Dat. laeknum dolum

Gen. laekna. dala.

In the same way are inflected, viSir withy, pyrnir thorn, emir juniper, reynir rowan, skelmir rogue., lettir easiness, mis-sir loss, maelir measure, bushel, hvalr whale, bolr bole, hver hotspring, Ijar sickle, scythe, stafr staff, ty5r folk, smiSr smith, hagr condition, affairs.

139. Some words which end in /, n or s after a cons., or in double 5, take no r in the nom., and so have none to cast away in the ace., but are otherwise regular; e. g. fugl fowl, karl man carle, hrafn raven, (Dansk ravn}, vagn carriage, wain, hals neck, lax salmon, kross cras.^ foss or fors a force, waterfall, krans garland, etc. There arc also some other words which do not take r in the nom., e. g. daun smell, f)j6n servant, these are in consequence alike in the nom. and ace.; the case is the same with those in r, s, after a diphthong, e. g. has crib, hnaus turfsod, leir clay, aur mud: the old writers often used rr, ss, to meet the pronunciation, e. g. hnauss, aurr, etc., and thus distinguished the nom. from the ace., but confounded on the other hand the nom. with the gen., in words in s, which case however had still a separate sound, because the diphthong by means of the double cons, becomes shorter and harder in the gen.; those in actual ss, or 5 in position, take no new 5 in the gen.

140. Among the words which follow konungr are many monosyll., which take no i in the dat. and particularly those in //, and ingr, those in r, s, after a diphthong, and those which have a simple cons, with r after a diphthong; e. g. holl a mound, hill, haell heel, hri'ngr ring, as well as fataeklingr a needy man, kor choir, mur wall, is ice, os rivermouth, draumr dream, batr boat, hrutr ram, etc.; yet they sometimes take i (those in r alone excepted) when they stand alone, and have much weight in the sentence e.g. i draumi in a dream, b&rinn stendr a holi, the grange stands on a rise, but a hafum ho!. on a high hill. Those in nn are quite regular.

141. LI and nn after a diphthong are properly a contr. of Ir, nr, (93) and the words which end thus ought to cast away one / and n in the cases where r (the sign of the masc.) would

otherwise be dropped. The case is the same with 55, r5, which however is only an old orthography (93.193.) Great care must be taken not to confound this r, which in old writers is doubled in the nom., is essential in the word, and kept in all inflections, with the non-essential r which is only a masc. sign, never doubled in nom., and invariably falls away in inflection; e. g. |)6r Thor, sur sourness, and her host, army, have essential, but Freyr, skor shoe, hor (hofr) pothook, on the contrary non-essential r; we find therefore |>6rr, herr, etc., but never Freyrr skorr. The declension is accordingly; Nom. hrafn kross |)6r haell Freyr

Ace. hrafn kross £6r haell Frey

Dat. hrafni krossi |>6r hael Frey

Gen. hrafns. kross. J)6rs. haels. Freys

The genitive ending s is never widened to es, is, or the like, however hard the consonants meeting together may be, on the other hand the pronunciation is often softened by leaving out one of the cons. (59).

142. Those dissyll. words which have a simple vowel in their last syll. are contracted in cases the ending of which begins with a vowel; e. g. lykill key, dat. lykli, pi. lyklar, etc.; Jotun giant, dat. jotni, pi. jotnar, jotna, jotnum; morgun (mor-gin, myrginY, dat. morgni or morni etc. Those in / have this letter always doubled (according to pron. and analogy), instead of Ir in the nom.; thus hefill plane, aungull angle, hook; those in n, r, take on the other hand simple n and r, and are consequently alike in the nom. and ace. By an old orthography however nn, rr, are often found in the nom., e. g. himinn heaven, aptann, jotunn, jafiarr seharje, akurr, etc., but this is seldom strictly observed, and seems as needless as 55, rr, in monosyll. (139). Bikar bicker, beaJcer, nykur nixc, kelpy, are not contracted, nor foreign words, as generall (hershofSingi) etc.

143. By an old orthography r is also often found alone for ur (especially in the ace.), but since words in ur agree entirely with those in ar. un, in, and an, and this ur is an essential syll. in the word, which is contracted indeed but never falls away, and is also kept (as er) in the new tongues, e. g. aldur

Swed. alder, Dansk alder, sigur Swed. Beyer, Dansk sejer, hlatur laughter, Dansk latter, etc.; this way of writing seems more incorrect than urr. Besides it is misleading because by it this ending may be easily confounded with non-essential r, which is the masc. sign, and falls away in inflection and in the new tongues, e. g. hlatur, heiSur honour, hafur hegoat, have the essential syll. ur, and are declined like hamar, but batr, boat, eiSr oath, rafr amber, (Dansk rav), the non-essential ending r, and are declined like konungr or Freyr.

144. Those in ir have also another method of inflection by which ir is kept in all cases before the ending; these are never contracted.

145. Those which form the pi. in ir have many peculiarities; viz, most of them do not take i in the dat., there are however some exceptions, e. g. gestr guest, brestr weakliness, qvistr branch, (which last often makes another ace. pi. qvistu). Others insert j before the endings which begin with a vowel, but this j before i is expressed only by I; e. g. hylr a gulf, pi. hylir, ace. hyli, dat. hyljum, gen. hylja; so also bylr windy weather along with rain or snorv; but after g nnd| k the accent also is left out; e. g. seckr sack, pi. seckir, secki, seckjum, seckja. So also seggr brave man, dreingr thane, f)veingr shoe-string, very few insert v before the endings which begin with a vowel, e. g. hjor sword poet., dative hjorvi etc.

146. Gu5, which wants r in the nom., and makes in the pi. guSir<jrocfo, and dagr which in dat. sing, makes degi, pi. dagar etc., are irregular; blastur blast makes, besides its common regular inflection, another dat. blaestri; bogr a shoulder besides its regular inflect, like konungr, has also ba?gi in the dat, and in the pi. bsegir, bdgu, bogum, bogu, in old writers; but' I doubt whether bcegir is any where to be found in the nom. sing., which Bjorn Halldorson quotes in his Diet.; spann (sponn) spoon, chip, makes in the dat. spseni, pi. spaBnir, spanu (or spaBni) spanum, spana; eyrir money, pence, is declined like laeknir, only with change of vowel in the pi. aurar, aura,

aurum, aura; leikr like konungr when it means game, sport, but like dalr when it means draughts (the game); her makes in the gen. hers, old. herjar, (whence alls-herjar) pi. herar (old herir), but is seldom used in the pi.

Still more irregular are skor shoe, ketill kettle, dor (dorr) spear, poet. maSr man, fingur finger , which are thus inflected;

Sing. Nom. skor ketill dorr maSr fingur

Ace. sko ketil dor mann fingur

Dat. sko katli dor manni fingri

Gen. skos ketils dors manns fingurs

Plur. Nom. skor (skuar) katlar derir menn fingur

Ace. sko fskua) katla deri menn fingur

Dat. skom kotlum dortim monnum fingrum

Gen. skoa (skua) katla darra manna fingra. Foreldrar parents, paskar Easter, (old paskir-nar fern.) and

tofrar witchcraft, are used only in the pi.

147. Some in r especially deriv. in leikr, sometimes change r into i and are then inflect, after the second decl.; e.g. sann-leikr and sannleiki truth probability , likamr (lik-hamr) and h'kami body, (yet in the pi. commonly likamir); the last forms in z seem properly to belong to the modern language.

148. All masc. of which the gen. sing, ends in or follow the seventh Declension, they have in the nom. the endings r and n; e. g. drattr drawing, vollr field, skjoldr shield, viflr tree, wood, bragr poem, belgr bellows, inflated skin.

Sing.

•a-

Plur.

In the same way are declined, baltr episode, story, hdttr

character, mattr might, bradr thread, sonr (son) son, goltr

«t

boarpig, vondr wand, knottr ball, borkr bark, kottr cut, fjorflr frith, hjortr hart, kjolr Arce/, mj65r mead, bjorn

Sing. Nom. viffr bragr belgr

Ace. vifi brag belg

Dat. vifii brag belg

Gen. viSar bragar belgjar

Plur. Nom. viBir bragir belgir

Ace. viftu bragi belgi

Dat. vi5um brogum belgjum

Gen. viSa braga belgja

In the same way are declined; vegr may, feldr fell, cloak, si5r custom, Ii5r joint, smi5r smith, limr limb, litr hue, s]65r bag, purse, sta5r stead, matr mea/, rettr right, lam, vinr friend, hugr mind, sauSr ram, munr difference, hlutr /Am<7, hryggr £ac&, leggr /e$r, #;n#, verkr pain, mergr marrow, dryckr drink, tekr, beck, rivulet, reykr ree&, ba?r grange, hamlet.

149. This whole Decl. seems to have had its origin in euphony, because it was wished to hinder ds, ts, and ns from meeting together especially after simple vowels. We here see very plainly the cause of the vowel changes in the Old Norse, viz, that it was wished to make the vowel of the chief syll. as like as possible that of the ending, or as it were to balance them one against the other; but the first is commonly the stronger o instead of u, e for i, etc.

150. Some can take no r in the Nom. (comp. 139), and so remain alike both in the nom. and ace., thus orn eagle, and bjorn; for vinr and sonr vin and son are said, the latter especially always in names; e. g. Isleifr Einarsson, Steingrimr Jonsson, Bjarni porsteinsson (never Einarssonr or the like). It is self evident that sonr changes its vowel in its own way, thus dat. syni etc.

151. The pi. is formed from the dat. sing.; those words which never take i in the dat. sing, always end the ace. pi. in this vowel. Those which take u in the ace. pi., have besides this form also another in i formed from the nom. pi. in

the usual way by throwing away r, and the same as the dat. sing. ; we may therefore also say fwe/Xt, syni, knetti, /frfii, «6t, for f>cittu, sonu, etc.

152. Those which have the vowel z, are often found in the dat. without i; e. g. lit from lilr, siS from si5r, (comp. 140). The case is often the same in the more modern tongue with those which have o or jo before a simple cons. e. g. log for legi, mjoS for mi5i, kjol for kili; as also vorfi for verCi, from vorSr warder, probably to distinguish it from the dat. of verSr worth, and verSr a share of meat.

153. All deriv. in -skapr and -nadr are inflect, in the sing, like viSr, in the pi. like bragr; e.g. fjandskapr foeship, lifnadr life; but the former seldom occur in the pi.: many of the latter have a double form either in -naftr or -nuftr e. g. fagna&r or fognuSr gladness, safnaSr or sofnufir meeting, assembly, manaSr or manuSr month) the ending -nu&r properly belongs to the new tongue; the inflection is the same except that the gen. always takes a, and the dat. pi. always u.

154. Those which insert j in the gen. sing, insert it in fact every where in the pi.; before i it should be expressed by i, but since the grave accent is not wont to be written after g or k, and most of these words are just those which have these letters before the ending; it seems always to fall away, if however the words byr fair-wind, styr rear, unquiet, hyr fire poet., vefr web, etc., occur in the pi. they must be written, byrir, vefir, etc. The word sjar (sjor) sea inserts f or v, and thus makes in the gen. sjafar pi. sjafir etc. These words are very seldom found in the dat. with the ending i, e. g. mergi or merg.

155. Some tew form the pi. in-ar; e. g. skdgr mood, vi'ndr, grautr, pap, gruel, which in the sing, are infl. like vi8r, in the pi. like konungr; so also vegr may in old poetry; snjar (snjor) snow makes in the dat. snja (snjd), gen. snjafar, pi. snjafar, etc.; fiskr makes in the gen. sing, fiskjar or fisks. pi. fiskar. Some of the words which follow this decl. arc also found with s in the gen., especially in poetry, in compo-

5*

eition, in the new tongue, and in some adverbial expressions; e. g. in Grondal's excellent translation of Theocritus' Idyll.

po getr samt fun kracka karta

komit til vegs, at morgu hjarta

sar verSa fengin svell ok ill.

"Yet canst thou though little

strike many a heart

with deep and heavy rvounds."

So also Norvegr makes always in the gen. Norvegs (Nor-egs). jarSvegr mould jarSvegs^ but vegr glance, glory, is inflected like dalr, and is used only in the sing. In daily speech til friSs, til sjds, are still said, but stilla til friSar, fara til sjafar. From unaSr joy unaSs in found in poetry, which however may be the gen. from the neut. unaft, which is sometimes met with, e. g. SdlarljdS 71. Gripisspa 46.

Other irregulars are in particular fdtr foot, vetur winter, brother, fa5ir father, which are thus declined.

Sing. Nom. fdtr vetur brdSir faftir Ace. fdt vetur brdSur f'65ur

Dat. fasti vetri brdSur f65ur

Gen. fdtar vetrar brdSur foSur Plur. Nom. faetr vetr braeftr feSr

Ace. faetr vetr braeSr feSr

Dat. fdtum vetrum braeSrum feSrum

Gen. fdta vetra braeSra feSra.

fdts, veturs, brdSurs, and foSurs are also found in the gen.

sing. Like brdSir are inflected the two fern. mdSir, ddttir, which

last however takes but one t in the pi., daetr, daetrum, daetra;

and systir which can undergo no vowel change, but makes in

the pi. systr, systrum, systra.

156. To the seventh Decl. belong those fern, which in the pi. end in -ir or -or, in the sing. nom. they have all kinds of endings, e. g. eign onndom, property, vor lip, bru5r bride, drottning queen, veiSi fishing, fishery, ben (old) bane, death mound, (modern) scratch, which are thus inflected.

Sing. Nom. eign vor bruOr

Ace. eign vor bniOi

Dat. eign vor bru5i

Gen. eignar varar bruCar

Plur. N. A. eignir varir bniCir

Dat. eignum vorum bni&um

Gen. eigna vara briifia.

In the same way are declined dygfi virtue, doughtiness, fer5 faring, journey, sjon sight, sdkn parish, fora offering, auCn desert, pisl torture, ger8 deed, gfof gift, grof, ditch, grave, rost old Norse mile, 6x1 shoulderblade , gjorC girdle, mj65m hip, skomm shame, loss, hofn haven, byrfir burthen, and the Prop. Names GerSr, HeiSr, UrSr, pniSr, (Gertrude) SigriCr pun'dr, GunnhilSr.

Sing. Nom. drottm'ng ben veiOi

Ace. drottning ben veifii

Dat. drottningu t)en veifii

Gen. drottningar benjar vei5ar

Plur. N. A. drottningar benjar veiCar

Dat. drotlningum benjum veidum

Gen. drottninga benja veiOa

In the same way are declined, sigh'ng sailing, djorfung daring, hormiing grief, woe, nal needle, 61 strap, tdg rvithe, egg edge, klyf, hoof, nyt gain, increase of cattle, il sole (of the foot), naudsyn need, fit mebfoot, ermi sleeve, myri a moor Scot, moss., heifii heath, lygi lie, festi fastening, eyri low headland.

157. Like eign are declined all deriv. in n and d, as well as many primitives; among these are some which take u in the dat., and thus distinguish this case from the acc.j this takes place especially in those which end in 8, d, or t, and the yowcl of which is 6, or u, e.g. inold-u mould, fyjdti-ufolk, s6tt-u sickness, stund-u hour, ull-u wool, raust-u voice, but this is often disregarded by prose writers and in daily speech; the case is the same with those the vowel of which is 6 ami their final cons. 8, or d, e. g. jorO-u earth, verold-u nortd.

Ktr6nd-u strand, but in these instances also it is not strictly attended to.

158. Those which have the vowel o took in the oldest times the ending -ar in the pi. e. g. varar lips, grafar, hafnar. and this is probably the reason of the otherwise uncommon vowel change o into a (instead of e) before i, but the vowel once taken into the chief syll. has been kept though the ending has since been changed. The Plur. ending -ar for -ir is also found in many other cases in old poetry, e. g. run-ar for run-ir runes etc.

159. In the oldest times there were also found many fern, in r, which have since lost this letter, or changed it for i, e. g. oe5r a vein, (Germ, die ader), afterwards a?5, elf river, afterwards elf, elfi, or elfa, which last is now general; byrSr afterwards byrSi (in pi. also byrSar), veiSr more latterly veiSi, heiSr heiSi, ermr ermi, etc., whence the Swed. forms elf, hed, arm, etc., like brud by throwing away r.

160. Even of words in i there are some which form' their pi. in ir, e. g. gleSi gladness, gleSir, aefi, life, age, aefir; these do not take ar in the gen. but remain undecl. in the sing, and end throughout in i. Some writers give them an s in the gen., but this is against the genius of the tongue, because no fern, ever ends in s in the gen. The incorrectness of this is plainly seen when the art. is added, before which the word always keeps its genitive ending. Now it is impossible to say gleftis-innar, or cefis-innar, but only gleSi-nnar, aefi-nnar. Most of these words are abstracts which have no pi., e. g. elli eld, old age, (Dansk aelde.) Kristni Christianity, mildi mildness, rettvisi justice, beiSni desire, htyftni obedience, and many more.

161. The word sal soul, makes in the dat. salu pi. salir, gen. pi. salna; in the sing, is found also sala, salu, by the 3^ Decl.; air buttermilk has no sing.

162. Polysyllables in ul, ur, and the like, are contracted before the endings which begin with a vowel. Deriv. in an have also another form in un, both these are perfect in the

sing, but that in un seems to belong especially to the new tongue, e. g. andvarpan sigh, fj65ur feather, alin <?//,

Sing. N. A. andvarpan -vorpun fj65ur alin Dat. andvarpan -vorpun fjoOur alin Geri. andvarpanar -vorpunar fjaCrar aMnar Plur. N. A. andvarpanir fjafirir aMnir

Dat. andvorpunum fjoSrum alnum

Gen. andvarpana fjaSra £Ina.

In the pi. the form in un (andvorpunir) seldom or never occurs; in the sing. Councillor Stephensen adopts the form in an only in the nom., and that in un in the other cases, but this distinction is observed by scarcely any other writer; according to vor the form in an ought only to be used in the gen., but instead of this unar is rather said in the gen., and an in the other cases.

163. The Primitives which form their pi. in ar can only be distinguished by practice from those which take the ending ir; e. g. leiS a nay, makes leiSir, but skeiS shuttle, (in the old Norse loom) spoon, skeiSar; grein branch, paragraph, makes greinir, but hlein a post, weavers beam, hleinar; sal sou?, makes s&lir, but nal needle, nalar, so also sin-ar sinew , hli5-ar side, seil-ar dragline. The ending ar is taken by all deriv. in ing, and ting, and by all those which insert j or i; by nearly all those in i, as well as by monosyll. ending in a vowel; e. g. ey (now eyja) island, mey maid, the old nom. of which was maer. Few or none of these primitives take the ending u in the dat. Iei8u, sinu or the like are never said.

164. Of those which insert j some are used only in the pi., e. g. mfinjar traces, refjar crafty shifts. Others which have the vowel o insert v, and thus do not change their vowel, e. g. or arrow, gen. orvar, pi. orvar, etc. So also dogg den), si68, rather in the pi. stoCvar, place. Of those which insert j or v there are very few which are ever found with u in the dat, e. g. Hel makes Hel or Helju, or or or oru.

165. Monosyll. words in a are contracted in the dat. and gen. to dr (for dar), dat. pi. am (for fiurn), but in the gen.

pi. they are now commonly uncontracted da, e. g. bra brow, gja rift, (in a stream of lava) spa spaedom, a river , skra lock for a door, ra roe, sla joining, key , etc., gen. brar, pi. brar, bram, braa, in old writers bra etc.

166. The eighth Decl. contains those fern, which form the pi. in r, e.g. hind hind, oi\&duck, rot root, mork woody plain, staung stake, stock.

In like manner are inflected nyt nut, geit shegoat, nit nit, grind grate, lattice mork, tonn tooth, nogl nail, ort teal, strond strand, old Engl. strond, bol fine, not strong need, bdk book, glo5 glede, burning coal.

Sing. N. A. mork staung

Dat. mork staung

Gen. merkr steingr

Plur. N. A. merkr steingr

Dat. morkum staungum

Gen marka stanga.

In the same way are inflected, steik steak, eik oak, mjolk milk, vik inlet, spaung a thin sheet or plate, taung tong, haunk hank.

167. Words in d or t end commonly in or in the gen., but those in g or k have their gen. the same as the nom. pi.

168. This Decl. never takes u in the dat. like the seventh: thus ondu is the dat. of ond breath spirit, pi. andir; but ond of ond a duck pi. endr, though these words are found interchanged in old writers; in the same way mork and staung may also be inflected by the seventh decl. with the vowel changes there in force, thus;

MOKE COMPLEX CLASS.

73

Sing. N. A.

Dat

Gen. Plur. N. A.

Dat.

Gen.

mork

morku

markar

markir

morkum

marka

stating

staung

stangar

stangir

staungum

stanga

So also strond, rond, spaung, taung, haunk.

169. Words ending in a vowel are declined regularly like rdt, e. g. kid claw, makes in the gen. kldar, pi. klaer, kldm, klda, as also fid flea, kdnguld spider, ta toe, which in the gen sing, alone is contracted to tar (for tdar), pi. taer; bra bridge, has in gen. bruar, pi. both br^r and bnir; fru has in both these cases friir;

170. Irregular are hond hand, ndtt, night, k^r (for kii) cow, aer (for a) sheep, both which last are inflected alike, except that each of their vowels is changed after its own fashion, brun brow, mus mouse and Ms, louse , which three are declined alike.

Sing. Nom. bond ndtt natt k^r bnin

Ace. hond ndtt natt kii brun

Dat. hendi ndlt (ndttu) natt ku bnin

Gen. bandar naetr nattar k]fT briinar

Plur. N. A. hendr naetr kf r br^n

Dat. hondum ndttum nattum kum briinum

Gen. handa ndtta natta kiia briina

In later times a pi. in br^r has been formed from bnin, perhaps because when the art. is added there is little difference in sound between br^nnar and b^rnar, but it so happens that the form with the art. is the most common. In Eigla ch. 55. this word occurs with its true old inflections. Like brun in the pi. is also declined in old writers the word d^r (durum, dura) door, with no sing., but in later times dyrum, dyra are commonly used. Br^nn, m^ss, and dyrr are also met with as in the Swed moss aud dorr (by rule 93.). nay sometimes even dyrr-in in the neut.

2. Declension nrith the article.

171. The definite form of subst. is as simple and easy, as the indefinite is complex and hard; it consists only in the addition of the art. with its inflections to those of the word itself, both being in the same gend. The art thus compounded with subst. is hitt, hinn, bin; in the composition h always falls away, and in the neut. one t; added to which the vowel i itself falls away when the word ends in a simple vowel, as well as in those cases where a simple cons, with a vowel follows in the art. The following syll. therefore remain to be used in this composition.

Neuter Masc. Fern.

Sing. Nom. -it -inn -in

Ace. -it -inn -ina (-na)

Dat. -nu -num -inni (-nni)

Gen. -ins -ins -innar (-nnar^

Plur. Nom. -in -nir -nar

Ace. -in -na -nar

Dat. -num -num -num

Gen. -nna -nna -nna.

In the dat. pi. the m in the ending of the word always falls away when the art. is added, because the ending umnum or uminum, would be far too long and unpleasant to the ear.

Of all the old inflections none were longer retained in Swed. than those which belong to this final art.; e. g. in Charles Xll's. Bible, Maccab. X1IF. 50. "Men de maste bort of borgene, (IceL borg-inni), och Simon lot rena borgena, (borg-ina). 51. Och tog henne in i them andra manadenom (manaSi-num), i 171. ahrena (ari-no). The art. is still used in "herranom" and other like expresssions.

172. A complete example of each declension with the art is here exhibited;

Sing. Nom. auga-t geisli-nn tunga-n skip-it

Ace. auga-t geisli-nn tungu-na skip-it

Dat. auga-nu geisla-num tungu-nni skipi-nn

Gen. auga-ns geisla-ns tungu-nnar skips-ins

WITH THE ARTICLE.

76

173. Neut. in ur (of the 4"» decl.) always contract this ending, when the art. is added, e. g. norCr-it myrkr-it, so also in the pi. klaustr-in, veSr-in; this does not take place in any other ending, e. g. sumar-it, hofuSit; nor in any other gend. e. g. akur-inn, morgun-inn, hamar-inn, fj6Sur-in. Even masc. and fern, in non-essential r keep it unchanged, and are consequently pronounced as if they had the essential syll. ur e.g. hest-r-inn, eld-r-inn, briiS-r-in, read hest-ur-inn, etc.

174. Masc. which take no i in the dat. sing, cast away nevertheless that of the art., e. g. dal-num; nay even those which when they stand alone and emphatically take i (140.), as well as those of the 6* decl. which do not change the vowel, throw away this i when joined to the art., e. g. is-num, hol-num, smiS-num, and the like.

The case is the same with all words which end in a diph-thongic vowel, when the art. would otherwise make two syll., e. g. tre-nu, Ija-num, baj-num, ey-nni, a-nni, kA-nni; so also in the ace. ey-na, a-na, ku-na, and even sometimes in old writers if they end in a cons., e. g. rei5-na carriage, etc. But in the nom. tre-it pi. tre-in, ace. Ija-inn, bae-inn, nom-ey-in, a-in.

175. Yet some small changes sometimes occur in the word itself, e. g. those mouosyll. which end in the gen. pL

in da, 6a, and iia, cast away the last a, e. g. trja-nna, Ija-nna, sko-nna, a-nna, kii-nna.

176. The contrary takes place in the gen. sing, of mono-syll. fern.; these are commonly contracted when they stand indefinitely, but always lengthened when the art. is added; e. g. fru, gen. friir, fruar-innar; skra lock, gen. skrar, skraar-innar; but a river is an exception gen. ar-innar; aer sheep aer-innar, k^r cow k^r-innar.

177. For the rest all, even the irregular, add the art. to their usual endings, and are thus in this respect regular; e. g. eigandi-nn, eiganda-nn, eiganda-num, eiganda-ns, eigendr-nir, etc., faeti-num, faetr-nir, verkan-in, verkanir-nar, stundu-nni, jorSu-nni, salu-nni, salna-nna, naetr-innar, klaer-nar, klo-num, m^s-nar, dyr-nar, etc., Ma5r alone inserts in the pi. the ending ir ace. i; menn-ir-nir menn-i-na; faSir and broSir also usually insert s in the gen. sing. foSurs-ins, broSurs-ins.

178. It it self evident that Prop. Names do not admit of this composition with the art. e. g. Eyjdlfr, Bjarni, Danmork, Ungaraland, Uppsalir, Lundun, Saxelfr, Njorvasund. (The Gut of Gibraltar) etc. ; unless it be that the word was originally a common appellative which by custom has become used as a Proper Name, e. g. Vi'k-in (the Fjord at Christiania in Norway) Logrinn (Lake Malar). So also in the case of the names of Books etc., e. g. Edda, Njala, Hakonarmal, Grimnismal, (neut. pi.), LoSbrdkarqviSa, together with the names of peoples, many of which are used only in the pi., e. g. Danir, Sviar, Gautar, (Goths) Irar, Finnar (Lapps) Qvenir (Finns), Bjarmar and the like. On the other baud the corresponding adj. especially in the new tongue, are often used instead ef these words, and then take the art, like subst., e. g. |rfzkr-inn danskr.inn etc. The pi. also mentioned in rules 124. and 125. are seldom used with the art.

CHAPTER VI. Of Adjectives.

179. The inflections of the Icelandic adj. and participles are very like those of the subst, but are materially easier because they are nearly all declined in the same way. They distinguish the def. and indef. forms, and the three usual cases in each; every perfect adj. therefore contains as it were six decl.; and this in such a way that the def. form answers to the 3 first decl. of subst., and (he indef. to the 4tn 5«» and 7»>; though by no means thoroughly like these. Moreover the three usual degrees of comparison, the Positive, Comparative, and Superlative, are met with throughout.

1. The Positive-

180. In no case or inflection of adj. does the real ground or root form show itself with certainty; it is perhaps found in the easiest and surest way in the def. form, when the last vowel is thrown away; e. g. from hit har&a, harC, from hit saela sael, are the respective roots. The genius of the language does not therefore seem to have pointed out any particular form for the first place in the arrangement of words of this class; but since in these also the neut. is the simplest gend., with which again the masc. agrees most, it seems most natural and convenient to keep the order adopted when treating of subst.

181. A view of the regular inflections of adj. will be found in the following table.

Definite

Neut. Masc. Fern.

Sing. Nora. — a — i — a

Ace. — a — a + u

Dat. a -4- u

Gen. — a -4- u

Fern.

— a

— ri

— rar

— ar

— ar

— ••

Dat. 4 um

Gen. — ra

182. The def. form is thus in the sing, exactly like the simpler class of subst. (i. e. the l*t 2nd and 3 r d decl.), and ends throughout in the pi. in u.

The indef. form has very nearly the same endings as the final art. already exhibited (171. 172); the only difference is that in those cases where r in the ending would meet n in the art., these two letters are assimilated to nn (93), and that in the ace. sing. masc. of the art. n only is found instead of an; but both these peculiarities in the art. take place also in all dissyll. adj. in if, inn, in. As a help it may also be remarked that the gen. sing, is always alike in the neut. and masc. — that the nom. sing. fern, is, like the Latin, always the same as the nom. pi. neut. — that the ace. sing. fern, is always the same as the ace. masc. pi. — and that the dat. sing. masc. is always the same as the dat. pi. in all gend. — the neuters as in Latin are always alike in the nom. and ace.; the same holds good of fern, in the pi.

183. The endings themselves have much likeness to those of other languages, especially those of old Swed., e. g. t is the Swed. and Dansk t, the Germ, es in the neut., r the old Swed. er, e. g. en glader man, unger sven, and the Germ.

POSITIVE DEGREE.

79

er of the masc.; an is the old Swed. an (Idt tigh varda om honom shsom om tigh sjelfvari), Dansk en, Germ, en in the same case; urn or om is the old Swed. and Dansk om or um (t godom frid etc.), Angl. Sax. om, Germ, em, en; s is also very often found in old Swed. and Dansk, ndr tu sitter vidh en rijks mans bord), and in the Germ, gates muthes seyn ; a in the ace. fern, is the Angl. Sax. and Germ, e; and ri, rar in the dat. gen. fern, the Angl. Sax re, Germ, er; a in the ace. masc. pi. is the Swed. a, now used throughout in the pi., (e. g. alia goda vdnner ; *) um in the dat. is the AngL Sax. um, the old Swed. om (i alldm), Germ, en and the like; -ra in the gen. is the Angl. Sax. ra Germ. er.

184. By way of a complete example of the declensions of adj. hagt handy, blatt blue, skaert clear, fagurt fair, may be exhibited;

Definite. Sing. Norn. Ace. Dat. Gen. Plur. throughout.

Neut. hag-a hag-a hog-u

Masc. hag-i hag-a hog-u

Fern, hag-a hog-u hog-u

* In like manner a in the ace. masc. sing, of the def. form has become the nom. in Swed., e. g. (er) odmjuka tjenare, den

DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

lilla gossen, and the like. On the other hand e seems most common and correct in the pi. of the def. form, where the old Norse has u e. g. de gamle, de unge^ de Grekiske Forf-attarne, etc. however arbitrary the laws of euphony may have become over these endings in later times.

POSITIVE DEGREE.

81

In the same way are declined:

185. The vowel changes are the same as usual (74. 78.). In polysyll. words the first a becomes <5, the second u, e. g. hit kallada pi. kolluSu, and in the fem. and neut. pi. of indef. form kolluS, dat. pi. kolluSum. If the first syll. has not a, that of the second syll. is still changed into u, thus hit ritafta the written, pi. rituSu etc. So also all like part., but adj. which are not contracted, commonly take o in (he second and u only in the third syll., e. g. heilaga the holy pi. heil-ogu, and indef. fem. and neut. pi. heilog etc. In old writers this word is usually contracted in all those cases in which the ending begins with a vowel, thus in the def. form helga, helgi, helga, indef. dat. helgu, helgum, and even helgri etc.; friSsama pi. friSsomu, einfalda pi. einfoldu etc. If only the first syll. have a no change lakes place, e.g. falliga (fagurliga) the pretty, fair, pi. faliigu, so also langsama, pi. langsomu, because the contraction is here plain.

186. .Like hit haga, hagt, hagr, hog, are also inflected adj. not having the vowel a, with the sole exception that they take no change of vowel, hit froma pi. frdinu, indef. fromt pi. from, just) hit heita, heitt, hot, etc. Yet it must be remarked that those of which the characteristic letter is tt or t after any other cons., remain alike in the neut. and fem. of the indef. form; e. g. hit stutta the short indef. stutt, stutlr, stult; hit leysta the loosed) leyst, leystr, leyst and the like. Those which have mm, mi, or //, are found both with single and double characteristic letters before t, e. g. skamt and skammt scant, short svint and svinnt clever, snjalt and snjallt speedy; but nn and // seem to be more common, and are kept even before other conson. in the indef. form; e. g. fullt full dat. fem. fullri, gen. fullrar, gen. pi. full™. Hit ilia the ill, wicked) makes illt (ill) illr, ill, and hit sanna, salt, sannr, sonn. Those which have 5 after a vowel, change it into t before ?, e. g. hit glaSa, glatt, glad; hit rauSa, rautt, red, bit breiSa, breitt

broad; hit go8a makes gott good; but should they have a cons, before 8 or d, this last falls away altogether, e. g. hit kalda the cold, kail; hit kenda the known, kent; hit sagfta the said, sagt; hit laerfia the learned, laert. The case is the same in all polysyll. words, even though they have a vowel before 8, e. g. hit kallafta, kallat; hit ritaSa ritat; and all part, like these, never kalladt, ritadt. Those in dda in the defl form keep one d before t in the indef., e. g. hit breidda, breidt broadened, hit faedda, fa?dt born, hit eydda, eydt masted; yet faelt, eytt, etc., are also found in old writers. Before all other cons. 8, d and dd are kept as before vowels, e. g. gen. and masc. glafts fern, glaSrar ; gods goCrar; kalds ( kalx.1, kaldrar; kends (kenz), kendrar; sagfis, sagSrar; terSs, laerSrar, kallaSs, kallaSrar; ritaSs, ritaSrar, etc.

187. Some other writers wish against all sound and (he old custom, though only in monosyllables, to keep 8 and d before t, in order to distinguish those of which the characteristic letter is d, from those which have t or another con., e. g. blautt of blau8a the weakly, from blault of blauta the soft; fa?rdt brought from faBrt able (from faer.) But the cases when such a confusion can arise are few, and on the other hand by this rule those part, which have dd are confounded with the adj. which have 8 for their characteristic, e. g. breitt and breidt from bred and bredd, leitt and leidl from led and ledd, p^tt and p^dt from hit p^8a the mild, and p-ydda the explained etc. So lhat in this as much seems lost as gained, unless we were to write breiddt, leiddt , b^W/, fceddt, eyddt, and the like; which would be a quile new and needless custom, and would make the orthography considerably longer. If along with this we keep (with the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge) the double mm, nn, II, etc., before d (44.); we must write for skemt laughed away, brent burnt, etc. skemmdt, brenndt, and the like; and if we throw away z, (49)., as this Society also wished, we must in part, and sup. pass, write skemmdst , or properly skemmdtst, for skeiuzt to have been laughed away.

6»

188. Monosyll. of which the characteristic letter is a diph-thongic vowel take tt, and in the nom. sing masc. double rr for t and r. Those which have 6 are often found in old writers with an inserted f or v before the endings which begin with vowels; e.g. mjofa, frjdfa, sljofa the slow, etc.; the indef. form is mjdtt, frjdtt, sljdtt, in the masc. both mjdr and mjdfr, frjdr and frjdfr, sljdr and sljdfr. So also hit hafa the high, hatt high, masc. har. Some are also found wilhacons. for their characteristic which insert V, e. g. glogg-va the clear , rosk-va the rash, f>yck-va the thick, myrk-va the murk, trygg-va the trusty. On the other hand the tongue has very few adj. which insert j, and these chiefly in old writers, e. g. hit n^ja the new, and scarcely any more words with cons, for their characteristic of this kind than mitt middle, masc. mi5r, fern. mi5, ace. mitt, miSjan, miSja, etc. which has no def. form, but is in other respects a regular adj. like the Lat. medium, medius, media.

189. Adj. in essential r , s, or ss differ only in the nom. masc. of the indef. form, where they take no new r (by an old and now abandoned Orthography however they take rr, ss, comp. 93. 139.) The case is the same with those in / or n, after a cons. e. g. lausa the loose, laus, hressa the cheerful, hress, vissa the sure, viss, forna the old forn.

190. Those of which the character, is I or n, and which have a diphthongic vowel, take in all cases where r should follow, //, nn, for Ir, nr (comp. 93. 141.), e. g. forsjalt fore-sighted, masc. forsjall, dat. fern, forsjalli instead of forsjdlri, accordingly vsent fair, handsome is thus declined;

Definite. Neut. Masc. Fern.

Sing. Nom. va?n-a vaen-i vaen-a

A. D. G. vaen-a va3n-a vasn-u

Plur. vaen-u vaen-u vaen-u Indefinite.

Sing. Nom. vaen-t vaen-n v#n

Ace. vaen-t va3n-an va?n-a

Dat. vaen-u va3n-un vaen-ni

Gen. va3n-s vaen-s vaen-nar

POSITIVE DEGREE.

85

Plur. Nom.

Ace.

Dat.

Gen.

In the same way are declined;

hreina i. a. hreint

klenn i. a. klent

briina i. a. brunt

brfna i. a. br^nt

hala i. a. halt

saela i. a. saelt

heila i. a. heilt

fiila i. a. full

191. Those in essential ur, (in old writers also vrr), are often contr. in th6 dat. and gen. fern, sing., and gen. pi. of the indef. form; e. g. fagri, fagrar, fagra, because the regular form has a heavy sound.

192. All adj. which in the neut. of the indef form end in alt or ult, follow fagra, yet so that these, like monosyll. with a diphthongic vowel (190.), change Ir to // throughout, and are never contr. in these cases; e. g. hit gamla i, a, gamall, gamall, gomul; bogla, i, a, bogult, fcogull, bogul silent, taciturn, etc. Vesalt vile is properly compounded of saclt, and has another form vesaela, vesa?lt etc. (by rule 190.), but may also follow this rule, e. g. vesla i, a, vesalt, vesall, vesol. The word hit heimila, the rightful, most commonly indef. heimih, heimill, heimil is not contr.; mikla mickle, is irregular in the ncut. of the indef. form, where it makes mikit (never miki/t), and the ace. masc. where it makes mikinri (for mikiln but never mik-lari); in the same way litla little, is inflec. which in other cases takes an accent over i if no position follow, thus litit litill, litil, and in the ace. litit, h'tinn, litla, etc.

19$. All participles of verbs in the 2nd conjug., and all adj. of the same nature, are also declined after fagra, except that nr always becomes nn, as in the case of monosyll. adj. with a diphthong (190.); Hut it must also be remarked that

the charact. n falls away before t in the neut., and that the ace. sing. masc. of the indef. form remains like the nom. -inn (not nan), so that they are declined exactly as the final art. exhibited in 171. e. g.

heppna i. a. heppit heppmti, -in lucky

tekna i. a. tekit lekinn, -in taken

ha Ulna i. a. haldit ha Id inn, -in holden

heiSna i. a. heiSit heiSinn, -in heathen

So also comp. adj. with the same endings, e. g. undan-farinn foregoing, ihaldinn beholden , hreiriskilinn upright, gagn-tekinn penetrated. Those which have a in the first syll. undergo a vowel change when the i of the second syll. is thrown out by contr., and the ending begins with u, otherwise not (comp. 185), e. g. in the def. feni. hin hal<lna, ace. hina holdnu, pi. hin, hinir, hinar holdnu, etc.; but the indef. neut. and fern, pi. haldin, dat. sing, holdnu, holdnum, haldinni etc.

194. Some few adj. in it, inn, in, and participles in particular of the l s tconug. 3rd class, have besides this form another in /, dr, d, (or t, tr, t, if the characteristic letter be a hard cons.); both which indeed are found perfect in many words, though the latter is commonly used in those cases where the ending begins with a vowel, and the word consequently should be contr. Galit silly for example is thus declined;

Definite. Neut. Masc. Fern.

Sing. Nom. galda galdi galda

A. D. G. galda galda goldu

Plural. goldu goldu goldu Indefinite.

Sing. Nom. galit galinn galin

Ace. galit galinn galda

Dat. goldu goldum galinni

Gen. galins galins galinnar

Plur. Nom, galin galdir galdar

Ace. galin galda galdar

Dat. goldum goldum goldum

Gen. g:ilinna galinna galinna

POSITIVE ItLi.RLl..

In the same wav are declined.

87

The word galit is also properly a part, of the verb gala (ek gel) to bewitch. In the three cases, dat. gen. sing. fern, and neut. pi. both forms are used: we say therefore also galdri? galdrar, galdra; in some one form, in others the other, IB more common.

Some of these words have also a different meaning for each of these forms, e. g. kalit frozen, kalt cold, lagit fated, lagl laid. But others which seem to stand in (he same relation to one another belong actually to different verbs, and must not therefore be confounded as indifferent forms; e. g. qvefiit from qveSa to sing, say, but qvadt from qvefija to hail, salute, setit from sitja to sit, but sett of setja to set, hafit from hefja to heave, but haft from hafa to have.

195. Besides these perfect adj. now described, a number are formed in a by composition, and these remain always indecl. e. g. gagndrepa wet through, soaked, sammaedra born of the same mother, jafnaldra of the same age, draumstola one ntio dreams not, heilvita one with all his n)its about him, sharpwitted, einmana alone without followers dauSvona on the point of death, a-dying.

Some of these are also found in the masc. in i, e. g. an-vana lifeless, also andvani, fulltiSa fullgronm, fullti'Ci (Eigla 39 ch. 185. p.)

196. Pres. part, in -andi, when they stand as adj. are not inflected like any of those already treated of, but will be spoken of below.

Comparative Degree.

197. The higher degree is formed from the first in two ways by the endings -ra in the neut., and ri in the masc. and fem. These endings are added namely either to the def. neut. so that a is kept , or to the indef. form instead of t in the neut., and r in the masc., in such a way that the chief syll. changes its vowel by rule 74 — 85. Both are very like the common Swed. method of forming this degree; e. g. haga-ra •ri, fmngt, frfng-ra-ri.

198. Those which are formed from the def. form are chiefly those of which the charact. makes a hard position, as fn, gn, ss, tt, dd, Id, r5,' etc.; e. g. jafna-ra evener, megna-ra mightier, hvassa-ra sharper, f>etta-ra tighter, viSbreidda-ra more widely stretched, kalda-ra colder, har5a-ra harder; all those with the vowel a (those in ur alone excepted), e. g. glaSa-ra, hvata-ra and the like; and all those in -it (for -int,) as well those with a double, as those with one form; e. g. heppit lucky, heppna-ra, flokit entangled, fldkna-ra; galit, galda-ra nakit, nakta-ra, and all such like without exception.

199. Those which form their comp. from the indef. form are especially those, which with a diphthong before the ending have tt, e.g. hatt, haerra; mjottmjorra; n^tt n^rra; monosyll. in nt or It, which take nna, Ha, instead of nra, Ira,- e. g. vsen-na sael-la; many in rt, which take -rra, e.g. stort staerra, d^rt d^rra; and those in -ur having a in their first syll. which here change a into e, and are contracted so that one r falls away, e.g. faguri, fegra; vakurt vekra; yet vakra-ra etc. may also be said from the def. form.

200. Many take both these forms, but so that the shorter form with change of vowel seems to belong to the older, and the longer form in -ara to the newer, tongue. This is the case with monosyll. which have an unchangeable diphthong for their characteristic, or r with a like diphthong before it; e. e:. mjdtt mjofara, nytt n^ara; d^rt d^rara; dockr dark, deckra or

dockvara; djiipt d^pra or djiipara; so also dissyll. in ult (alt}, e. g. syofult forgiving goflara or gjofulla; and those in ugt or gt in general, e. g. hentugt, fitting, hentugra or hentugara, and the like.

201. All comp. however formed have but one way of inflection whether they are used def. or indef. e. g. hagara;

Neut. Masc. Fern.

Sing. Nom. hagara hagari hagari

A. D. G. hagara hagara hagari

Plural hagari hagari hagari

The neut. and masc. are inflected exactly like the def. form of the pos., but the fern, and pi. have i throughout. New writers form the masc. also in i throughout, and keep a for the neut alone.

In the same simple way are also declined all participles pres. act. when used as adj., e. g. lifanda, i, living, liggjanda i, lying, standanda i, standing, sjaanda i, seeing; and the like. But these are commonly used by new writers as indecl. in i throughout, e. g. jpat allt sjaandi auga the all-seeing eye.

Superlative Degree.

202. The highest degree is formed, according to the old orthography, from the higher (i. e. comp.) by inserting the characteristic letter st, and adding the same endings which the pos. requires; but since by this method r would come before sty which cannot be pronounced, the supcrl. was usually written with zt, (for rst), e. g. def. hagazla, hagazti, hagazta; indef. hagazt, hagaxtr, hoguzt. This orthography is found in those words also which form their comp. from the indef. form in the pos., e. g. hit na?zta the nearest, etc. yet this is more rare (comp. 48.). But in later times the superl. has been universally formed from the pos. in the same way as the comp. is formed, by the endings sta, ?', a, in the def., and tf, str, sf. in the indef. form, e. g. hagast, J^ngst.

DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

203. The superl., therefore like the com])., has a twofold method of inflection , one from the def. form, a of the pos. being kept, the other from the indef. with a change of vowel; and sometimes it is found in both forms. It is however by no means a general rule that the superl. and comp. of the same word are formed in the same way; thus the longer form in -ast is taken by all monosyll. and polysyll. adj in -It, with the exception of those mentioned in rule 198. e. g. saelast, gjoflast. as also by all polysyll. in gt, e. g. hentugast; and by some monosyll. in nt, e. g. seina-st, hreina-st, fina-st, and others which admit of no vowel change, e. g. n^a-st, and those which insert v, e. g. gloggva-st clearest, dockva-st, and the like.

204. Thus those which take the shorter form in the superl. are very few, being chiefly those which change their vowel, as in Swed., the most important are the following;

So also beint strait, beinna, beinst; vaent fair vaenna, vanst, etc.

205. Some few take both these [forms, e. g. haegst and haegast, d^pst and djupast; fegurst and fagrast; megurst and magrast, d^rst and d^rast, kaerst and kasrast: In old writers agaezt is also found for agaetast, from agaett excellent, famous and -ligst for -ligast, in all adj., in -ligt, hit virdu-ligsta rafi the most noble counsel, hinn mannvaenligsti maSr the most praise-portly (young} man etc. This original shorter euperl. has

SUPERLATIVE DEGREE.

91

been retained in Dansk, but the longer iii ligasta-i- etc., is now general in Icelandic as in Swedish.

The fact, that the superl. is formed in so many cases differently from the comp., seems an additional proof, that it should not be derived from that degree, but like it from the pos., and that consequently the old orthography -ozf, zt, (for as/, st,) is at least needless, and it may be wrong.

206. The inflections of the superl., however formed, are always like those of the pos. By way however of a perfect example hagast will be here exhibited.

Definite. Sing. Nora. Ace. Dat. Gen. Plur.

Indefinite.

Sing. Nom.

Ace.

Dat.

Gen.

Plur. Nom. Ace. Dat. Gen.

207. In regard to inflection there is no irregularity, but in regard to formation there are some pos. which take no degrees of comp., as well as some compar. and superlat. which want the pos.; which when the meaning is the same are wont to he classed together as irregular; the most important are:

Positive. gofla, gott

Comparative, i betra I skarra

Superlative, bezt-a skast-a

best

DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

Positive, ilia, illt |

vonda, vont ' marga, margt* mikla, mikit litla, litit gamla, gamalt

Comparative.

verra

fleira meira minna eldra

Superlative, verst-a worst *

flest-a most

mest-a greatest

minst-a least

elzt-a eldest

Some comp. and superl. are formed, as in Greek, from adverbs, prep, and subst., and have therefore no posit, e. g.

norftr (norSlaegr) austr (austlaegr) su5r (suStagr) vestr (vestlaegr) fram (old. adj. framr)

aptr

lit

inn

of old (yfir)

niSr

siS old

for old (fyrir)

heldr

sjaldan

upp

nserri (nategr)

fjarri old (fjarlasrgr)

fja^rri

* The Swed. samre, sdmst is not found in Icel. but is taken from Angl. Sax. scemre. The word elak is in Icel. regular lakt, lakr, 16k, comp. lakarai, in superl. lakasta. But the pos. is seldom met with.

* This is not often used definitely in the sing, but Inn, |}au morgu the many in the pi. is very common

Einn, alone wants the comp. and makes in the super!, einasta loneliest, more often used def.

208. Adj. which do not take the def. form want also (he degrees of comp.; e. g. nog (for naDgt, naegr, naeg, comp., naegara, superl. naegast, is another word), allt etc. So also those in a, i, with the exception of the late word ringara, ringast. Prest part. act. in -anda also never take any degrees of comp.; Pret. part. pass, very seldom, unless they have passed quite into adj., e. g. peckt known, pecktara, pecktast.

209. Those words which do not take comp. by reason of their ending, but the meaning of which admits of further degrees, express them by means of the adv. meir (meira), mest in the ascending scale, and in the descending use minna, minst, or si5r, si'zt; but such periphrases seldom occur.; the diminutive comparative, particularly if joined to a negation, is expressed by 6 before the common form; e. g. ecki ofegra not less fair.

210. The adv. which more exactly determine the degrees of adj. are chiefly these; in the pos. vel well, enough, but not in a very high degree, e. g. veil heitt, well warm, vel mikit great enough; harSla, nnesta, and mjok svo, answer to very greatly , e. g. harSla lit it very little, na?sta mikit very much) mjok svo g65r, very good indeed; heldr rather, heldr heitr rather hot, heldr mikill rather large; of too much, e. g. of kaldr too cold; heldr til, helzti, mikils til of, far too, e. g. heldr til snemma far too soon. With the comp. are used jafn, something, (more) e. g. petta er jafn betra thai is (really) some thing better; miklu much (multo), e.g. miklu fegra much fairer (neut.); and other similar dat. of pron. or adj., ecki ollu etc.; not much better, (perhaps not at all better)', langt um far, e. g. langt um eldra far elder. In the superl. the determining word is put in the gen.; allra is most commonly used, e. g. allra staerst all greatest, and also einna (i. e. unorum), e. g. einna mest most of all; as well as einn hinn mesti, or einhverr sa mesti one of the greatest.

CHAPTER VII. Of Pronouns

211. This class of words is divided in the Icel. as in other tongues. It is very like in part to the subst.; in part to the adj., but has also many peculiarities.

212. The Personal pronouns are these

l«t Person 2nd Person Sing. Nom. ek fm

Ace. mik |)ik

Dat. mer £er

Gen. min |>in

Dual. Plur. Dual. Plur.

Nom. vi5 ver {>iS {HT

Ace. ockr oss yckr y5r

Dat. ockr oss yckr y5r

Gen. ockar vor yckar y5ar.

3^ Person. 4«> Person.

Masc. Fern. Com. Masc. Fern.

Nom. Sing, sa su sja hann hun

Ace. sik hann hana

Dat. ser honum henni

Gen. sin hans hennar.

The first two pers. alone have the dual., but this dual is now commonly used as the pi.; and the old pi. only in high style; e. g. ver along with the king's name in official writing, e. g. ver FriSrekr Sj6tti> n We Frederic the seventh" per in polite conversation, like the French vous and Germ, sie, e. g. ma ek spyrja y5r "may I ask you sir," etc. In old times ek

and ver were used almost indiscriminately of one's self, |,u and f>er of Kings and Princes.

213. The third pers. is in the pi. the same as in the sing, except that the nom. is wanting; it is actually wanting in the sing, also, and corresponds exactly in common use to the Latin se, sibi, sui, and is accordingly reciprocal, though it seems originally to have been personal like the Greek <><, I, o«, 6v, and lo have come from the nom sa, su, which now serves to fill up the imperfect demonstrative J>at. This conclusion is drawn from its agreement with the first two pers. and from the fact that sa, su, in old writers are often used as personal pron., e. g. in Sturluson; i J)vi liCi var maer ein undarliga fogur, sii nefndist Yrsa. In that folk was a maid of wonderful fairness, she called herself Yrsa; as well as from the Germ, tongues, where the nom. fern, has been kept as a pers. pron. up to the present time; thus Germ, sie Dutch zy, Engl. she. In addition, though this word in the oblique cases has not quite such an extended use as its counterpart in Greek; yet it is often found in short sentences, where another pers. is the particular subject, but the third person is the subject of the whole period, e. g. (in one of Bp Vidalins sermons.) Trautt kann mafirinn at lata af J>eim gtep, sem hann ecki veit hvorja verkan hefir haft i ser, eSr hvat sik hefir tildregit at drygja hann. Hardly can a man lay aside a sin, which he knows not what workings it has had on him, or what has drawn him to commit it. In this sentence there are two chief words, of the first, which is in the 3"* pers (viz the man), the pronoun is used which I have called the 3^ person; of the last which is in the 4t«» pers. (viz the sin) that is used to which 1 have given the name of the 4" 1 pers. pron. It is certainly possible, besides the three usual persons, to think of a fourth; e. g. "he slew him," but no more; unless a new elliptical, or complete sentence is formed by means of a conjunction, by which indeed more words, but no more grammatical persons are obtained; this 4u> pers. is expressed by hann, him. But since it is not easy to have two subjects in the same sentence without a

conjunction, there is very little difference between the 3" 1 and 4ti» pers. in the nom., so that the words sa and hann are used in the nom. almost indifferently by old writers. In later limes hann became commonly the 3«> pers. in the nom., and when another person is the subject, even in the oblique cases; but when the third person is the subject this word still always expresses the 4th; sa on the other hand became in the nom. the art., but in the other cases continued to denote the third pers. when at the same time it is the subject of the whole context; with other words it became reciprocal. If this view be the right one, none of these words were reciprocal in the oldest times , but all personal, as in English, to meet which use four pers. were distinguished especially in the oblique cases. All the cases and forms which are wanting in sa and hann are supplied by pat, of which we shall soon have to speak.

214. The old reciprocal on the other hand was the word sjalft, sjalfr, sjalf. which is used with all pers., as the Engl. self in myself, yourselves etc. This is inflected as a regular adj. but only indefinitely.

215. Possessives are formed from all the first three personal prou., by turning their gen. into adj. and declining them as such, yet only indefinitely. The possessives are consequently these: mitt (for mint), ockart, vort (vdrt) pitt, yckart, ySart, (yftvart,) and sitt, which is used even if the subject is in the pi., because sin from which it is formed is both sing, and pi. gen.; mitt, pitt, sitt, take i for i as often as single n follows in their inflection; their other peculiarities will be easiest learnt from a few examples:

Sing. Neut. Masc. Fern. Neut. Muse. Fern.

PRONOUNS.

Plur. Norn, sin sinir sinar

Ace. sin sina sinar

Dat. sinuni sinum sinum

Gen. sinna sinna sinna

ockur ockrir ockrar

ockur ockra ockrar

ockrum okrum ockrum

ockarra ockarra ockarra.

So also are inflected, mitt mine, pitt thine, vort our (of several), yckart your ( of two ), ySart your ( of several). For ockart, yckart, are also found ockat, yckat. The Icelandic of the present day instead of these three pos-sessivcs ockart, yckart, y5art, uses only the gen. of the personals, ockar, yckar, ySar, in all cases. From hann, him, no possessive is formed, in this case the gen. hans, hennar, and in the pi. peirra (from pat) only are used.

216. On the other hand enjit, eiginn, eigin own, may be regarded as a possess, of sjalft, which takes these endings in the noin. and ace. sing, alone, but in all other cases of the sing and pi. whether def. or indef. remains invariably eigin

217. Demonstratives, like the foregoing, may be joined to subst.j these are chiefly pat that, which has no masc. or fern., these cases being commonly supplied by sa, sri; jpetta, pessi, this, hilt, hinn, bin, that, the other, which is also used especially by old writers as the def. art.; saml samr som, or in the def. form which is now more common sama, i, a, the same; slikt, slikr, slik, as well as pvilikt, pvilikr, pvilik, the like; pessligt, svoddan, such.

218. Of these pat and petta have many peculiarities in their inflection.

Sing. Neut.

Nom. pat pat pvi pess

Ace. Dat. Gen. Plural. Nom. pau Ace. pau Dat. peim Gen. {)eirra

Masn.

sa

pann

peim

pess

peir pji

peim peirra

Fern.

6U

pa

peirri

peirrar

paer pxr peim peirra 7

Sing. Nom. |>etta f)essi J>essi

Ace. {)etta |>enna f>essa

Dat. £essu f>essum f>essari

Gen. j>essa |>essa |>essarar

Plur. Nom. |>essi £essir |>essar

Ace. f>essi |>essa f>essar

Dat. f)essum ftessum {>essum

Gen. |>essara |>essara |>essara

That sa, sti, do not properly belong to f>at has been already remarked; that (his last was originally perfect is seen from the Germ, das., der, die, and it is also found perfect in the Lettish tongues. This word is now used as the def. art. before the adj. Sja is an obsolete form of the common gend.

The particle arna is wont to be added to this word in all its cases, to express the Swed. det der, det hdra, Engl. that there, (a vulgar strong demonstrative); but instead of £at arna a8 f>arna is more commonly said, and instead of sa arna often svarna. For f>essari, f>essarar, are found in old writers f>essi and f>essar, which corresponds more with the Angs. Sax.

Hitt is inflected like sitt, except that it never takes the accent; we say consequently hinu, hins, pi. hin, hinum, hinna, etc., see also rule 171.

Samt or sama is declined as a regular adj., as are also slikt, fw'li'kt, f>essligt, but only as indef. Svoddan (soddan) is indecl. and belongs properly to the new tongue.

219. Besides these, harm, hun, is also sometimes used as an art. with Proper Names, e. g. hann SigurSr, hun Ragn-hildr; and also wiih the names of animals (horses, hounds etc.), but this also seems to belong the later tongue and every day speech.

220. Relatives and interrogatives are for the most part the same words, thus; hvort (hvart) which, whether, when the question is of two things or persons; hvert (hvort) when more than two are spoken of; hvih'kt, what like, of what kind. Hvort

nuikes in the ace. masc. hvorn (for hvoran), und hvert inserts j when the ending begins with the vowel, thus ;

Sing. Neut. Masc. Fern. Neut. Masc. Fern.

Nom. hvort hvorr hvor hvert hverr hver

Ace. hvort hvorn hvora hvert hverjan hverja

Dat. hvoru hvoruin hvorri hverju hverjum hverri

Gen. hvors hvors hvorrar hvers hvers hverrar

Plur.

Nom. hvor hvorir hvorar hver hverir hverjar

Ace. hvor hvora hvorar hver hverja hverjar

Dat. hvorum hvoruin hvorum hverjum hverjum hverjum

Gen. hvorra hvorra hvorra hverra hverra hverra.

Besides this hvert, which is used with subst., there was in the oldest tongue another form in the sing., which was used absolutely, viz. hvat neut., and hver common, which are thus declined.

Sing. Neut. Common.

Nom. hvat hver (hvar?)

Ace. hvnt hvern

Dat. hvi hveim

Gen. hvess hvess.

Thus answering to pat, and the Germ, was, mer, but of these cases only hvat what is met with absolutely in common speech, and hvern both absolutely and with subst. instead of hverjan, which is quite obsolete.

221. To hvort, hvert, and hvat, helzt or sem helzt is added to express the Swed. ehvad eho or hvad som heist, Engl. who, or what, so ever. In like manner is added annat, thus hvort-armat the one, the other, (Dansk hinanden), hvert or hvat-annat one another, (Dansk hverandre). Sitt is placed first, thus sitthvort, sitthvert, sitthvat, each his own, each one's. The words are commonly separated, but sitt is always placed first answering to the subject, e. g. £eir lita sinn hverja dtt, they look each to his own side.

From these words many actual compounds are also made, thus, hvort-tveggjn both, utrumque, which has a double declension. The first part being indefinite and the last definite; e. g. pi. hvor-tveggju, hvorir-tveggju, hvorar-tvegeju etc. now however hvoru-tveggju is commonly said in all the cases : in like manner annat-hvort either the one or the other, (alterutrum), both parts of which are declined in the usual way. Hvorugt (hvorigt) neither the one nor the other (neutrum), is declined like an indef. adj. Serhvert, serhvat each, inflects its last part as usual. Hvert-eitt, hvat-eitt one and all, inflect both parts; as also sumt-hvert , sumt-hvat somewhat, but here the masc. sing, must be excepted which is sumhverr. Eitthvert, eitlhvat, Germ, etwas, 011 the other hand inflect only their last part, with the exception of the nom. and ace. sing. ; thus in the masc. einhverr, pi. einhver, einhverir, einhverjar.

222. The following particles however are only relatives; er (old es) or eS is indecl. and denotes with adv. which express time, place, etc., an idea of relation, e. g. f)a er then when (quum), f>ar er there that, where, (ubi) f>ar eS since (quoniam). In connection with £at it expresses which, who, e. g. in Sturluson: Fjolnir var son Yngvifreys, f>ess er Sviar hafa bldtat leingi siSan. Fjolnir was son of Yngvefrey, whom the Swedes have long since worshipped. Sem which, is properly a comparative conj. but is used by new writers in the same way as the above. Hann also is used as a relative, e. g. (Uevel. XXII. 17.) Hverr hann byrstir, sa komi ! og hverr hann vill, sa meo'taki vatn lifsins gefins!

223. Interrogative particles are, hversu how, hve (hvo), and especially in new writers hvat (hvaS), e. g. hversu gamall maSr er-tu ? how old art thou ? hvenaer kemr hann ? when comes he? hvaS kostaSi f>aS mikiS ? how much did that cost? HvaSa ansvers to the Swed. hvad for, Engl. what kind, e. g. hvaSa maSr er £a5? what sort of a man is that? Old writers commonly used hvat manna ? or hvat (af) monnum ? and from this hvat the new hvada has perhaps been formed.

224. The so called Indef. Pronouns, arc. besides fhoso already mentioned (221.) as formed from hvort hval, chiefly these: annat the one, the second, another, (alter un^ secundum, aliud), which is inflected like the word gala, thus ;

Fern. onnur

aniiarn anna rear.

affrar

affrar

oSruin

annaro.

It has the same form when the article is added, e. g. hit annat the other , second, (Dansk det andet) but when the question is of two, no article is used, e. g. het armar Ve, annar Vilir, the one hight Ve, the other Vilir. Nockul (nockurt) some thing is declined like ockart; smut, sumr, sum some, like an indef. adj.

225. Eitt, einn, ein, one, each one, alone, something, (unum, singulum, solum, quoddamj is declined like sitt, and also in the pi. when added to pi. subst.; e. ». ein sk.ipri a shear, emir skdr a pair of shoes , einar buxur a pair of breeches; It is also declined definitely, especially when it means alone, e. g. {>at eina that alone (id solum). Neitt naught, is also declined in the same way, but only indefinitely; it is used only in connection with another negation, e. g. ecki sa ek neitt, / did not see aught, vulg. / did not see naught. Another negative deriv. from eitt is ecki (for eitt-gi) ; It is thus inflected;

Sing. Neut. Masc. Fern.

.Nnm. ecki eingi eingi

Ace. ecki eingan einga

Dal. eingu eingum eingri

Gen. einskis einskis eingrar

Plural. Nom. eingi eingir eingar

Ace. eingi einga eingar

Dat. eingum eirigum eingum

Gen. eingra eingra eingra.

The word is compounded of eitt and the negative part, ending -gi, ki, the same perhaps as that with which hvorugt is formed. In the dat neut. einu-gi is also found, and in the gen. eingis; einkis; the reason of einskis is that both parts of the word have been thrown info the gen. (thus eins-gis). In those cases where the ending does not contain ?", au is also iound for «', e. g. aungu, aungum, aungri, etc. In the masc. pi. also aung-vir , aungva, etc. By an old orthography eng was written for eing, and bug for aung in all cases. Finally in the new tongue this word has been changed into eckert, einginn, em-gin, and in the neut. pi. eingin, the other cases have all kept their old shape.

226. Mangi no one (Germ. Niemand, Lat. nemo), is used only in poetry, and has in the nom. and ace. manngi, gen. mannskis; it scarcely ever occurs in any other case.

227. To these indef. numerals, as they are also called, seem to belong allt, allr, 611, a//, which is declined indef., as also nog, nogr, nog, enough; margt and fait may also be added, of which mention has been made above.

228. The indef. person one (man), has no peculiar word to express it in Icel.; it is denoted 1. Often by the 3rd pers. sing, of verbs without any pronoun, e. g. ok heyrfii f>at siffan, and that one heard afterwards ; and it was heard afterwards ; 2. Often also by menn in the pi., as in English men or they is said; e. g. er menn toku at drecka, when men (they) took to drinking. 3. And sometimes in later times by maSr in the sing.

•o-

The impers. there , */, is expressed in Icel. by pat even though the verb stand in the pi., e. g. f>at eru margir, sem, there are many who etc. But it is perhaps more right to say

NUMERALS.

103

peir eru margir they are many. Some also write par er, par eru, but this seems to be a Danism (der er, Engl. there are.)

229. The numerals or proper definite reckoning words are here, as in other tongues, chiefly cardinal and ordinal; the easiest way of obtaining a view of them is to arrange them side by side:

Cardinals.

eitt, einn, ein

tvo, tveir, tva?r

prju, prir, |>rjar

fjogur, fjoiir. fjdrar

fimm

sex

sjo (sjau)

atta

niu

tiu

ellifu

tolf

prettan

fjortan

fimtan

sextan

sautjan (seytjan)

at) an

niljan

tultugu

tuttugu ok eitt etc.

prjatiu

fjorutiu

fimtiu

sextm

sjot in

attatiu

niutiu

hundraO (tiutiu)

Ordinals.

fyrsta i, a,

annat, annar, onnur

priSja, Ci, Sja

fjorSa, i, a,

fimla

setta (sjotta)

sjounda (sjaunda)

atta (attunda)

niunda

tiunda

ellefta

tolfta

prettanda

fjdrtanda

fimtanda

soxtanda

sautjanda (seytjanda)

aijanda

nitjanda

tuttugasta

tuttugasta ok fyrsta

pritugasta

fertugasta

fimtugasta

sextugasta

sjotugasta

attatugasla

nitugasta

hundraSasta

Cardinals. Ordinals.

hundraS ok tiu (ellilutiu) hundraSasta ok tiunda tvo hundraS (etc.) tvo hundraSasta

fwsund. {nisundasta.

Instead of sautjan sjautjan is also found, and instead of j)rjatm etc. fijatigir and })rjatigi, etc.

230. The first four are declined; eitt has been already treated of; baeSi both has a great likeness to tvo, but since each of them has peculiarities of its own they shall be here exhibited at length,

Neut. Masc. Fern. Neut. Masc. Fern.

Nom. tvo tveir tvser baeSi baSir ba<5ir

Ace. tvo tvo (tva) tvser bseSi baSa baeJar

Dat. tveim baSum

Gen. tveggja beg-gja

Nom. f)rju fm'r |>rjar fjogur fjorir fjorar

Ace. j;rju J)rja £rjar fjogur fjora fjorar

Dat. f)rim fjorum

Gen. jpriggja fjogra.

For tveim and jjrim (^rem) are also often found tveimr, {)rimr (or f)rimui' tribus}, and {>remr is also written. The rest up to hundraft are indecl., above 100 they areMeclined in two ways. If they stand absolutely (without subst.) both the numeral, which denotes how many hundreds or thousands are meant, as well as these words, hundraS, {msund, themselves are declined, e. g. eitt hundra?) er ofliiit, one hundred is too little } einu hundraSi, eins hundraus, tvo hundraS, tveim hund-rugum, tveggja hundrafta etc. But if they stand in connection with a subst. then only the actual numeral is inflected, which agrees with the subst., while hundraS and j>usun<] remain unchanged in the nom. sing, or pi. if the subst. be in the pi. j e. g. ecki fser ma5r stora jorS fyrir tvo hundruS dali. A man does not get much ground for 200 dollars; af j)remr hundruS

dolnm verffr rentan t61f dalir a ari. Of 200 dollars the ro-terest is 12 dollars yearly; pat er fjogra hundruC (or pusund) dala virffi, that is worth 400 (4,000) dollars.

231. Our forefathers often reckoned by the great hundred, (120) in Iceland, stort or tolfraett hundraS, opposed to the small 100 smatt or tirseit; in this case liuti'u was put which for 100 and ellifutui for 110, answering to which 1 have not met with any ordinals. The case is the same with pusund. In regard to inflection hundraS is, as remarked above, a regular neut and pusund also, yet this last often occurs in old writers as fern., e.g. tvser pusundir manna; at the present day it is always neut. at least with subst., e. g. hann gaf tvo pusund dali fyrir pat. Similar subst. are par (pi. por) a pair, tugr a number consisting of 10, tylft, one of 12, skockr 10,000; million, has also been taken into the tongue in later times; bui for the numbers after this, the Icelanders have again formed peculiar expressions, viz, tvimilhon, billion, primillion trillion, fjorrail-lion, quadrillion.

232. Of the ordinals fyrsta is properly the def. fern, of the adj. fyrra, fyrst, which wants the pos. (207.) Annat has already been treated of (224), prifija inserts j throughout, but in other respects is declined as a regular def. adj.; all the rest are inflected as adj. in the def. form.

233. The ordinals under 20 are formed from the card., in such a way that fta, (to) is added to those which end in a cons., and undi and -ndi to those in a vowel; atta and ellefta make no exception to this rule, for atta and ellifu seem in the oldest times not to have had a vowel after them; comp. Germ, acht, eilf, and as far as the latter word is concerned, the Icel. word tolf itself, and Germ, ztvotf.

Ordinals over 20 are all formed in -asta, and these not from their respective card, but from temporals in -tugt, tugr, tug.

234. Of temporals the Icelanders have many kinds, e. g. from nott night comes einnaett (masc. einnaettr) one night old,

brinatt. etc., naetrgamaH nightold is also said, and from vetur winter, year, veturgamalt winterold, yearold; tvaevett masc. tvsevetr two winters old, brevett, etc.; but it is only from a few numerals that such words can be formed; on the other hand it is a common custom to express these relations by the gen. pi. of cardinals, and subst., e. g. tveggja, briggja-natta; fjogra- fim- sexvetra; Iveggja-atqvseSa-orS dissyllabic words, briggja-pumlunga-naglar three inch nails fjogra-blaSa-form, four-leaf-form, 4t<>, aita- lolf sextan- blaSa- form 8v«, 12«no 16mo. priggja-manna-nefnd triumvirate, tiu-manna - nefnd decemvirate, etc. From 10 and the others peculiar adj. are formed, which are used both of age, measure and the like, answering to the Latin in arium , these are tvitugt, tvitugr, tvitug, 20 years old, 20 fathoms long, etc. (Lat vicenarium) ; britugt, fertugt, fimtugt, sextugt, and sjotugt. Above 70. they are formed in -raett, raeSr, rad", e. g. attarsett octogenarium, niraelt, tiraett, etc.

235. Of adverbs which express the Engl. time, (Swcd. gang), the Old Norse has only two namely, tvisvar twice, and brisvar thrice, all others are expressed by the word sinn time, in the dat., e. g. einu sinni, once, fjdrum sinnum 4 times, fimm sinnum 5 times, etc. Tveim sinnum, J)rim sinnum, or tvisvar sinnum,, brisvarsinnum are also said, the last of which however are tautological. "The first time" and such like phrases are expressed by the same word in the ace. sing, and the art. hit, which is sometimes left out, e. g. (hit) fyrsta, annat, priSja sinn: Instead of sinn skipti is also used; (hit) fyrsta skipti etc., and for hit the prep, i is often put, e. g. i fjorSa einn, or skipli, etc.

236. Distributives are found only from the first four, e. g. eitt, einn, ein (singulum), which when it has this meaning makes in the ace. masc. einan; tvennt, brennt, fernt (masc. tvennr, prennr, fern). From these are formed the subst. eining oneness pfenning threeness, trinity, (like the Latin trinitas.) Besides the Icelanders use two modes of expression instead of distributives, they either repeat the card, with ok between, e. g. tveir ok tveir, brir ok prir, fimm ok fimm etc., or throw

the card, into the dat. adding the word Banian, e. g. sex, tiu, hundruSum, fousundum, saman, which last answers very nearly to the Swed. hundratals, etc.

237. MuIndicatives are formed in -fait, -faldr, -fold, e. g. einfalt simple, tvofalt twofold, brefalt threefold, ferfalt fjorfalt. fourfold, fimmfalt fivefold, hundraWalt hundredfold, etc. From these again verbs in -fa/da are formed, e. g. tvo-falda to double, brefalda to treble, ferfalda (fjorfalda), fimin-falda, margfalda to multiply, etc.

238. From the ordinals between three and trcelne, subst. are formed, which express how great a quantity, these are: brifijungr a third part, fjorSungr, nmtungr, setlungr fsjottungr), sjound, auuiigr, niund, liund, and tolfiiingr, for from ellefta the word would be too long; instead of that from tvo or annat helmingr (helfingr) is formed from haflt, halfr, half. From these again spring verbs which denote division into so many parts, or the subtraction of some such part; e. g. helminga to halve, briojiinga to part into three, trithe, tiunda to tithe, or give tithes. Some of these words however have taken, like fjerding, atting, etc., on the continent, a more limited sense in the new tongue; new subst. therefore have been formed with partr which is added to the ordinals, so that both words are declined in their own way, e. g. einu brifijipartr a third, ek helt einum briSjaparti 7 got a third part', hann feck tvo briSjuparla he got two thirds. So also fjorSipartr, fimtipartr, elleftipartr, tuttugastipartr, hundrafiastipartr, etc. From these no verbs can be made, but in their stead, at tviskipla, bri-skipta, fjorskipta, fimskipia, etc. are used.

CHAPTER VIII. Of Verbs.

239. The Icelandic verbs, like the Greek, Latin, Swed. and Dansk, have two forms, active and passive, and in each the four usual moods; indie., conjunct., imperat., and infin.; hut only two tenses can be expressed by inflection of the word, viz, the present and the imperfect; though the pres. is also often used for a future, as in Angl. Sax. and other languages. The other tenses are formed by means of auxiliary verbs as in Engl. In the three moods above named, numbers and persons are distinguished; but the pers. pron. are commonly added, because the difference between the persons, especially in the pass., is not everywhere definite and clear. The participles are as usual the pres. act., which has often also the meaning of a fut. part pass.; and the past part. pass, the neut. of which in the indef. form is always at the same time a supine; from this supine a new pass. sup. may be formed, as in Swed. by a new pass, ending; which however commonly occurs only in the neut., seldom in the other gend. and cases as a complete part.

240. The infin. always contains the original vowel of the verb, and it seems therefore most right to name the verbs after this mood; but at the same time the conjug. of ihe verbs is seen more plainly, though not quite surely, from the 1st pers. pres. and this is doubtless the reason why Bjorn Haldorson in his Dictionary always arranges them under this form. Of the other jtenses the pres. and imperf. iudic., together with the past part, or supine, are the most important, because all the rest can be derived from them.

241. The inflection of verbs has much resemblance in all Gothic tongues; that division of them therefore which is the right in one of these languages, is also right for all the rest.

This division however shews itself most plainly of all in Icelandic, since this tongue seems in general to lie nearest to the common spring; thus we instantly discover a ground of division in the pres. ind., which separates all verbs into two main classes, the one of which always ends in the pres. in a cons., the other commonly in a vowel; the one is always monosyll. in the pres. with change of vowel, the other is invariably polysyllabic; and most frequently keeps its vowel unchanged; the one ends in the sup., and past part. pass, in it, inn, in, the other in /, dr, d, so that they are distinct from each other in all their root tenses. The latter answers to the so called verba pura in Greek, and the 1«, 2nd. and 4% conjug. in Latin, the former to the verba impura in Greek, and the 3rd conjug. in Latin. The Mo?so Gothic and Anglo-Sax., have the same main division of the same verbs; as also the new Teutonic tongues, Germ, and Dutch, though Adelung counted all impure verbs as irregular ; but they are in Iceland, at least very nearly as regular as the verba pura, though they follow quite different rules. Here too, as in the nouns, the so called pure .ire conjugated in a simpler way; the impure being more artificial and harder in their method of inflection, and this perhaps has given rise to their being looked upon as irregular.

Simpler Class.

242. These two main classes are again divided into several subordinate ones by the imperf.: The first main class has the imperf. either in aft or Si (di, /i), without change of vowel; or in 8z (di, /i), with change of vowel in its first syll. It is thus divided into three subordinate classes, of which the first has the vowel o, as is clearly seen in the 1« pers. pres. imperf. and in the imperat.; the second the vowel i, which also comes out plainly in the l»t pers., though in the imperat. it has been thrown away by contraction; the third has no vowel in the !<* pers. pres. but seems originally to have had u, because this ending has been thrown away in many cases in

the Old Norse, e. g. in the fern. sing, and neut. pi., of suhst. where u seems to have given rise to the change of vowel, which was afterwards kept though the ending itself fell.away. This 3 rd class distinguishes itself also by change of vowel in the imperf. For the rest the inflection in all three classes is nearly exactly the same , and only the formation different. They are therefore rightly reckoned under one and the same conjugation, though Baden, Botin, Sjoborg, and others have in the new tongues assumed the several classes in this main division, to he so many separate conjugations, but those of the more artificial, as a single one, or as irregulars; a mistake which is general in almost all grammars of the East-European tongues; the characteristic tenses will be easiest seen by a comparative table.

Pres. Indie. Imperf. Sup. Infin. l»t Class ek elska elskaSi elskat elska to love 2 nd Class ek renni rendi rent renna to make to run

3«i Class ek tem tamdi , I temja to tame.

243. The agreement of these conjugations with those of the Angl. Sax. and Mcesogothic is evident, however different the arrangement assumed by various writers may be; they answer to one another in the following way.

Icel. Anglo Sax. Moeso Gothic.

1 spjalla -aSi t spcllian -ode 3 spillon -oda to talk, spell

2 hafa -5i 2 habban -haefde 1 haban -aida to have

3 saekja sokti 3 secan, sohle 2 sokjan -ida to seek.

To these in Greek the verbs in «©, «o, 00, answer, and in Latin the 1 s *, 4tii ? and 2" d conjug. thus;

Icel. Latin.

1 ek bera boraSi 1 (fora-o foravi)

2 mik dreymi-r dreymdi 4 dormi-o dormivi

3 ek pegi pagSi 2 tace-o tacui.

In the Lettish tongues the same division is plainly the only right one, and it may be also in the Sclavonic and Finnish.

SIMPLER CLASS.

Ill

244. As examples in all the three regular classes of the simpler class, kalla to call, brenna to burn, and telja to tell, (reckon) will be exhibited;

VERHS.

245. This Class is the most numerous and simplest of all, the common vowel change of a, whenever it occurs, is the only thing to which heed must be pai«l. The Supine in at is the neut. of the Part. pass, which is regularly declined as

SIMPLER CLASS.

113

well indef. kallat, kallaSr, kolluS, as del'. kallaCa, kallaCi, kallaSa, but the Sup. Pass, kallazt of this class is fouud only in the neut.; farther examples for practice are:

2» rf Class.

246. This class also is simple and regular, without change of vowel, and in all its inflections like the foregoing, from which it distinguishes itself only by having the vowel t in the pres; as also by having no vowel in the pret. before the ending, and by ending in the imperative in the characteristic letter itself.

It also contains many words, nearly all with weak vowels in the chief syll., and for the most part deriv. from subst. or adj. Those of which the characteristic is a hard cons, or s take t for d in the pret.j those with 5 receive dd, and those with g or k after a weak vowel insert j where the ending begins with a vowel; but those with g or k after d insert t? in the same cases, e. g.

VERBS.

missa -i, misti to miss |>eckja -cki. ckti to know

pry"$a -i, pr^ddi reita -i, Iti hitta -Iti, tti

birta -ti, ti to reveal stockva -ckvi, ckti

to adorn merkja -ki, kti to marie to pluck f>einkja -ki, kti to think to find out fylkja -ki, kti to set in

array to sprinkle

All those which have the characteristic letters gl, fl, an, and fn, take d in the imperf. e. g. sigla to sail, sigli, sigldi, stefna to stem stefni, stefndi; efla to strengthen, hefna to revenge, nefna to name, rigna to rain, etc.; but those which have pn, kn, or the like, belong to the 1st class; those also which have m for their characteristic take d, e. g. dreyma to dream, mik dreymdi I dreamed, skemma to laugh away, skemdi. Those which have t after a cons, take no new t or d in the imperf., e. g. va?nta to wait, vaenti, velta to overthrow velti, festa, to fasten, festi, lypta to lift, lypti , which in all these is also the 1st pers. pres.

It seems impossible have rS, Id, nd, L II, n, some take d, others t, common in old writers,

girSi

girdli

lendi

girSa lenda

haela

mnela

lendti haeldi meelti

to give any sure rule for those which or nn, as their characteristic, because and some both, but d, seems more t (dt) in new, e. g.

fella feldi

stilla stilti

syna s^ndi

rsena ra?nti

to praise kenna kendi to speak nenna nenti

to gird

to land

to fell to still to show to plunder to teach to set ones, mind on.

247. Monosyllables in d add i in the pres, Si in the imperf. and 5 in the supine, e. g. spa to foretell, ek spai, spaSi, hefi spa5; so also stra to straw, ma to wear, ga to take heed etc. Yet the pres. is sometimes found without i, e. g. hann forsmar or forsmair he scorns.

248. Some are irregular in the pres. conjunctive, where they change the vowel; others in the supine which they form after the l«t class in at (a§), these want the part pass. Most

SIMPLER CLASS.

115

are irregular in both respects alike, some in other ways, the

most important of these are :

Infin. Pres. Imperf. Conjunct. Sup.

vekti

flekti

hefti

vakil

flakit

hall

na5

pvegit

led

skefi

varat

porat

polat

torat

unal

dugat

trual

velat

to wake to crack to have to near to wash to lend to happen) to wear to dare to bear to live poorly to be content to be enough to trow to cheat.

pvaeOi

leg

skefii

varaSi

pyrSi

pyldi

tor8i

yndi

dygSi

trySi

velli

Of these vaka has a double form in the part, pass., viz vakinn and vaktr; ske, which belongs to the new tongue and is impers., has also in the pres. sker; vara to warn is regularly inflect, after the l»t class, as also duga to be good ; for trySi tr^Si is both said and written, which is more regular but very rare; triiadr trusty , retttriiadr righttrowing , orthodox is used as an adj.; of vela a part. pass, veltr, is found, and of lifa lifinn in the poets.

All those which in the pres. indie, change their vowel take again in the pi. the vowel of the infin.; which however in the l»t pers. is again changed it if be a, e. g.

Sing.

Plur.

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

hefi

hefir

hefir

hofum

haftf

hafa

naer naer

nauni

naiS

na

veld veldr veldr voldum

valditi valda.

The same takes place in all verbs of the following class, as well regular as irregular.

VERBS.

3"< Class.

249. This class distinguishes itself by having no final vowel in the pres., and by changing the chief vowel in the imperf.; after this vowel it has a simple , seldom a double cons., and never position as its characteristic; the first syll. has also commonly a simple vowel, and the part. pass, has most often a second form (194.), e. g. def. hit talda, hinn taldi, hin talda, indef. talit, talinn, talin. The imperf. takes t only where the characteristic is k, p, or /, in other cases d or 8 by the common rules; further examples are;

So also ftyja to fly in new writers, but in old with change of vowel, imperf. ftySi, part ftyit. Some have two forms in the infin. and pres. preyja or bra to long for, heyja or ha to

SIMPLER CLASS.

117

give (battle), xja or £ to graze, taeja or ta to card wool, the imperf. is commonly pra5i, etc.

250. The four following do not change their vowel;

The last takes beside vill (for vilr) in the 2nd and 3rd pres. in old writers, in new vilt in the 2nd, and vill in the 3rd; for the infin. vilja vildu is also found. These six are irregular, which in the pres. seem to belong to the 2"d class.

New writers often use {xikti, orkti, sokti, |>aekti, etc., f)egja makes in the imperat. |>egi peace, be silent!

251. Words with r, or s, for their characteristic remain in new writers alike in all three pers. sing, pres.; in old writers rr, ss, are often used in the 2nd and 3rd pers. e. g. ek spyr, j)u spyrr, hann spyrr, etc.

252. The following are also irregular in the pres., where they become monosyll. , and like the imperf. of the 2"'« conjugation :

VERBS.

skulu

wanting shall^ ouqht

|>urft to be needful

att to own

matt to be able

(knatt)

(kna5)

vital

to be able to know

From skulu there is also found a pres. conj. skyli in old Poets. Tbe adj. kunnt, kunnr, kunn known, skylt, skyldr, skyld, bound, as also skylit, skylinn, skylin, together with vitat, vitaSr, vituft, fixed, may be regarded as part, pass.; knega and kna are merely poetical expressions.

These words are thus declined in the pres. Sins.

Plur.

So also are inflected,

ann barf ma

man mini kna.

New writers however use nearly without exception the endings z'S, #, in the 2nd ; and 3^ pers. pi. of all these.

253. In addition the following are irregular in a peculiar way;

to rub

to turn

to row

to grow

to sow, scatter.

The last is obsolete and dissolved into two words, viz, soa to scatter is regular after the 1 s * class, and sa to son? 7 regular, like spa and the other monosyll. of the 2«J class.

More complex class.

254. This division ends always in a cons, in the 1« pcrs. pres. indie., in the imperat., and in the imperf.; but in the imperf. the vowel is changed at the same time, and by this change of sound it is divided again into subordinate classes. Of such classes five have been commonly adopted, but it seems clearer and more right to assume six, three of which keep the same vowel in the sing, and plur. , of the imperf., while ihe rest take a new vowel change in the plur. of the imperf.; the former have commonly the same vowel in the supine as in the infin. the latter always one different from that in that tense.

The character of these six classes in their Principal tenses may be seen from the following table;

1. spinna spinn spann pi. spunnum spynni spunnit to spin

2. drepa drep drap — drapum draepi drepit to slay

3. bita bit beit — bitum biti bitit to bite

4. lata la?t let — letum leti latit to leave

5. brjota bryt braut — brutum bryti brotit to break

6. grafaj gref grdf — grofum grrefi grafit to dig.

They distinguish themselves solely by the formation of their tenses, in the inflection itself they are all entirely alike, and it thus seems impossible to assume that they make more than a single conjugation.

255. This division answers exactly to that which is also right in the German tongues, [though different writers have exhibited it in different ways. In my Angl. Sax. Grammar I have followed the same, but Zahn in his edition of Ulfilas, and Adelung in his Germ. Grammar, differ a little from this scheme.

Icel. Angl. Sax. Zahn Adelung.

1. bind 1. binde 4. binda . ,

2. gef 2. gife 3. giba

3. grip 3. gripe » i 3 - g reife

4. laet 4. laetc \ Sreipa { 2. lasse

5. fly"g 5. buge 5. biuga 4. biege

6. gref 6. grafe '> . graba 5. grabe.

Though these verbs answer to the so called impure verbs in Greek, and to the 3rd conjug. in Latin, they do not however agree nearly so much with these tongues as those of the former division; the reason of this is that the 2nd Division in the Gothic tongues is not arranged, as in the Thra-cian, after the characteristic letter, but after the vowel of the 1st syll., of which fact, it is easy to convince oneself on comparing, e. g. kjosa to chose with blasa to blow, at kjosa k^s kaus kusu kysi kosit at blasa blaes bles blesu blesi blasit.

These have the same characteristic but are nevertheless formed quite differently. If on the other hand we compare kjosa with brjdta, and blasa with lata, we then see that they are formed exactly in the same way, though they have quite different characteristic letters, because they have the vowel of the chief syll. in common. This vowel however need not be entirely the same; e. g. fijuga, to fly, luta to bow, bendy etc., are inflected exactly like kjosa; this is the reason why it seems surer to ground the division on the vowel of the imperf., than on that of the infm. But in the Latin it is seldom that any change of vowel takes place , where also only the characteristic letter and not the vowel of the chief syll., comes into consideration; e.g. Icedo is inflected like ludo and plaudo; veho like traho , lingo , like jitngo , etc. For these reasons the two divisions cannot exactly answer to each other, though numbers of words are the same in both tongues , e. g. ala alerc, eta edere, vada vahere, ek ber. fer-o etc.

256. Farther the more artificial Division changes the vowel of the sing. pres. viz, a, o, to e ; a, 6, to <£, u, ju, jo to y, an, to ey; and this in all cases ; the other vowels e, i, ei, etc. remain always unchanged. This change of vowel takes place in all the three pers. sing., not as in the German tongues only in the 2««d and 3^ ; The actual chief vowel of the verb therefore is not to be found with certainty in the l g t pers., but in the verbs must be sought in the infin. see (240.). Those of which the characteristic letter is r, n, or 5, double it in the 2nd and ? r d pers. in old writers, but in new are like in all 3 pers.

MORE COMPLEX

121

(251). They are also often found with 8, d, or /, added to the 2nd pers., e. g. at ausa, to sprinkle, ek eys, bu eyst, or eyss, hann eys, or cyss. In the pi. the actual vowel always returns, which however, if it be a, is again turned into d in the 1st pers. by means of the ending urn. Of all these points examples are also found in the irregular verbs of the simpler division see 248.

257. As examples of all these regular classes in the more artificial division, hrenna to burn, gefa to give, gripa to gripe, seize, lata to let, leave, frjosa to freeze, fara to fare, journey may serve.

1st Class. Indicative. Pres. Sing. 1. brenn

2. brennr

3. brennr

Plur. 1. brennum

2. brenniS

3. brenna

Imperf. Sing. 1. brann

2. brannt

3. brann

Plur.

1. 1> MI iimi in

2. brunnuS

3. brunnu

Conjunctive.

Pres. Sing. 1. brenni

Plur.

2. brennir

3. brenni

1. brennum

2. brennifi

3. brenni

Imperf. Sing. 1. brynni

2. brynnir

3. brvnni

2nd Class.

Active, gef gefr gefr

gefum

gefiS

gefa

gaf gaft gaf

gafum gafuS gafu

3rd Class.

grip

gripr

gripr

gn'pum grip iff gripa

greip

greipt

greip

gripum

gripuS

gripu

gripi

gripir

gripi

gripum

gripifi

gripi

gripi

gripir

gripi

VER.S.

frj<5s-tu far-Cu

frjosa iara

fjosandi farandi

frosit farit

(wanting) farizt.

The passive is formed here, as in the simpler division, from the active by adding st, before which r falls away, but d, and /, which also fall away, are replaced by r, for 5, e. g. gripst throughout in the sing., gripumst, gripizt, gripast, in the pi.; laezt in the sing., latumst, latizt, latast in the pi. etc.; but many of these which are neut. take no pass., e. g. ek brenn, ek fnfe, etc.

1" Class.

258. This class has also in consequence of the cons, some small variations, which may be seen from the following examples ;

VERBS.

snerta, (snert) snarl,

hverfa, hverf, hvarf,

verpa, verp, varp,

bjarga, berg x barg,

bresta, brest, brast,

sleppa, slepp, slapp,

(snurtum snyrti) snortit,

hvurfum, hvyrfi, horfit,

urpum, yrp'j orpit,

(burgum) byrgi borgit,

brustum, brysti, brostit,

sluppum, slyppi, sloppit,

detta, dett, datt, duttum, dytti, dottit, spretta, sprett, spratt, spruttum, sprytti, sprottit,

to touch to dimmish to lay (eggs) to help to burst to slip away,

let slip to fall to start up

Those which have n next to the chief vowel take in the sup. M, the rest o.

The rule that v falls away before o, u, and y, is some, times neglected, particularly if a cons, go before; but very few indeed are found actually irregular; valda to carry along, makes veld, vald, and in the sup. valdit; in the pi. imperf., and imperf. conjunct.^ I have never met with it; of snerta only snerti is perhaps found in the pres., which Bjorn Haldorson gives, but it is besides the actual pres. of another verb, which makes snerti in the imperf., and is declined after the 2nd class of the 1st division.

2»<< Class.

259.;,This class is not so numerous; farther examples are;

Some take «in the sing, of the imperf., or are irregular in other respects, these are in particular.

s Ja ser sa-um saei se8 to see.

Instead of tra5 trafiu , troS troSu , are now commonly said by the 6th class,- and for qvarn, qvamu, qvaemi; kom, komu, kaemi. Those with the characteristic g usually lose it in pron. and writing, in the imperf. indie.; thus we often found la-u, |>a-u, va-u and in new writers vo, or by the 6th class vo-u, vdg-u.

260. To this class belongs also the auxiliary verb vera to be which is irregular in the pros.; it is thus inflected.

Imperat. veri

ver-tu (verir) veri

verum

veri5

vera

Infinitive. Pres. vera Pret. hafa verit Part. verandi verit.

The pres, conj, is taken from another imperfect verb, and the pres. imperat. seems originally to have been the conj. of vera; for vorum etc., vdrum is also used, old authors write varum.

261. Those which have changeable characteristics form the supine like the first class, e. g.

VERBS.

&* Class.

262. This class is very regular and simple, it has in all pres t, and in all pret. z, except in the sing, imperf. indie., where it takes ei; farther examples are;

In old writers rita to write, and rista to carve (runes) go with this class, but new writers use rita and inflect, it after the 1st class of the simpler division; and rista after the 2nd class of the same; qviddi also is found for qveiS.

4<* Class.

263. To this class comparatively few verbs belong, the most important are the following;

grata graet gret-um greti gratit to weep

rafia rae5 re5-um reSi ra5it to advise

biota blaet blet-um bleti bldtit to offer> worship

MORE COMPLEX CLASS.

127

In addition all those in iga of the 3«i class belong to this

class also; we may thus also say.

sti'ga stig ste-um ste-i sligit to rise

hniga hnig hne-um hne-i hnigit to fall) stoop.

These are irregular;

ganga geing geek geingum geingi geingit

hanga hangi heck heingum heingi hangit

fa fae feck feingum feingi feingit

heita heiti het hetum heti heitit

to go to hang to get, fake to be called.

Biota now commonly goes with the l«t class of »he simpler division; ganga makes in the imperat gack- (tu). It is

indifferent whether we write geek, geingum without the accent. (81.).

geingum, etc., or geek

5'* Class.

VERBS.

Some have a simple o in tie pres., but are otherwise quite regular, e. g.

sockva sock sock suckum syckvi sockit to sink stockva stock stock stuckum styckvi stockit to leap

6<* Class.

265. This also contains not a few verbs, though it is less regular than the foregoing.

The following are irregular.

do-um dsei deySi deyfii

standa stend stdftum

deyja dey

dait dautt

staflit stadt

to die

to stand.

Dautt and stadt are properly adj., in the masc. , daudr, staddr, like the Swed. words dod, stadd. The imperat. of standa is stattu; some take the vowel u in the pi. imperf. and form from this the imperf. conj. by changing u into y; these always take in the sup. the same vowel as in the infin., they are the following:

MOM tOMPl.EX CLASS.

vaxa vex ox uxuni yxi vaxit to

auka eyk j6k jukuni juki aukit to

ausa eys jos jusum jysi ausit to

hlaupa hleyp hljdp hlupum hlypi hlaupit to

biia b? bjo bjuggum j^Jf/jbuit to

' U J 00 l J

hoggva hogg l»jo hjuggum hjyggi hoggvit to

The first four may also form a regular pi. of from the sing, oxum, jokum, josum, hljopum, but conj. has only the single form in y.

wax, grow increase sprinkle run, urge

dwell hew.

(he imperf. the imperf.

266. The cause of the many vowel changes which are found in the 2nd ma in Division is doubtless , as is the case also to a certain extent in Greek and Latin , that one and the same verb had diflerenl forms in different dialects , of which one has been kept in some lenses, the other in others; this is proved partly from the old kindred tongues, where similar forms are sometimes found complete, partly from the analogy of other words ; e. g. the Icel. fiima seems to have besides another form vi/, finda, whence we have an imperf. pi. fundum, imperf., conj. fyndi, supine fundit, and this form is actually found complete and regular in the Angl. Sax. /?/?-dan, finde, fand, fund am, funde, gefundcn. The word sla seems also to have had another form with g (slaga) from which all the pret. are formed, slog-u, slaegi , slegit; this can also be concluded from a composition with, draga, dreg, drog-u, diwgi, dregit, as also from the Germ, schfagen, scldiigt , schlttrj, $ch/uge, geschlagen.

In like manner the Icel. imperf. seri son-fd, seems to he-long to the Latin pres. sero (serere), and again the Latin imperf. sevi and part, satus to the Icel. pres. sa? (sa or soa), whence also the Icel. part. sa5r (safiur); just as the Latin crevi seems to be the pret. of the Icel. pres gra?, and auxi, auctum, from Icel. at aukan etc. Derivative Subst. also sometimes confirm this dualism of form, e. g. slattr a blow (comp. Germ schlacht) for slagtr, from the form slaga; as drattr for dragtr, from draga, dottir for doatir etc., together with the word slag

Germ, schlag, which is formed from the old infin. just as fall from falla, stand from standa, kaup from kaupa, etc.

Yet in the assuming of such forms care must be taken not to go too far, and confound the changes which euphony requires, with these forms; e. g. from batt (imperf. of binda) we must not assume any verb batta, just as little as from feck any fecka, or of gack, statt (imperat), gacka, statta, or the like, for it is the common working of euphony to change ngk into ck and ndt into tt, as springa sprack, etc. Just as in Greek for example we must not assume any jm'6ofiai for the future neiaouou, (of rca'ffxo, because it it the usual process of euphony to put «<; for evr$, or evQ$, e. g. Tv<pdst$ (for etc., and besides there is the form ^ev6o, subst.

<;, pret. nsKovSa. It is also probable that the vowel in the Old Norse tongue as in other languages was always changed in certain verbs in a certain way; and it is only therefore in the irregular verbs that such forms can be assumed with any show of truth. But to carry this inquiry farther lies beyond the province of Grammar, which should only describe the forms and inflections actually existing in the language.

The formation of tenses.

267. The inflection of the Icelandic verbs is very simple, and like the old Swed. and Dansk; the formation also is simple and irregular. The 2nd Division has always a mono-syll. pres. which ends in the characteristic letter itself, and changes the vowel in the usual way; the same would perhaps be also the case with the pres. of the 3^ class of the 1st Division, which is also monosyll., but it has always the vowels e, or y, which do not admit of any farther change.

The 3rd pers. pi. of the pres. is always the same as the infin., and in general the pi. of the pres. has the same character, as the infin., as well in regard to the vowel in the chief syll. as to the insertion of j and v, (247.)

268. All tenses in the conj. are formed from the corresponding ones in the indie, only with the change of ending, and

in the imperf. with change of vowel, in those cases where the vowel of the indie, was changed, but still with a power of changing it again.

Hence it follows that the pres. conj. has always the same vowel and same character with regard to j and v as the infin. because the pi. pres. indie, has also these. Farther that the imperf. conj. in the 1st and 2nd classes of the 1st Division is always the same as the imperf. indie., because these classes have no vowel change in the indie, and ran take none in the conj. except in some few irregular verbs, and in these also the endings are alike; but in all other verbs the imperf. conj. is different from the imperf. indie., because either the vowel or the endings, or both, are unlike. The vowel changes by which the imperf. conj. is formed from the pi. imperf. indie, are always the common ones of o into e, it, into y, u, into $, d and 6 into ce.

269. The past part, is always formed in the 1«t Division from the imperf. by change of ending; t being placed instead of i in the neut. or sup., and r in the inasc.; the fern, takes no new ending but distinguishes itself by vowel change if the word contains a. Yet in this case heed must be paid to all that has been remarked 185. and 186.,. particularly that d always falls away before /, but is kept before other cons. The part, of monosyll. verbs on the other hand differ from the monosyll. adj. mentioned in 188., viz they receive no // in the neut., but on the contrary form the neut. (i. e. sup.) in the same way as the fern, simply by throwing away i. The third class has commonly the double part. (194); the shorter form is always formed from the imperf. indie, in the same way as those of the 2nd class; the longer not only throws away the ending (i), but also the characteristics of the imperf. fi, rf, or /, and places in their stead it, inn, in; this is at bottom just the same as the shorter form, or more properly, both are only separate modes of pronouncing the original form it (for idf), i"8r, 18, which in the one case has been contracted, so that the vowel has fallen away^ while in the other 5 has been changed into n (91.) after a weak vowel; which is very

9*

VERBS.

common in the Old Norse. We can thus understand how both these forms can be used reciprocally to supply one another as euphony requires, and also see how these part, in it, inn* in, correspond with the Latin'in Hum, itus, ita, e. g. tamit domitum

tamiSr (Sur) domitus

tamiS dumita.

Of these forms the Icel. sup. always chooses that in it when it occurs, and thus the verbs which have monosyll. sup. want entirely the longer form.

In the second main Division the part, is almost always formed in zY, inn in, (for z'5/, z'5r, i$); here too the contracted form is sometimes found, when it is commonly used as 'an independant adj. Monosyll. part, of monosyll. verbs take, like those of the 1st Division, no t in the neut. (or sup.). For the rest these part, are not always formed from the imperf. pi., which only holds good of the 1st, 3rd ? and 5th classes; in the 2nd ? 4«i ? and 6th they come from the infin., though sometimes with change of vowel, which will be best seen from the examples given 258—265. Only sup. pass, are formed from poly-syll. sup., never new complete part., but from the monosyll. actual pass. part, or reciprocals in all genders are sometimes formed; ^all that is here said may be seen from the following examples.

lesin

haldin

alin

old)

se5

sen

aminzl

16'gzt

— gefit

gefizt

etc. There are, generally speaking, very few verbs which can form complete part, pass, from their monosyll. sup., and these seem to belong properly to the new tongue. From sup. in st,, sup. pass, are not readily formed, because in such a case they must end in szt, or s/.s/, which it is nearly impossible to pronounce, yet they may be used, e..g. uppleyszt, etc. Thoroughly neut. verbs can take no sup. pass, at all, e. g. from sofit sofizt can not be formed , any more than verizt from verit.

270. The formation of the pass, is in oilier respects so simple and regular that is docs not need farther description: st is added in all cases, but before this ;•, /, d, and 0, fall away, which last however is supplied by : for s. So also m is turned into n before st. bul this is not general, at least not in old writers (152).

Of the personal endings

271. In the endings of the verbs several changes have taken place at various times, thus the 1 s ' pers. often ends in old writers in a, when the 2"<i ends in ir; accordingly (a) in all prcs. conj. as ek vitja, vilja, d#ma, muna, hljota. bera, etc.; (l>> in all imperf. indie, of the 2"d Division, e. g. ek clskada, s<nda vilda, hugfia. etc.; (c) in all imperf. ronj. both of <hc simpler

and more artificial Division; e. g. ek herjaSa, brenSa, hef8a. mseta, vaera, laega, feinga, etc.

272. The first pers. pi. of the pres. and iinpert*. conj. ends in old writers in zm, e. g. kallim, leitim, hafim, eigim, takiin vexim, nefndim, vaerim, Urkim. and the like.

273. The 3m pers. pi. of the iniperf. conj., like the 3««i pers. pi. pres., often ends in i (for M), e. g. beir elskaSi, saetti, rynni, tacki; new writers use taekju, feingju, etc.

274. The endings urn, wS, and ?8 in the pi. throw away the last cons., when the pron. comes immediately after, e. g.

ver , vi5 skulum nu skulu ver , vi5

ber , bi5 munuS nu munu ber , bi5

ber , pi5 takiS taki {>er , f>iS!

This is also sometimes found even when the pron. is left out, e. g. fai mer, give me (that). But this distinction is often neglected by new writers.

275. The pron. are sometimes compounded with the verbs, e. g. vitjag, (or vitjak, vitjac) for vitja ek, (eg); this happens in particular with the 2"*' pers. pron. bu, which is compounded with all imperat. so that the accent falls away, e. g. elskaSu, sja5u see thou, gacktu go thou, etc., according to the character of the foregoing letter. This pron. is also compounded with most monosyll. pres., yet so that the vowel falls away entirely, and 8, rf, or /, only is kept, when the pron. stands before, e. g. bu lest thou reddest, bu kannt thou canst, vilt wiZlt, serS seest etc.; but should the pron. stand after the verb, e. g. in questions, the vowel remains lestu, kanntu, villtu, serSu, seest thou? Some authors write the nnperat. separately gack bu, sja bu, etc., but since we cannot write kann bu, vil bu, nor in common speech say gack bu, but by old custom gacktu, this change of orthography seems needless and wrong.

276. The imperat. has properly only the 2nd pers. sing., all the other pers. are supplied by the pres. conj., and take in the 2n<* p C1 . b . pi. almost an optative signification.

277. The imperil of the second Division, like the inono-syll. pres., add t in the 2nd pers. with a vowel cchange in the 1st (252.), in which case the same change takes place which happens to t in the neut. of adj., viz that it is doubled after a diphthong, and with d before it assimilated to tf, e. g. from liggja, la, lalt, from standa st(5S, stott; but after /, st, is added, and in stead of tst, zt, is written, e. g. luta imperf. laut, 2 nd pers, lauzt, different from laust imperf. of Ijosta to smite, or the neut. of the adj. laus loose. This / comes from the 2n«« pers. |)u, and when this pron. should come immediately after u only is added (without accent) to the ending t, e.g. lattu, stoitu, lauztu, for latt fm, or la f)ii, etc.; at the present time st. is commonly put in all imperf., instead of /, thus brannst, gafst, etc. The old writers often added &, e. g. to the first pers. taken from the l«t pers. pron. ek (ec, eg), so that the imperf. also in the sing, distinguishes all three pers. by their ending, e. g. letk, lezt, let ; fork, fort, for. This k is used also in the first main Division, e. g. kallaSak, brenSak, taldak, as also in all imperf. conj. letak, faerak; and in all pres. when the sound allows it, e. g. kallak, hefik, lelk, laetk, ferk, etc.

Auxiliary Verbs.

278. Two tenses only can be expressed by actual inflexion, all other relations therefore must be periphrased by means of auxiliary verbs, which are consequently very numerous : mun and skal, form the fut.; the former contains a kind of prediction how any thing will turn out, and may be rendered in English by will, it is likely, 1 dare say, *. g. vi5 vonun faeddir a einni nolt, ok mun skamt verSa milli dauOa ockars. We were born in one night, and it mill not be long between ovr deaths, it is not likefy we shall die far apart.; Nu skal ek senda J>eim sending. Now shall I send them a (little) keepsake. After both these words the auxil. verb vera is commonly left out, g. g. f>at mun rellara^/for/ will be better, it is likely to be better; j)ari skulu ok talin nofn J>eirra. Therein shall their names also be rekoned (told) In this way especially are formed all fut. pass, with past part, instead of the infin., which

is explained by supposing an ellipse of vera. The word skal is besides often used, with infin. act., where the new tongues prefer to employ the fut. pass., which may be accounted for by an ellipse of maSr one, e. g. f>a skyldi brenna alia dauSa menn. Then should (one) burn all dead men, or then should all dead men be burned.

279. Hafa and vera form the perf. and pluperf.; the former is usual in nearly all active verbs, as in Swed.; vera is more common in the pass, and some few neut.; e.g. Giver sagSi pa atburSi, er bar hofSu orSit. Oliver told the things which had happened there; Egill hafSi geingit yfir skog nockurn. Egil had gone over (through) a certain wood. This verb is also often used with a past part, agreeing, like an adj., in gender and case with the object (instead of the unchanged supine), e. g. er |>eir hofSu feldan hofSingja liSsins. When they had felled the chiefs of the people. Hafa is also always used with sup. pass. Er f>eir hofSu viStalazt. When they had spoken together, pat hefir umbreyzt siSan, That has since been changed (or changed itself). Nu hefi ek komizt at raun urn. Now have I come to the proof about (it ) ; or now have I become convinced of it; so also Nu em ek at raun kominn um |>at. Vera with at and the infin. of other verbs denotes a thoroughly definite time, e. g. ek em at skrifa, var at skrifa, / am just going to write^ I was just going to write.

280. A thoroughly past time, which we express by laying an emphasis on the auxiliary verb, is periphrased in Icel. by ek er buinn, ek var buinn, followed by'the infin. with at, e.g. ek er buinn at skrifa / have (already) written, I have done my writing.

281. Besides the above manv other verbs are used to

tf

determine the sense of others (i. e. as auxiliaries), e. g. ek ver5 at, / get leave to; ek hlft at, I must, (infin. hljota); ek a, fm att at, I have to, thou hast to, or /, thou must, (infin. eiga); ek aetla at / mean to', or ek ma, I may, have power, (infin. mega) ek tek at / take to, I begin; ek fae with supine or part. / can, I have leave to, (infin. fa) etc.

282. The Pass, form is often in the old Norse a proper reciprocal, while on the other hand the condition of suffering is often (as in Germ.) expressed by a periphrasc in which vera and verfta are used; thus;

Indicative.

These ful. are used in connection with prcs.. but if (he context be in ihe past lime, then ek mundi, skyldi, varfl. etc., are said.

Other kinds of verbs.

283. Those verbs are called impersonal which are used only in the Supers, and are coupled with an indefinite subject; these again are of many kinds; (a) the subject is either altogether indef., when it is wont to be expressed by pat //, e. g. pat prumar it thunders, pat dagar it darvns, pat her vi5 it (sometimes) happens); (b) or the verb becomes to a certain degree, as in Latin, personal by drawing the subject towards it as a dependent case, so that some require the subject to be in the ace., e. g. mik langtar, / long, mik pyrstir 7 thirst, mik rekr / am driven (a wreck on the naves), mik uggir / fear, etc.; (c) others throw the subject into the Dat., e.g. mer ofbySr it is horrible to me, mer vill til, it happens to me, mer verSr a / provide for myself. Passive verbs in particular are thus used impersonally with the subject in the dat., when they contain the idea of chance; mer heyrist 7 hear, come to hear, mer skilst 7 understand, mer skjatlast or sk^zt 7 make a mistake , mer leiSist I am n-eary, if i> rvearisome to me,

etc. Some of these are also used with the indef. subject it j)at, or both with it and the dat. though in different constructions, e. g. f>at lekst varla. It mill scarce be lucky, £er tekst varla at, it will scarcely be lucky for thee —, £al tokst honum f>6 it turned out lucky, for him at last.

284. Those are called reciprocals, the subject of which is also the object of the action, they t«Ke the object in all cases like other verbs, e. g. ek fyrirverS mik / am ashamed of myself, ek forSa mer 1 take myself off, hann skammast sin he is ashamed of misself, etc. Those which require this object in the dat. are often expressed by the simple pass., and can then take another actual object near them in the ace., e. g. ek for5ast fjendr inina I get me art-ay from my foes.

285. Deponents, or such as -have only the pass, form, are not numerous in Icel. most of them go along with the first Division, e. g. ek andast / breathe my last, ek dirfirst / am daring; all these kinds of verbs arc for the rest inflected 5a the common way, after the Division and class to which they belong, so far as the nature of each will permit.

286. Whether verbs are transitive (active) or intransitive (neuter) has not the least influence on their inflection, the only remark to be made is, that when a trans, is formed from an intrans. the latter commonly belongs to the more artificial, the former to the simpler Division, e. g. rjuka to reek, reikja to smoke, n'sa to rise up, reisa to raise up.

CHAPTER IX. Of the Particles.

287. Under this denomination are commonly included (hose classes of words which are not inflected , viz adverbs , prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections; but for the very reason that they are unchangeable, such words cannot be reckoned as belonging to the theory of inflection. To enumerate (hem is the part of a Lexicographer, while the description of their origin and structure belongs the theory of the formation of words. It only remains therefore in this place to speak of the comparison of adv., the only kind of inflection which these words allow.

288. The adverbs commonly end in the comp. in or, and in the superl. in ast, the former of these endings is entirely adverbial, for adj. end in the neut. comp. in ra, while the latter is common to adverbs and the neut. of adj. in the indef. form, e. g.

Many irregular adj. (207.) are as adverbs regularly compared, e. g.

289. Some adv. have also a shorter conip. in r (ur) e. g. betr, skar, verr, meir, miSr (minnr), fyrr, heldr, najr, fjaer (firr). The superl. of all adv. are like the neut. superl. of indef. adj.

290. Some have a double comp., sometimes with a difference of meaning: fremrand framar from fram, superl. fremst and framast, si5r less and siSar latter, sizt least, siSast last, leingr longer , is used only of time like leingi , leingra (neut. of the adj.) on the other hand is said only of place; so also skemr (from skemt) shorter, only of time, skemra only of space.

The word meir (meirr) is added to some comp. of adj. to give them further strength, e. g. naer meir more nearer, seinna meir more latterly, si'Sar meir farther more, etc.

THIRD PART.

The Formation of words.

CHAPTER X.

General View.

291. The doctrine of the formation of words forms a very important part of Grammar; it is here properly speaking that we learn to discover the gender, inflection, and origin of words, as well as their affinity ami fundamental meaning, in so far as these are not dependant on arbitrary custom , but based one some actual ground and rule in the language; and here also we are enabled to form an idea of the richness of the tongue and its internal completeness. The inflections can without difficulty be very exactly expressed by particles, e.g. all the 5 very complex declensions of the Latin are replaced by the two prep, a and de in French and Italian; all the personal endings of verbs, are replaced by three, or at any rate by six, monosyll. pron. in Dansk; the new tongues seem to have gained more in simpleness ease and clearness, than they have lost in terseness and freedom in inversions . and have thus a compensation for (heir loss; but want of derivative syll. and restraint in composition can be repaired in no other way than by the adoption of foreign words, which make the tongue uneven, irregular, and characterless: they are besides a heavy burden fer the understanding, because we have then to remember a number of separate words without any

reciprocal connection, and which have no apparent ground for their meaning in the language itself; this forms a great hindrance to the instruction of the people in nations which speak a very mingled language, because the common people do not understand the language which the learned write, and are thus excluded from literature; e.g. each and every Greek comprehended instantly without difficulty the words darqo^ia., xo|uifn?<; (a'ar-^) <t)t,loao<pia,<j)VGixTi y just as every Icelandic peasant at once understands the words stjornufra?5i, halastjarna, heimspeki, natturii-fraefti, while the words astronomi, komet, filosofi, fysik, contain to a Swedish ear no ground at all for their meaning; they are therefore comprehended by no Swede, who has not learned and fixed each of them separately in his memory, besides the other simple words stjerna, star, Idra, lore, vishet, doctrine, wisdom, etc., which must also be remembered.

The rules for the formation of words therefore contain one main Division of the language, wholly independant in itself, and opposed to the theory of inflection; the latter teaches how old words are changed, the former how new ones are framed, or in other words, how [the greater portion of the tongue, viz, all which is the result of the peculiar character and cultivation of a nation, has arisen; and consequently how the poets and philosophers of later times should procceed, if they aim at imparting new ideas to the people, because a similarity in formation with that which is already known is the only way by which a new word can become intelligible. It is accordingly very inconvenient, nay perhaps wrong, only to bring forward, as has been hitherto the custom, a few scattered incidental remarks on this head in the first part of treatises on Grammar, and we will here consider this interesting side of the Old Norse by itself and for its own sake.

292. The formation of words happens in two ways, by Derivation or Composition, in the former case the word is formed by means of change of vowel, alteration of the ending, or the addition of one or more syll. which in themselves have no meaning; in the latter on the other hand by coupling together two are more separate words in one new one, which

takes a single chief tone. In both these respects there is much likeness between the Iceland, and the Swed. and Germ. Yet it often happens that what is denoted in one tongue by compos, is expressed in another by deriv. just as one of them sometimes uses inflection, where another has deriv. or compos.

CHAPTER XI. Derivation.

293. The purpose of Derivation is either to alter the meaning of a word, make it better or worse, etc.; which takes place especially by some addition to the first syll.; or to change to class of a word, i. e. make a verb out a subst. etc., this happens partly by a change of vowel within, but chiefly by change in or addition to the final syll., because inflection acts mainly at the close of a word, and the ending must therefore be suited to that class of words, the inflections of which will be taken by the word in its new shape. These derivations accordingly divide themselves into several kinds after the separate classes of words, into which they serve to transfer words.

Prefixes.

Some of these give the word a negative, deteriorative, or contradictory meaning:

294. O- has, (a) a negative meaning, especially before adj., e. g. dkuunr unknown, okunnugr unknowing, ignorant, omissandi indispensable, oboSinn unbidden, olaes which cannot read, osjaldan often, not seldom, ovida not wide spread; (b) a deteriorative or contradictory meaning, chiefly before subst. and verbs, e. g. ohof insatiability, omak uneasiness , 6Tri5r rvar, 6ra5 ill counsell, obaenir cursings, ogaefa ill lusk, ofrelsi villenage, thraldom, dmaka to trouble, rex, dnV'la, to make useless.

295. Mis- has partly (a) like 6 a negative meaning, mis-attr or dsattr discordant, but more often that of deterioration, e. g. ojafn uneven, misjafn unlike, bad, mis|)6knast, to mislike, displease, misfcyrma to mishandle. But this syll. has besides two peculiar meanings: (b) a difference, unlikeness, e. g. misstor of different size, mislangir of unlike length, mislitr pied; he is said to have mislagSar hendr, who is at one time too strict, at another too lenient, misdauft is the term for two persons death when the one overlives the other; (c) a mistake or fault, c. g. misgaungur wrong-ways, bypaths, mismaeli slip of the tongue, misminni slip of the memory, misgrip mistake, misgjora or misbrjota to misbehave, misbruka to misuse.

296. Van- brings along with it, (a) partly the idea of want, e. g. vanfaer, weak, wanting strength, growth, van-heilsa, weakliness , vanefni impotence', poverty; mik van-hagar urn, / want, it fails me, vantro want of faith, and also wrong belief; (b) partly the idea of something wrong silly, sorry, e. g. vanfylgi sorry support, vanga carelessness, van-helga to profane, vanvirfta to defane.

297. Var- is an old derivative syll. of the same meaning as the foregoing, e. g. vargefm badly wedded, who has made a misalliance, varmenni coward, varliga, contr, varla; scarcely,

298. Tor- denotes a difficulty, e. g. tornaemr slow of wit, torfseri difficulty, torkenna to make hard to know, lort^na to destroy, torsottr hard to attack, torfeinginn hard to hold.

299. For is properly an old proposition from which the more recent fyrir for, fore, has been formed; it gives a word (a) the same meaning as this prep., e. g. forfafiir forefather, formoSir foremother, mother of a race, forspar soothsaying, second sight, formali foreword, forsjall foresighted , forseti president, forraS command, orvindis before the wind, for-streymis, before the stream, with the stream, fortolur, persuasions , (b) the idea of something unlucky or unpleasant, old Engl. for in forlorn etc.; e. g. fordama to condemn, forbaenir curses, forsending a perilous undertaking, (laid on any one with the view of his perishing in it) forbjoda to forbid, also

to lay under a ban; (c) it is also often added to verbs and subst. formed from them without denoting any clear modification of meaning, e. g. foreySa to lay waste, foreyflsla laying waste, formerkja to perceive, formyrkva to make dark, formyrkvan darkening darkness; yet this is not used so often as the redundant for in Swed., and for in Dansk, e. g. fdr-oka, is in Icel simply auka to increase, forstora, staecka to make greater, forkorta, stytta to shorten, fvrldnga, leingja to lenghthen, etc.; in the new tongue however such deriv. are rather more common than in old writers, e. g. forbetra to better, fortelja to foretell, relate.

300. Or- (or er-) comes also from a preposition, viz iir, in old writers often or (6r), and denotes (a) a separation, e. g. 6rva3nta to despair, erlendis abroad, ormagna out of strength, weak, orvita out of ones mind, orvasa imbecile, (said of those who cannot stir for age); (b) an extreme or very highdegiee, e. g. orstultr very short, orlitill very little, ormjdr very thin, 6r-falsekr very poor, etc. Bui it is especially used with adj., which denote a want, or negative property.

Other derivative syll. express an extension or limitation in time, space, or degree.

301. Al- comes from the adj. allr all, and denotes the highest possible, entirely unlimited, degree, e. g. alvitnr all-knowing^ alinatttigr almighty, algjor perfect, alheill quite hale, almennr common, public, almenm'ngr, the common people, the public.

All- of the same origin, but of quite different meaning; it expresses very nearly the Engl. right or very, e. g. allgdOr right good, allvitur right clever, allviSa right often, close, all-mikill right much, very much.

302. Of- (too much), e. g. ofat gluttony, ofdryckja drunkenness, ofnautn both these vices at once, ofriki tyranny, of-mikill too great, ofgamall too old, ofsuemma too soon , of-seint too late, ofsaekja to persecute.

10

Ofr- denotes a very high degree, but is more often used with adj. of negative meaning, e. g. ofrtitill, ofriingr, very little, young, etc., which are also, and perhaps more correctly according to the pronunciation, written, ofr litill, etc., in two words; but in subst. and verbs, e. g. ofrefli overmight, of selja to hand over, the two are actually joined together in one word.

Afar- has the same meaning and use, e. g. afarreiSr very wrath, afaryrSi big words, threats, afarkostir illtreatment. Hence the Germ. Aber in Aberglaube, etc.

303. Fjol- answers to the Germ, met, Angl. Sax. feala, many, from it are formed the Icel. comp. and superl. fleira, flest, but the pos. never occurs except as a deriv. syll., e. g. fjohneuur populous, full of men, fjolbygSr thickly inhabited, fjolmenni throng of men, fjolyrSa to prose, fjolkunnugr much knowing, skilled in spells, fjolk^ngi sorcery,

The opposite to this is expressed by far (paucus, few) in compos., e. g. famennr having few men, fakunnatta ignorance, boorishness, etc.

Besides the above the Icel. have a number of strengthening particles and adverbs, the most important are: geysi (hagligr) hugely (clever), (liter, fiercely clever,) furSu (ilia) wondrous (ill), bisna (vel) monstrous (well); aeSi leingi a weary time; daindis vaent bravely well; which are each in themselves independant words j da-litill very Itttle , sar-kaldr biting cold, span-n^r brand-new, spick and span, are properly compounds of datt brave, sart grievous, spann a chip, shaving.

304. Si- (unceasing, unbroken), e. g. sifella an unbroken row, sifeldr continuous, sifeldliga continuously, sif>yrstr alway thirsty, siglansandi evergleaming , si'sofandi eversleeping. Si is also sometimes found as an independant adv., e. g. in the expression, si ok ae for ever and ever.

305. Sjald- seldom, e. g. sjaldseSr rare, seldomseen, sjald-feinginn scarce to get, sjaldgaefr seldom given.

306. Gagn- (through)* expresses a very high degree; e.g. gagnsaer plain, which can be seen through, gagnlaerfir throughly learned., gagnfordjarfaSr thoroughly spoilt * like the Swed. genomgod, etc.

Some Prefixes denote a relation in the comparison of several objects.

307. Sam- (together) e. g. samfeSra children of the same father, sammaeSra children of the same mother, samborinn, horn of the same father and mother, samnefnari namers together, samsinna to agree together, samheingi connection, sampycki agreement, samfagna to rejoice together, sampinast to be a fellow sufferer, samborgari fellow burgher, sambjofia to be of one mind with, samdaegris on the same day, samstundis at the same hour.

The opposite to this is denoted by stindr (sunder), and by ser (one's self,) in compos, e. g. sundrmaeftri having anolhrr mother (in Hamilismal), sundrborinn horn asunder, of different stock, sundrpycki disagreement, strife. Ser on the other hand is used most often in a bad sense , c. g. servitr selfn-ise, sergoor overbearing, selfwilfad, serplaegni avarice, greediness.

308. And- and and- (against), e. g. andvifiri foulmnd, andstyggiligr abominable, andstygS horror, andlit face, countenance, andspaenis oreragainst, andstreymis against the stream, ondverSr turned towards, foremost, at the beginning, (opposed to ofanverSr at the end. This deriv. syll. is besides often opposed to for-, e. g. forstreymis with the stream , andsaelis against the sun, forsaelis in the shade.

309 Au%- gives an idea of ease, and is thus the strict contradictory to tor- '298), e. g. auffnasmr easy to learn, auff-kendr easy to be known, atiSfeinginn easy to hold, aufiskilinn easy to skiff, (distinguish), auStrua easy of belief, credulous, auSvirfiiligr easy to value, of little worth, auSsefir plain, easy to see, auSveldr easy to bear.

310. Frum- denotes any thing original, e. g. frumefni groundstuff, (Germ. Urstoff,) frummofiir first mother (Eve,)

frumgetinn firstbegotten . frumsmiSi an original, first work. frumrit original writing.

311. Endr- (again), e. g. endrbdt reform, endrgetning, newbirth, endrgjalda, to pay back, endrlifga to bring to life again, revive. Endr is sometimes found as an independant adv., e. g. in the expression endr ok sinum, Swed., under-stundom, now and then, off and on.

312. Some derivative syll. are applied only to pron. and adv., and are therefore not met with in many words:

Hv- asks a question, e. g. hvih'kr? What like? Of what kind? H-, S- and p- have a definitive sense, as hann he hingat hither ; sa he, s vo so, fm'likr such like, Jjangat thither.

A- denies, but is used only in the words ne neither, nei nay, no, (ecki) neinn no one, no (one at all.)

313. Others are taken from pron. especially numerals, and have a more extended use; such are:

Ein- which signifies (a) alone, e. g. einseta loneliness, the life of a hermit, einlaegr all of one piece; (b) extremely, e. g. einharSr extremely hard, hardy, einbani a famous manslayer.

Tvi- two e. g. tvi'eggjat sverS twoedged sword, tvidraegni discord, tvibyli two households under one roof.

pn- three f>ristrendr threecornered, |>rihyrningr a triangle.

Fer- or fjor four, ferhyradr fourcornered , fjorfaetlr four-footed; the rest are compounded from cardinals without any change at all, e. g. sexfaettr sixfooted, etc.

Eirika- which limits the object to one only, may also be reckoned here, e. g. einkaleyfi privilege, einkahondlum single dealing, monopoly, einkamal secret agreement, secret discourse einkavinr bosom friend; though it seems to be sometimes used as an independant word, e. g. einka sonr only son, einka dottir only daughter.

DERIVATION. ! }«»

Terminations.

I. Which form substantives.

Persons are denoted by the endings :

314. —i which expresses (a) an agent, e. g. brefberi a letter carrier, post, leiStogi guide, hertogi hostleader, duke, vazberi rvatercarrier, bani baneman, slayer, spellvirki one that harms, robber, meinsvari one forsworn; these words seem often to come from subst, though one would suspect them to be more properly formed from verbs, e. g. arfi heir, poet son, from arfr heritage, felagi fellow from felag fellowship, rafigjafi rede-giver, counsellor, from gjdf a gift, drottinsviki traitor, from svik; (b) a countryman, e. g. Joti a Jute, Jamti a man of Jdmtland (a Province in Sweden) Ju8i a Jew, Tyrki a Turk.

Some of these are formed with the endings- bui-, byggi, and veri, which last however is most common in the pi. verjar,* e. g. Fjonbiii a dweller in Fiinen, JaSarbyggi one from Jdder in Norway, Rdmverjar liomans.

(c) This derivative syll. is used also of things without life; e. g. bruni burning, uppruni rise, headspring, kuldi cold, bogi bow, dofi slowness, sloth, auki increase, hiti heat, dau5-death. Many of these words, have in Swed. kept the ace. endi ing a, but at the same time been changed into fern., e. g. penni pen, Swed. penna, skuggi shade, vili will, logi fire, angi steam, savour, skari crowd.

Words in -hurji (from hugr mind, temper}, denote partly turn of mind, partly the person who has it, e. g. elskugi lore, and lover, varhugi wariness, fullhugi a man of high soul, a hero.

315. -a forms (a) also subst. denoting persons, e.g. heija hero, kempa champion, skytta shot, bowman, mannaeta man-eater, cannibal, etc., which are all fern., though they are properly used of males; (b) actual fern, answering to the masc. in i, or r, e. g. nsni, fern, asna she ass, vinr, fern, vina female

* From this ending are derived many names of peoples in varii+ tinrii. oarii, as well as names of countries in varia in histories of the middle ages; e. g. Viduarii, Cantuarii, Bavaria etc.

friend^ gufi fem. gySja goddess, Finnr a Lapp, Finna a Lapp woman ; (c) many abstract subst. from adj., fita fatness, from feitr /«#, birta brightness, from bjartr bright, bliSa mildness from bliftr 7m7e?, seigja toughness from seigr, deigja moistness from deigr moist; (d) a kind of diminutives from olher subst., e.g. pekja from bak a thatch, roof, hella « flat stone, from hallr stowe, smiSja a smithy from smiSr smith; ( e) Subst antiva actionis from verbs, e. g. saga from segja, sala selling from selja, krafa craving from krefja, fyrirstaSa hindrances from standa fyrir to stand before, seta sitting from sitja to sit, bvaga a clout from pva, upprisa uprising, from risa, suSa see-thing, cooking, from sjoSa, gusa sprinkling from gjosa to sprinkle. Some are formed like infin., e. g. eiga owndom, property, ganga going, brenna burning.

316. -r often forms a substantive denoting an agent from verbs, e. g. vottr witness from votta to witness, vorSr warder, smiSr, workmaster, smith, lagabrjdtr lawbreaker , criminal; Sometimes also these subst. denote lifeless things, e. g. skar-bitr snuffers, (b) This ending also forms masc. subst. from adj., e. g margr a quantity, nogr sufficiency, sannr sureness, Danskr a Dansk, pyzkr a German. These are not masc. of adj., but real new subst., which is proved by their taking the final art v and being inflected like other subst.; e. g. Ek faerSi honum heim sunn inn urn pat, I brought home to him the truth of that. Einginn ma viS margnum, no one has power against the many. Danskrinn The Danskman, at sla spanskinn to smithy (a kind of game). Under this head may also be reckoned the termin. -naatr, Germ, genoss, which comes from njota to enjoy, use, imperf. naut., and denotes, (a) a sharer, partaker, e. g. forunautr fellowtraveller, legunautr bedfellow, biidunautr fellowlodger, raSunautr colleague, or adviser ; (b) a thing which some one else has had before, and which a man has either had as a gift, or taken by force, from him. These words, which become a kind of Proper Names, are formed with -nautr, which is added to the name of the former owner in the gen., e. g. dreckinn Halfdanarnautr, the dragon (ship) Halfdan once owned, Gusisnautr arrows which belonged to the Finnish Prince Gusir.

The word smiSr forms many compounds which answer very nearly to Germ, words in -macher, Swed. makare, Enel. smithy maker,, or builder, e. g. skipasmiSr shipbuilder, sko-smi5r shoemaker, jarnsmiSr ironsmith, Ij65asmi5r versemaker, poet.

317. -ir forms likewise (a) (he names of persons, c. g. hirdir herdsman, lagabaetir legislator, one who amends the laws, etc.; (b) and also the names of things which have some reference to such persons, e.g. visir guide, leiSarvisir guidance, f)errir drought (see 77.)

318. -ari is used still oftener, (a) of persons, e. g. pren-tari printer, malari painter, skrifari writer, secretary, borgari burgher, Brimari a Bremen man; (b) of things, e. g. pundari a pair of scales, steelyard, kjallari cellar.

319. -andi is formed like the pres. part., but inflected differently (68.), and is used most often in the pi. of pers., e. g. eptirkomendr successor, inbyggjendr indn~eller; and in the sing, of things, e. g. addragandi motive (69.). Some however of these sing, in -andi are met with as fern, in old writers, e. g. qveSandi singing, but they are commonly masc.

320. -ingi forms only names of pers., e. g. erfingi heir, raoningi robber., morSingi murderer, heiSingi heathen foSurleys-I'ngi one fatherless, setting! relation.

321. -ingr denotes (a) a sufferer, e. g. lograeningr one robbed of his rights, skiptingr changeling, an idiot, nifirset-ningr a poor person placed in another man's house for support; (b) a person, and also a thing, of a certain character, e. g. spekingr a n-ise man, logvitn'ngr fan-yer, andfaetingr antipodes , ferhyrningr a square. Names of Peoples in particular are formed with this ending from names of countries in ey, land, etc., e. g. F.vreyingr Ferroixlander, Orkneyingr, Islendingr Sjalendingr Seelander, NorSlendingr a man from the north of Iceland, Austfirfo'ngr one from the east in the same island, from fjorftr a firth: but most great and old nations are on the other hand called commonly by shorter names, whence

the name of the country is taken, e. g. Irar Irishmen, Irland Ireland, Skotar Scots, Skotland, Gautar Goths, Sviar Swedes, or these also, especially in the sing, where these short names are seldom used, are replaced by adj., e. g. p^zkr (maSr) German, py^skir Germans, Saenskr or Svenskr (maSr) Swede, Gerzkr (maSr) Russ, pi. Gerzkir, from the old name GarSariki: now Riissar and Russland are also said.

322. -ing is the fern, ending answering to the above, e.g. drottning queen, kerling carline, old woman.

323. -ungr also forms (a) names of pers. especially patronymics, e. g. spjatrungr and flisjungr a cockscomb, Skanungr a man of Scania, braeSningr cousin on the fathers side, syst-rungr on the mothers, Skjoldungr Scylding, Volsiingr Wcelsing, etc.; (b) but'is also used of the names of things, e. g. priS-jiingr a third part, fjorSungr a fourth part, (238), bumlungr a thumb) buSlungr a pile of wood, graSiingr and griSiingr a bull.

324. -aldi forms deteriorative words though not many ; e. g. glopaldi blockhead, ulfaldi (lilfbaldi) camel, ribbaldi a ribbald, turbulent man, hrimaldi some thing begrimed with soot, pumbaldi a sloven.

325. "Ungr serves to form (a) diminutives; e. g. baeklingr bookling, little book, verklingr a little work, ntlingr a little writing, yrmlingr a wormling, unglingr youngling, frumbylingr a new settler; (b) patronymics, e. g. knytlingr (from Knutr, Canute) Ynglingr (from Yngvi), Oldinbyrglingr a king of the Oldenburg line, Kerlingr a Carlovingian, whence again Kerlm-galand.

326. -ill, -ull also form a kind of dimin., e. g. kistill a little chest, bleSill a litte leaf, boggull bundle, sendill messenger, biSill woer, friSill sweetheart, eckill widower, poet.

327. -la is the corresponding fern, termination, e. g. hrisla twig, wand, hnytla a little knot, pyttla pipkin, small flask, (from pottr), or a little spring, from (pyttr).

328. -&z, forms masc. dimin., e. g. sveinki a little boy, also (he dimin. of (he mans'name Sveinn, Svend, Brf nki dimin. of Brfnjdlfr.

329. -ka, the corresponding fern, termin., e. g. S(einka from Steinun, blafika the leaf of plants, grenka grass, harka hardness, halka slipperiness, e(c.

330. -ynja, forms some fern., e. g. a\vnja Jsynja, Goddess, apynja she ape, vargynja she wolf, and the like.

331. -inna, seems borrowed from the Germ, inn, and belongs to the new tongue, e. g. Ijonsinna lioness, keisarainna Empress, hertogainna Duchess, greifainna Countess.

332. For the most common domestic animals there are separate names, given to the male and female, and sometimes for the young ones, as well as several distinctions of age; e. g. graShestr stallion, hrysa, meiri mare, as also kapall, faer-leikr, both of which words are masc.; foli a young horse, fyl a foal; graSiingr, griSungr, tarfr, boli, bull ; k^r cow, qviga heifer, kalfr calf; prandr boar, goltr boarpig, gilta a breeding sow, S^T sow, gn's porker; hrutr ram, a sheep; hafur hegoat, geit shegoat, kiSlingr kid, hundr hound, tik bitch , tyke; kottr and ketta cat, kettlingr kitten, bliki eyder drake, ae8r, aeOikolla eyder duck; hani cock, haena hen, haensni epicene, andriki and ond, drake and duck; duriki or dufusleggr, and dufa, male and female dove; steggr is used also of the male of other birds and beasts. Where such subst. are not to be found, the male is for the most part distinguished by the adj. hvatr (mas, masculus,} and the female by blauSr (femina, feminina.)

The following express a quality or condition:

333. -i, this ending forms deriv. in all three gend.; (a) abstract neut. in i are declined by the 4 lk decl., but are very seldom used in (he pi., e. g. sansogli truthfulness, riki realm, power, gaeSi goodness; advantages. It is chiefly those derived from subst. that are neut.; they receive most often a dimin. or collective force; e. g. from bol dwelling, comes baeli lair, den. stye ; from verk comes virki an outwork ; from vottr wittnesx

vaetti evidence, fjolmenni populousness , famenni fewness of inhabitants, fo;ffi a place full of hillocks, foreldri forefathers; many of these however are only used in composition, e. ;;-. miSnsetti midnight, hadegi midday, illgresi weeds, storraeSi daring deeds, svikraeSi snares, treachery, iltyrmi venomous snakes, lauslyndi flickleness, illvirki illdoings, langlifi longlife, from nott, dagr, gras, ra5, ormr, lund, verk, lif.

To this place belong also those in daemi (from ddmr) which denote a province, opposed to domr (343), which denotes the office of the ruler himself, e. g. biskupsdaemi bishoprick, herto-gadaemi dukedom, einvaldsdaemi monarchy, keisaradaemi empire.

-neyti, (Germ, genossenschaft) formed from those in -nautr, e. g. foruneyti fellow wayfaring, suite, motuneyti foodsharina.

-Iceti, from adj. in -Idtr, e. g. rettlaeti righteousness, ranglaeti unrighteousness, lauslaeti lightness, siSlaeti modesty.

-leysi, from adj. in laus, e. g. sakleysi innocence, gudleysi atheism, sin, beckingarleysi ignorance, vitleysi madness.

These words must not be confounded with those in -leysa, which are fern., and denote a result, working, or a peculiar expression of character, e. g. vitleysa a stupidity, sillyness, malleysa grammatical fault, hafnleysa a havenless place, etc.; other deriv. in -i and -« stand in the same relation to one another, e. g. bleyta mud, bleyti soaking, (i bleyti in soak) and the like.

Masc. in -i have been already spoken of (314). Fern, in -i are formed chiefly from adj., and denote an abstract quality; e. g. hreysti strength, speki wisdom, pr^5i grace, sanngirni fairness, hviti whiteness, bleySi cowardice. To these also fern, in -a are often opposed, which denote a concrete or personi-fted quality; e. g. sorta ink, hvita curds, bleySa a milksop; they are opposed also by others in -n or -8, -d, -t, e. g. fysi desire, but fysn an impulse, skynsemi wisdom, reason, but skyn-seind cause, ground. Those in -i which denote the quality itself, are not used in the pi., but those in -a, -n, -d, which denote its separate expression, are often met with in that

number, e. g. bleySur cowards, ffsnir impulses, skynsemdir causes.

To this class belong also those in -semi from adj. in -samr, e. g. nytsemi or gagnsemi pro/it, gain, fraendsemi friendship, miskunsemi mercifulness.

-visi, from adj. in -vis; this ending denotes (a), partly a quality, e. g. rettvisi righteousness, prettvisi dishonesty, hreck-visi wickedness, laevisi faithlessness; (b), partly a science, ma"l-visi philotogy, bunaSarvisi economy.

-frafti, (wisdom, science} is the common word for expressing the Swed. Idra (Engl. lore), e. g. malfraeft the science of grammar, guSfraeSi theology, gufldfraedi mythology, Theogony, maelingarfraeSi mathematics, alyktunarfraeSi logic, salarfneSi psychology , natturufraeSi physics; all these are fern, and declined by means of the final art. alone (160). FornfracCi antiquities, archaeology, is in the neut. pi., as also fraeSi when it is used alone as an independant word.

-speki, also serves to form some names of sciences, e. g. logspeki jurisprudence, heimspeki philosophy etc.

334. -ni, forms, (a) fem. subst. from adj. in -inn, e. g. forvilni curiosity, from forvitinn, kristni Christianity, Christendom, from kristinn, heiSni heatheness, (heidinn) hl^Oni obedience (htySinn); (b) and also from other words which have no «, e. g. blindni blindness, (figuratively) from blindr blind, einfeldni simplicity, (einfaldr), arvekni wakefulness, (arvakr), cinlaegni straitforwardness , candour, (einlaegr), raSvendni integrity ra5-vandr, naqvaemni carefulness, accuracy, (naqvaemr) beiOni begging, request, umgeingni conversation, company.

335. -erni, forms neut. subst. which denote a relation, especially kinship, e. g. faSerni fathership, or fatherhood, bro-5erni brotherJiood, aetterni kinship, liferni mode of life, lunderni temper.

336. -indi, denotes a like concrete quality, e. g. harftndi hard times, scarcity, sannindi truths, proof, reltindi rights, justice, dnfgindi sparing, stinginess, tidindi tidings, bimlindi $fff-

denial, visindi wisdom, knowledge, h'kindi /ike/yltood, haRgindi convenience, etc. Most of these are used only in the pi.

337. -di, also forms neut. e. g. eldi fattening, food, (from ala) erdi wood for an oar (ar), skseSi shoeleather (skdr), qvendi female sex, woman, (from qvan, qvon), ferSi from fara is used only in compos, e. g. si5ferSi morality, skapferSi may or turn of thought, kynferSi kindred, framferSi treatment, behaviour.

The ending -ferli has nearly the same meaning, e. g. viga-ferli frequent murders, trial for murder, malaferli lawsuit, sdttarferli sickness, skapferli turn of thought.

338. -ildi in like manner, e. g. seigildi anything tough, a sinewy piece of meat, |>yckildi something thick, thick hide, fiSrildi a butterfly, from fjoSur feather.

33°. -old, e. g. kafald snowstorm, snowdrift, folald foal, kerald jar, rekald wreck, all that drifts on the sea, gi'mald chink.

340. -an, e. g. oaran had year, scarcity, overran foul-weather, likan idol, image, gi'man crack. These go along with heraS (4 th decl.) and must be strictly distinguished from fern, in an, or un, which are inflected like andvarpan.

341. -si, masc., and -sa, fern, are used only in a few instances, e. g. vansi fault, ofsi pride; galsi rude noisy mirth, glossi gleaming, (from gloa), kalzi (kaUri),,^*?, playful talk, . c kysza (skyssa, skysta) a mistake, oversight.

342. -leikr, -leiki, masc., e.g. kaerleikr love, frodleikr knowledge, margvisligleikr manysidedness , multiplicity, eginligleikr quality, property, sannleikr truth, odauSleikr deathlessness, saetleikr sweetness, moguligleiki possibility.

343. -domr, masc., e. g. konungdomr kingdom, jarldomr earldom, sjukdomr sickness , manndomr manhood, villudomr heresy, visdomr wisdom etc.

344. -skapr, masc., e. g. fjandskapr foeship, dreingskapr bravery, honour, hoffimgskapr princely temper, munificence.

This ending seems lo come from the neut. subst. skap mind, temper, which is perhaps the reason why so many of the words formed in this way are neut. in the new tongues; e.g. Swed. Lcmdskapet, Sdllskapet, and Dansk. venskabet, etc., but in Iceland, selskapr fellowship, vinskapr, friendship etc. without exception.

345. -und, forms some few fern., e. g. vitund knowledge, tegund kind, tiund tithe, niund ninth part, sjound seventh part, a number amounting to seven; to this class belongs perhaps also |>usund, at least it is fern, in old writers. (231.)

346. -dtta, fern., e. g. vinatta friendship, vefiratla weather. viSatta width, stretch, baratta struggle, difficulty, kunnatta knowledge.

347. -usta (-asta), fern., e. g. pjonusta service, hollusta faithfulness, orrusta battle, fullnusta fullness, kunnusla craft, witchcraft.

348. -ska, fern, denotes (a) a quality, e. g. bernska childishness, illska malice, wickedness, heimska foolishness, dirfska boldness, samvizka conscience; (b) a language, e. g. hebreska, s^rlenzka, arabiska, griska, franska, eingelska, ]>^zka, islenzka, fa3reyska.

The ending -menska, forms abstracts from most subst. in -maftr and -menni, e. g. goSmenska integrity, stormenska magnificence; many of these express a business or doing, e. g. rekamenska the guthering of wreck, driftwood, sjomenska sea-being, (one who is drifted with a view toward fishing) vinnu-inenska the relation of a servant, pulsmenska toil, overwork, karlmenska spirit, bravery etc.

349. -eskja, fern., c. g. manneskja mankind, vitneskja knowledge, fomeskja old time, heathenesse, sorcery, harSneskja harness.

Some express a doing, action, or suffering these are in particular:

350. Monosyll. subst. neut. formed from many verbs solely by throwing away the ending -a; e. g. tal talk, kail call, gap gape, {>or daring, ra5 rede, counsel, fall fall, hlaup a course, tak a hold, slag blow, drag drawing ; those which come from the 3 rd class of the 2" d Division, change i into i, e. g. bit bite from bita, stig step from stiga, skin shine, sheen, from skina, those of the 5 th class change jo into o, e. g. boS bidding, message, not use, advantage, brot break, rof bursting, lok c/0s£, skot sfo/; or perhaps they are more rightly derived from preterites or part.; others take the same vowel as the imperf. pi., e. g. drap hilling, flug flight (volatus.)

Those of which the vowel is o or ei are fern., e. g. gjof gift, qvol torture, dvol delay, for journey, rei5 ride, dreif spread, and the like.

Many deriv. from verbs are also masc., but these are easily known by the ending -r, e. g. skortr lack, shortness., litr hut, sultr hunger, stingr sting, dryckr drink, stockr spring, gangr time, go, gratr weeping, brestr weakness, stigr path, vefr web.

351. -5r, dr, tr, masc., e. g. skurSr wound, burSr burden, stuldr theft, fundr finding, voxtr growth; and in -ttr if a diphthong goes before, e. g. slattr blow, drattr drawing, draught, pvottr (for pvattr) wash, washing, mattr might.

352. -5, -d, -t, fern., e.g. fer5 faring, journey , byg5 neighbourhood, vaegS mildness, fylgd following, girnd desire, hefnd revenge , hvild rotf, andagift t/z/Vs o/* mind, wit, purft 7zec</, scarcity, vigt weight, etc. This ending serves also often to form abstract subst. from adj., e. g. Ieing8 length, sveingS hunger, staerS greatness, har5 height, smaeS smallness, vi'dd width, breidd bread, farsaeld happiness, pyckt thickness, d^pt deepness, nekt nakedness.

Here also belong those in -semd from adj. in -samr, e. g. skadsemd scathe, nytsemd wse, profit. (189).

353. -s/, -s/i, neut. kensl kenning, knowledge, smyrsl sa/t?e, skr^msl a jpc# ^ca5/, p^ngsl weight etc. (137). The word pisl ^paz'w, torture, is fera.

354. -elsi, neuu, reykelsi incense, sU'felsi strengthening, fangelsi jail, and some few others which belong properly to the new tongue.

355. -sla, fern., e. g. reynsla experience, vigsla consecration, hallowing, tilbeiffsla prayer, hraeSsla dread, utbreiCsla outspreading, veizla banquet, feast.

356. -ingr, -ningr, masc., e. g. gjorm'ngr doing, reikm'ngr reckoning, snum'ngr twisting, undirbuningr making ready, var-m'ngr wares, vinningr winnings.

357. -ing, -ning, fern., e. g. refsing beating, bygging building, sigling sailing, afleiSing train, dissuasion, tilhneiging bending, vellysting pleasure, bevisning proving, jatning confession, fyrirgefning forgiveness, Jagasetning lawgiving. This ending is for the rest by no means of the same force as the preceding, but denotes the action itself, the former on the other hand the result or product, sometimes even the person, e. g. ysiing curdling, but ystingr curds, veiling, cooking, vellingr pap; in the same way a distinction should be made between setningr and seining; skilningr and skilning (reason) etc., aottleifiingr an adopted person, but attleiSing adoption, vikingr a searover, but viking a roving voyage.

358. -ung, fern., seldom occurs, and is perhaps only a variation of the foregoing, e. g. hormung grief, from harmr sorrow, djorfiing daring, launung stealth, hadung, scorn, insult, lausung levity.

359. -naSr, -a&r (-nutSr), masc., e. g. lifnaSr fife, hernaftr war, foray, bunaSr tools, implements, sparnafir sparing, skil-na5r separation, metnafir reputation, honor, trunaCr faithfulness, kostna5r cost, fagnaSr or fognuSr joy, feasting, jafnafir or jof-nu5r proportion, fairness, manaSr or manu5r month 135.

360. -stur, forms partly masc., e. g. bakstur baking, rek-stur driving; partly neut., e. g. hulstur holster, blomstur, flower, fdstur fostering, fosterchild, lemstur bruise.

361. -0r8, neut, e. g. metorS honour, worth, banaorfl fame of slaying a foe, death, loforS vow, promise, gjaforfi betrothal, legorS adultery, prop, the character of an adulterer.

362. -dagi, masc., e. g. bardagi slaughter, battle, svardagi swearing, spurdagi renown, skildagi, maldagi an agreement, dauSagi death^ mode of death, which must in no wise be confounded with daudadagr deathday.

363. -n, fern., e. g. athofn undertaking, business, (at hafast at to have in view}, heyrn hearing, spurn asking, spiering, sogn saying, ski'rn baptism, lausn loosing, vorn guard, eign owndown, auSn waste, wilderness, fysn lust, desire; but svefn slumber is masc.

364. -an, -un, fern., e. g. verkan, work, preSikan preaching, undran wonder, d^rkan or d^rkun worship, eggjan egging on, urging; frjdfgan fertilising, praelkan thraldom, the being enthralled, 162.

2- Which form adjectives.

365. -/, in the neut., (or -r in the masc.), forms many adj. from subst. and verbs, where however heed must be had to what has been remarked in rale 186 seq.; e. g. almennt (almennr) from maSr, sart (sar) sore from sar wound, sore, vert (verSr) from verSr worth, n^tt (n^r) from mi, bliSmalt (bli5-mall) soft-tongued , from mal speech. In this way very many adj., having partly an act. partly a pass, signification, are formed from verbs with the vowel found in their imperf. conj., e. g. last (laes) which can read, or be read, from laesi, imperf. conj. of lesa; faert (f*r) which can do, or be done, from faeri imperf. conj. of fara; the signification meant is often fixed by a composition, and many adj. are never used but when so compounded; e. g. fjarlaegl farlying, distant, mikilvaegt weighty, pungbaert heavy, sjalfbyrgr independant, able to help oneself. The active meaning is however more common, because the pass, is denoted by the ending ttigt, e. g. laesiligt readable, baeriligt bearable. Some on the other hand take the vowel of the pres., e. g. einhleypt (einhleypr) unwedded, vaz-helt (vazheldr) waterproof, dn^tt (on^tr) useless, hverft (hverfr) deft, shifty, gjaldgeiugt (gyaldgeingr) current, sterling.

366. -ugt, -igt, denote (a) an intrinsic quality, e. g. gofugt noble, verSugt worthy, kroptugt strong, naOugt gracious, merciful, oflugt vigorous, robust, malugt talkative. These are used especially of persons, and commonly add the ending -Ugt, when any lifeless thing is signified, e. g. gofugligt excellent; (b) an external condition, especially dirt, stains, e. g. sotugt sooty, bldQugt bloody, mjdlkugt milky, harugt hairy, moldugt mouldy, full of earth. In -agt only heilagt holy is found; -igt is common in old authors e.g. bloSigt.

367. -it, (-inn, -in,) denotes; (a) a disposition or turn of mind e. g. hlySit obedient, iSit industrious, but these occur most often in the personal gend: as praBtinn quarrelsome, hygginn thoughtful, kostgaefinn careful, gaumgaefinn heedful, gleyminn heedless, mannblcndinn affable, sociable, prifinn thrifty, baen-r;i'kinn prayerful, devout, guSraekinn godfearing; (b) a male-rial, e.g. syllit golden, silfrit silvern, steinit stotiy, sendit sandy.

368. -alt, -ult, -lit, -It, denotes a condition, or character, e. g. sannsogult truthful, stopult unsafe, svikult or svikalt crafty, tricksy, pogult or pagalt silent, taciturn, gamalt old, heimilt rightful, pyckb^lt close-peopled, forsjult foresighted.

369. -anda, (-andi), is properly the ending of the pres. part, but is often used to express a pass, ability, or possibility, expecially in negative sentences; e. g. ecki er truanda it is not to be believed, omissanda needful, oteljanda countless, ogleymanda not to be forgotten, dpolanda or 6h'5anda unbearable.

370. -samt, (-samr, -som), expresses a disposition or quality, and is consequently most usedin the personal genders; friSsamr peaceable, nytsamr useful, rdsamr quiet, still, gaman-samr playful, alhugsamr thoughtful, starfsamr toilsome, diligent, vinnusamr the same, abatasamr gainful.

371. -Ititr, (-Idtr, -Idt), of the same force; e. g. mikillatr highminded, slorlatr the same, packlatr thankful, r6ttlatr righteous, pralatr stiffnecked.

11

372. -ligt, denotes, (a> something like, the Engl. -ly, like. e. g. hofSingligt princely , hermannligt warlike, warriorlike, greiniiigt plain, clear; these are especially formed from subst., which are often put in the gen., especially if the gen. ending is a, u, i, or ar, e. g. keisaraligt, imperial, riddaraligt knightly, upprunaligt original, skuggaligt shady, hetjuligt hcrolike, heimspekiligt philosophical, pr^Siligt glorious, elegant, fysiligt desirable, soguligt remarkable, otoluligt not to be told, veruligt essential, vetrarligt winterlike, skainmarligt shameful; sometimes also to the gen. in s, e. g. prasligt thrallish slavish, svinsligt swinish; (b) a passive ability, possibility (365); these are formed chiefly from verbs, e. g. geingiligt fit to go on, passable, walkable, hla?giligt laughable, byggiligt habitable; especially in -anligt from part, in -anda, -andi (369), e. g. otriianligt incredible, obaetanligt irreparable, osegjanligt not to be said; still some have an active force, e. g. meStaeki-ligt adopting and acceptable; (c) a kind of diminutive adj., or new adj. used of things, formed from those applied to persons (366), e. g. roskt rash, roskligt which seems to be rash, parft needful, parfligt that which cannot be done without, necessary, bli'Sligt friendly; this ending is joined to almost all adj. in -samt, e. g. friSsamligt peaceful, nytsamligt profitable; some are found only with this double ending - samligt e. g. syndsamligt sinful.

373. at, («5r), -t ($r, dr, tr,) expresses that a person or thing is provided with something, and seems to be the participial ending of the 1st, as it, inn, in (367) is of the 2«d conjugation, e.g. hugaSr spirited rettruadr nj//*^ trowing, othodox, hiingraSr hungry, rafkraptaSr electric, haerSr hairy, hyrndr horned, einhendr or einhenlr onehanded.

-kynjat, expresses the Germ, -artig e. g. leirkynjat clay-like, jarnkynjat ironlike etc.

374. -skt, (skr), expresses in particular some thing or pers. belonging to a region or country, e. g. helvizkt hellish, irskt Irish, enskt or eingelskt English, gauzkt or (gautskt) Gothic, Norskt Norse; -neskt is sometimes added to the root,

e. g. jarSneskt earthy, himneskt heavenly, eyslneskt Etthnhh. Esthonian,sa\neskt Saxon, eingilsaxneskt Anglosaxon, gotneskr Gothic, tyrkneskt Turkish. From names of countries in -land they are formed in -lenzkt e. g. islenzkt, hollenzkt, s^rlenzkf Syrian, utlenzkt outlandish, innlenzkt inlandish. From names of peoples in -verjar the ending becomes verskt e. g. rom-verskt, norSverskt northern, |>y5verskt or ftfzkt German, eam-verskt Samaritan. The form -i$kt so common in the ne\v tongues is found only in a few new and spurious words, e. g. hebreskt egypzkt (egyptskt) Egyptian; yet barbariskt and poetiskt (otherwise skaldigt) are found.

375. -ott (ottr, oft), denotes an outward form; e. g. kringlolt circular, hnottott globular, ronddtt striped, kollott oval, without horns, stordropolt (regn) great-dropped (rain).

376. -rant, (rcenn, ran), denotes a tract, e. g. norrani Norse, northern, austraent from the east, suSrrcnt, vestraont, fjallraent from the hills (montanuni) is said most of wind«: Substantives are formed from these in -rcena e. g. norr.Tna north wind, also the old Norse tongue.

377. -leitt, (-leitr, feit), from lita to see denotes a likeness in appearance, especially in hue, e. g. haleitt lofty, majcsfic, griinleitt grimlooking, rautJleilt ruddy, hvitleitt whity, gr.Tiileilt greenish (e. g. of the sea).

378. -vert, (-verfir) ,' answers to the Germ, -vd'rts, Swed. varies, Engl. wards, and denotes a position, e. g. utanvert outward, austanvert eastward, sunnanvert (Frackland) the south of France, a vestanverOti Einglandi er fursta<lflemit Bret-land , In the westward part of England lies the Principality (of) Wales.

379. -veent,(-v<Bnn), from van hope, expectation, and sometimes vaBnligt, e. g. banvaent deadly, (of which a man may die), lifvaent on which a man can live, uggvasnl dreadful, skaftvaent, from which scathe is to be looked fur, harmful, orvaent not to be expected, geigvacnligt fearful.

11*

380. -a, -i, form many indecl. adj., the last part of which are taken from some subst. e. g. Jafnsida evensided, paralel, afsinna mad, landfldtta banished, einskipa oneshipped, with only one ship, sjalfala selffeeding (of cattle) bjargjprota helpless, destitute, hey{)rota hat/less, which has no more hay (195).

3. Which form Adverbs.

381. -a, is the most common ending by which adj. are made into adverbs, as gjaraa wittingly, vi'Sa widely, ilia badly; it is particularly applied to all adj. in -ligt e. g. saBmiliga decently, fairly, hofSingliga like a prince, greiniliga minutely, <5gleymanliga eternally, etc. Those adj. which (by rule 372.) add -ligt to some shorter ending, form adv. only from the longer form in -ligt, e. g. gofugliga nobly, bravely, nytsamliga usefully, etc. Many adj. with other endings, which do not take -ligt, form nevertheless adverbs in -liga, e. g. £acklatliga thankfully, haleitliga solemnly, majestically, erfiSliga painfully etc. This -liga which thus may also be regarded as an independant deriv. syll., is sometimes contracted into -la, e.g. harla (for harSla, harSliga) very greatly, gjorla plainly, closely, varla (for varliga from var- (297) hardly, aria early, si'Sla slowly, lately.

382. -an also forms adv. from some adj., e. g. si5an since, gjarnan willingly, saran hardly, heavily, but this seems to be properly the ace. sing. muse, because other ace. are also used in the same way; e. g. (rda) mikinn (to row) stoutly, strongly, (stynja) fmngan to sigh heavily, (rifta) roskvan to ride boldly, apace, har5an hardly, and the like: In this way also subst. and adj. are used together, e. g. alia reiSu already, alia gotu to the very end, until, alia jafna all through, continually, alia tima always, ever, langa tima long time. Of all the subst. thus used to express adv. in conjunction with other words, none undergoes so many changes as vegr way; sometimes it is put in the ace. without the art., e. g. (a) annanweg otherwise, fmnnveg thiswise, hvernveg how, in what way; sometimes v falls away, thus

DERIVATION.

fcanneg, hverneg; but since eg is an uncommon ending, f)annig hvernig, einnig also, evenso, are usually said; veg may be also contracted to ug (off), thus we find |>annug, hvernug; again the article is sometimes adjoined, aungvangveginn in no wise, nockurnveginn in some way or other; but even here v may be thrown away, thus nockurneginn , einneginn like wise-, or the whole ending eginn is contracted to in, |>annin thus, hvernin, einnin.

In like manner the ace. (or nom.) neut., is used in Icel., as in other tongues, e. g. mest mostly, chiefly, trautt hardly, with difficulty, eflaust doubtless, orrustulaust warlessly, peacefully, and many more.

The Dat. also often expresses an adverbial sense, e. g. (grata) hastofum to weep loudly, stundum sometimes, lifiuin often, laungum long (and many times), storum greatly, 65ru-visi otherwise, einkum especially.

So also the gen., e. g. loks, loksins finally, allskonar allskyns all kinds, samastaSar in the same place, annarstaCar elsewhere, allstaSar everywhere, parstaSar in that place, there, Jessa helms in this world, annars (kostar) otherwise, allskostar in all respects, utanlanz abroad, veslanlanz in the west land (i. e. the west part of Iceland).

Prepositions also with the cases governed by them, often express adverbial ideas, e. g. a braut, i hurt, i burtu, a-way, i meSallagi midling, moderately, i betra , bezta lagi, well enough, very well, at sonnu quite right, at mestu leiti for the most part, at minsta kosti at least, at undarifornu aforetime, me5 ollu altogether, meS j>vi at since, as, tilfriOs content* tilforna heretofore, til baka back, backwards, til hh'tar very much, considerably. In this way many comp. prep, and conj. are also formed, c. g. (til) handa einum for some one, a hendr f>eim against them, a moli against, i sla8 instead of, i gcgn against, fyrir innan within.

383. -an is however an actual adverbial ending, e. g meSan, a meSan meantime, a5an lately* sjaldan seldom. Those adv. in particular are formed in this way which denote a motion from a place, e. g. heiman from homr , hefian hcnre,

iuitan out, from within, utan in from without, neSan up from beneath, ofan down from above. The distinction between ofan and ni5r is nearly the same as that in Germ, between her-unter and hinunter, but between neSan, upp, and the rest this distinction does not seem to be observed.

384. -i (at a place), e. g. uppi above, niftri below, inni, uli, frammi before, and the like.

385. -r (to a place), towards, su5r southward, nor'<5r, nifir, aplr back wards backagain; many of these words express also a being in a place, e. g. konungr var f)a austr i Vikinni, the king was then in the east in the Bay.

386. -at (to a place), but is found perhaps only in the words hingat hi/her, bangat thither:, whither? is expressed by hveii?

387. -na defines adv. still more closely, e. g. svona just so, niina just now, herna just here, barna just there, eili'fligana fur ever and ever.

388. -is is the common ending for forming adv. from subst. with the usual vowel changes, e. g. jafnsiSis side by side, jafnfaetis step for step, framvegis and framleiSis forthwith, furthermore, ardegis early (in the day) somuleiSis likewise, optsinnis oftiime. innbyrfiis mutually, uibyrfiis overboard.

4. Whirh form Verbs.

389. -a is often added without any change in the root of the old word, though the signs of the sexes always fall away from subst. adj. and pron., e. g. ofunda to envy, daga to dawn, heila to heal, bua to thou Fr. tutoyer Germ, dutzen, aea to say ay, sveia to say fie! miklast to look big, give one's-self airs, rikja to reign. The change which takes place in the two last, viz, that the syll. il (in mikil) is contracted, and that i (in riki) turned into j, is the same as that which occurs in the inflection of these words when a vowel fol-ows, and is not therefore caused by the derivation. These

verbs belong to the 1st class of the 1* conjug.; yet some in ja must be excepted, formoH f r0 m neut. in i, which belong to the 2«m class.

390. The vowel of the chief syll. is often changed iu the same way as it would be, if an'z followed, that is, from hard to weak ; e. g. nefna to name (nafn), fella to fell (fall) vexa to wax, grow, (vax) rettlaeta to justify (rcttlatr), leysa to loose (laus-t) deyda to kill (dautt, dau5r), girnast to yearn after, (gjarnt), dirfast to dare (djarft), gista to lodge, treat as a guest (gestr), rigna to rain (regn) styBja to stay, prop, stoS, maeta to meet (mot), baeta to pay a fine, atone (bol), synda to swim (sund), brynna to water (brunnr); should the last cons, be simple, j is often inserted (by rule 88.) e. g. heygja to lay in a barrow (haugr), eygja to be ware of, sec, (auga), qvelja to quell, plague, (qvolj, temja to tame (taml), Isegja to humble (lagt). All these, which receive a vowel change, are inflected after the 2"«« class of the 1st conjug., those only excepted which in their chief syll. have e, y, or soft i, with a single cons, following, and the ending ja, which belong to the 3m class. In this way many transitives are formed according to the l«t conjug. from inlransit. according to the 2nd conjug. (286), especially from the imperf.; some times however there is little difference between the meaning these verbs, e. g.

renna to run rann, renna to let run rendi.

svelta to hunger svalt, svelta to starve svelti.

skjalfa to quake skalf, skelfa to frighten skelfBi.

springa to split (sprack), sprengja to blow up sprengSi.

.sitja to sit sat, setja to set sclti.

liggja to lie (lag), leggja to lay Iag8i.

sofa to sleep svaf, svefja to still svafOi.

pi. svafum, sva?fa to lull to sleep sva*f8i.

riSa to ride rei6, reida to carry on rcifidi

horseback

risa to rise up reis, reisa to raise up reisti.

liita to bite bcit, beita to bait beitti.

grata to weep (g«"ct)> a:r?cla lo trouble graetli

falla to fall (fell), fella to fell feldi.

hanga to hang (heck), heingja to liang up heingSi.

brjdta to break braut breyta to change breytti.

drjupa to drop draup, dreypa to sprinlde dreypti.

smjuga to sneak smaug, smeygja to sneak in smeygSi.

sockva to sink sock, sockva to make to sink sockti.

sverja to swear aor, ssera to adjure saerSi.

hlaea to laugh hldg, hlaegja to amuse hlsegfti.

hlaupa to run. (hljop), hleypa to make to run hleypti.

bua to dwell pl.bjuggu, byggja to build bygdi.

Some of these are the same in the infin., but still they must not be confounded together, because they are clearly and definitely distinguished throughout their inflections, e. g. sleppa slepp slapp sloppit to slip away sleppa sleppi slepti slept to let slip., loose.

Brenna to burn, (ardere) (244.) and brenna to burn (comburere) may serve for complete examples in all persons and forms.

391. -na denotes that the subj. assumes a certain character, e. g. vakna, sofna to wake, to sleep, blikna to turn pale, (blench) (bleikja to bleach) stikna to be roasted (steikja), hitna to grow hot (heita), brab'na to melt (braeSa), brotna to break, be broken, kdlna to grow cold (kaela), sortna to blacken (sverta), pagna to grow silent, kafna to choke (qvefja, koefa), versna to grow worse, batna to grow better, folna to grow ashy pale (from folr the hue of death), ro5na to redden, losna to becomeloose.

392. -la forms dimin. or frequentatives , e. g. rugla to turn upside down, disturb, from rugga to remove, togla to chew over and over, (from tyggja) , sagla to saw clumsily, to saw in vain (saga), staglast a to bawl out for (stagast a) japla to champ (jappa), biSla to woo, (bi8ja), miSla to share, hnufila to knead together in small lumps (e. g. pills) from hnoSa to knead, hvarfla to waver, setgla to delay, put off. This ending took its rise perhaps from subsl. or adj. in ull, ill, il, ilt etc. e. g. boekla to put out of joint (from baekill),

DERIVATION. t69

hefla to plane (from hefill) which last might be reckoned besides among those in 289.

393. -ra, klifra to clamber (from klifa) haltra to limp, hltfra to give way, latra to be tired out, skakra to totter, svolgra to swallow.

394. .sa, forms frequent; e.g. hugsa to think over, hreinsa to rinse, bopsa to yelp, jasza to say aye repeatedly, hrifsa (ill sin) to clutch, snatch to one's self, bifsa, to jog. sway to and fro. etc.

395. Some frequentatives are formed without any definite ending by a double consonant within the word (a the sign of the infin. being added) e. g. ftvaelta to wash (from {>va), f>agga to be silent (from f>egja), totta to suck out, (perhaps from toga), skoppa to run, spring (from skopa).

396. -fa gives a transitive force, e. g. jata to acknowledge, assent, neita to deny, bugta (sik) to bow ones' self, blakta to waft, fan, heimta to fetch, lykta to shut, gipta to give away (in marriage) (gefa), skipta to shift (skipa) ypla (oxlum) to shrug (ones shoulders). This ending -ta seems to come from the part, of the l«t conjug. in at, t ; just as the ending -na (391) takes probably its rise out of the part. pass, of the 2nd conjug. in it, inn, in. In this way at any rate the difference in meaning may very well be accounted for, because the 1st conjug. contains properly verbs transit., while the 2»«> chiefly intransitive*.

397. -ga gives a transitive force, and is used especially in forming verbs from adj., e. g. frjofga to fructify, cndrlifga to enliven, refresh, fjolga to multiply, blomgast to put out bloom. Some of these verbs seem to come from adj. in -ugt. e. g. syndga to sin (syndugi), aufiga to enrich (audugt), bloSga to dabble with blood (blodugt).

398. - ka has the same force, and is perhaps only a variation of the above, e. g. aumka to pity, seinka to delay, put off, ifika to worship, drive (a trade) tiCka to use, to be wont, bliSka to toften, minka to lessen, this is formed from

the comp. minna; as others come from shjrt comp. the r of which, if a vowel goes before, is assimilated with k into ck. e. g. haeckja to raise (haerra), staecka to enlarge (slserra), mjtfcka to make thinner (mjorra); yet these words have sometimes an intransit. meaning. All these deriv. (391—8) belong to the 1st cl. of the 1st conjug. with the exception of some few in -ta, which follow (he 2nd class.

CHAPTER XII.

Composition.

399. In the Old Norse tongue, as in Greek, the compositions are uncommonly free and extended; by these the want of many deriv. is supplied, e. g. those which express a material, origin, region, as also an increase, diminution and the like. Subst. are compounded with other subst. and with adj., seldom with verbs; adj. with subst., and other adj., seldom with verbs; pronouns are very rarely compounded, but if ever generally with adv., or subst. in order to form adverbs; verbs are not compounded with subst. and adj. unless they undergo a previous change, which at the same time alters them into nouns; particles, especially adv. and prep, are often joined to other words, yet only in so far as that they are set before them in order to determine or modify their meaning. This unfstness of the pron., verbs, and particles for composition, is that which sets a bound to such couplings of words in all European tongues, otherwise we should be able, like the Greenlandere, to say our whole meaning or sentence, in one single hugely long and endlessly compounded word. All composition in our tongues serves to form new words, denoting one simple idea, not to string together old ones each retaining its separate force; e. g. aderlata to let-blood, aderlat-ning bloodletting, etc.. denote one single thing, towards expressing which the two word* ader and later lose their former

independence, and are as it were fused togeihcr inlo a single-word; but "du har ju ofta aderlatit honom" thou hast often let him blood" or the like, such it is imposible for us to string together, because neither du, honom or han, nor ju, or ofta allow of any composition.

400. The last member in a compound word is usually regarded as the chief part, and of subst. and verbs this may rightly be said, in so far as by chief word that is not meant on which the thought should be especially fixed, but that which has the most extensive meaning, and is therefore limited or determined by the first part. But in the case of adj. it is hard to say which is the chief word, because comp. adj. may be often inverted without changing the meaning in the least, e.g. harfagur and fagurha?r5r, fairhaired. So much is certain, that the last part always shows to what class of words the new word belongs, and that its inflection is always joined to the end, e. g. goSvild goodwill, eldfnnt combustible, in the gen. gd&Vild-ar, eldfim-s. If therefore a subst. comes to stand last in a comp, adj., it must take the inflective ending of an adj. viz, t, r, etc., e. g. berbeint barefooted, langorfir longrvordcd, wordy.

401. H and v at the beginning of the last part often fall away in compos., e. g. h'kamr (likami) from hamr skin, hide, external appearance, Noioralfa Europe, from halfa quarter of the (tlobe, Viljalmar for Yilhjalmar, gullrmgr goldriny , for gullhringr; Noregr for Norwegr, hverneg for hvernvcg hotc? So also the article (171.)

Composition of Substantives.

402. Very many are comp. with other subst. and with adj., suflering no other change of the first part than throwing away the sexual ending, and consequently without any change at all in case the first part has no such sexual sign: e. g. Kyn-qvisl a pedigree, v;»gn-sldd nheelrut, sol-skin sun-shine, jafn-maki co-equal, kalf-skinn calfskin , slein-spjald stone-table, miS-sumar mid-summer, sma-fena8r small-cattle.

403. If the first part be an adj., it is nevertheless sometimes put in the nom., keeping its sex sign, and retains in such cases its complete inflection in all the endings like the subst., e. g. heilagr-domr halidome, reliques, (otherwise helgi-domr), lendrmaftr. vassal (lensmaSr), miSrmorgun midmorning (i. e. six o'clk 4. M.), MikligarSr Constantinople, Miklaborg Mecklenburg, BreiSifjorSr Broadfjord (in Iceland) fmftipartr, etc. in the ace. helgandom, MiklagarS, f>ri5japart, etc.

404. If the vowel of the word be changeable o, it is always turned into a, e. g. mjaSdrecka meadbowl, lastvar wary against vice, jarSeldr subterranean fire, handtaka to lay hold of, etc. This takes place therefore in all subst. of the 6"» decl., and in most of those of the 7th and 8th.

405. Euphony however, or the relation of ideas among each other, often require the 1st part to be put in the gen., especially where this part is as it were the object, or owner, of the last, c. g. rikissljorn government, foSurbrdSir fothersbrother, andar-drattr breath, breathdrawing, solarfall sundown, pipuhattr pipe-lid, lagabrot lawbreaking, sta?ckunargler microscope, vag-nasmiSr coachmdker, gatriamot crossway.

406. Sometimes the first part takes the ending -u instead of -a, which if it is to be referred to any case, must come from the dat. pi.; but it seems more right to regard it as a mere effect of euphony, and it might, if it did not belong exclusively to the new tongue, be compared with those Greek compounds in which the 1st part ends in o, e. g. manudngr Monday, Holsetuland Holstein. In old writers manadagr and llolsetaland are found.

The same form is used in deriv. e. g. forunautr follower, motuneyti fellowship in food, matuligt suitable, fit; in old writers mataligt is also found from mati gen. mala measure, moderation.

407. Still more common is the ending i, especially if the 1 s * part be an adj., or verb, e. g. villif»j65, a wild, savage folk, villisvin wildboar* and the like, which must not be confounded with those in -w, which come from subst. in -a, c. g

villimaSr wildnmn, but villumaSr heretic, from villa, error, bewilderment , brenniforn burnt - offering , from the verb at brenna, to burn, but brennuvm brandy, from the subst. brenna, brennu burning. \Vhenever a verb is compounded with a subst. or any other word, and stands in the 1st place, it always takes this form in -i, by which it is as it were changed into" a subst., though this subst. never occurs but in composition, e. g. kennimaSr priest, cleric, kennivaldr hierarchy, priestrule, Ia3rifa5ir father of the church, spennikraptr elasticity, suppleness, fyllisvin guzzler, drunkard.

408. Fern, in -i, which are otherwise unchangeable in the sing. (160.), sometimes take -s, when they stand first in comp. or deriv., e. g. hraesnisfullr flatterer, hypocrite, hty&nismerki mark of obedience, gsetnislaus careless, beidnisliga imploring.

409. The names of regions, quarters of the heaven, and climate, often throw away the ending -ur in compos., e. g. NorSymbraland Northumberland, Austindiun, suCaustr, (otherwise landsuSr) south east; yet, Austurn'ki, East realm, Austria, SuSuralfa Africa, are met with; besides essential -ur never falls away in any subst., e. g. silverbuinn silvermountcd, akuryrkja tillage, fjaSurfe barndoor fowl.

410. Instead of the long gen. in -or, that in -5 is sometimes used in compos, particularly in Prop. Names, e. g. Magnus-ar, but Magnusson, Sigurftsson etc.; though this holds good chiefly of modern surnames. It is a more remarkable peculiarity, that when a comp. word, the first part of which is of two or three syll., is again compounded; it is commonly contracted so that the first part becomes monosyll.; e.g. Svar-CaSardalr is a dale in Iceland, which has its name from one SvarfaSr gen. SvarfaSar, the history of the dwellers in this dale is called Svarfdaelasaga the story of Svarfdale ; lyslhus pleasure house, but lysthusqvaeSi pleasurehouse song, Norflur-land, but NorSlendingr a Northlander, and Nordlenzkt North-fandish; SuQurland, but Sunnlendingr, and Sunnlenzkt; utan-lanz, but utlendingr and utlenzkt, innanlanz, but innlendt, inn-len/.kt etc.

Composition of Adjectives.

411. In the compos, of adj. the first part commonlv undergoes the same changes as the same member in coinp. subst. The following additional remarks may however be made; many adj, are comp. of two others, in which case the last is always the chief word, e. g. sannheilagr truly-holy, storgjofull openhanded, who gives great gifts, lauslyndr fickle', many are so comp. that the last part is a subst. which has re-cieved an adjectival form solely on account of the compos. fnihoffiaCr threeheaded , langorftr wordy, rangeygdr skeweyed, fagurhaerdr fairhaired, skammh'fr shortlived.

412. In many cases therefore where we are -now forced to turn subst. into adj. (a change which otherwise never occurs), the old Norsemen effected this in a simpler way like the Greeks, by placing the adj. last, e. g. halslangr longnecked, sviradigr thicknecked, daunsaetr sweetsmelling, smeckgddr goodtasted, vongoSr hopeful, varaf>yckr thicklipped, nefmikill bignosed, foSurvondr hard to feed, skiSfser skilled on snoivshoon. In this way the part, are always placed last, e. g. sottbitinu sichnessnipped , dead of a sickness, rySgeinginn rusteaten, storgerSr boastful, efablandinn doubtful, alvorugefinn, careful, serious, wary, m^rarkendr swampy, oljukendr oily, jarnsleginn, ironmounted, ironshod.

413. Some comp. adj. compare their first part, e.g. hatl-virSandi, ha3stvir5andi highworthy, highestworthy, mikilshattar important, meirshattar more important, mikilva3gr weighty, mestvaegr or mikilvaigastr most weighty, litilvsegr of little weight, minstvsegr of very little weight.

Composition of Verbs.

414. Subst. in compos, with verbs do not constitute the actual object oi the action, but denote something connected with the same, or explanatory of it, e. g. krossfesta to crucify, halshoggva to behead, handhogga to cut off the liand, orS-lein-ja to talk wordily, auglysa to make plain, proclaim, etc.

These are however not numerous, any more (han verbs comp. with adj. as raugsmia to distort, turn askew, sannfera to persuade, kunngjora to make known, etc. Those comp. with other verbs, e. g. bremiimerkja to brand, mark with a brand, are however the rarest of all.

415. Adv. and prep, on the other hand are compounded with verbs in numberless instances, as in other tongues, e. g. afraSa to dissuade, innlaka to take in, utreka to drive out, fraskilja to part from, etc.

There is a remarkable kind of compos, in Icel. and Angl. Sax. which does not impart a single whole idea, since the parts do not properly belong the one to the other, but, when only for the sake of the construction, the prep. is taken from the subst., unless this be left out, and added to the verb; especially when the latter stands last in the sentence, e. g. i-vera to be in, af-triia to trow of (anything whatever). These ought perhaps to be written separately, for if at or the auxil. verb be added, it is usually put between them, e. g. f>eir er mer f)6lti i f>urfa at vera, which methought ought to be therein; this point therefore belongs more properly to syntax.

Some indefinite subst. and adj. of this kind, which do not contain one complete idea, are nevertheless actual compounds or derivatives, e. g. (goSr) veSurdaga a (fine) day, (li'til) mailund a land bringing forth (little) food, (ilia) limaftr one who has (illmade} limbs, (vel) aetladr (well) born. If no defining word stands along with them, they are commonly taken in a good and strengthening sense.

Words commonly used in Composition.

416. The words used in composition, as may be seen from what has been said above, are very numerous, but it will not perhaps be thought superfluous, to adduce in addition some of those most commonly added to other words in order to express a certain definitive though subordinate idea.

417. Thus hofufi- head is often used first in compos.; e. g. hofuSeingill archangel, hofuSprestr highpriest, hofuSgrcin chiefpiece. This kind of compos, however by no means always answers to those in the new tongues, e. g. a5al-orrusta mainbattle, Swed. hufvudbattalj, atriSisord chief word, meginhaf great sea, ocean, meginfjoS /lower of a nation.

ty'od- forms a kind of augmentalives with the idea of excellence; e. g. f)i6Skonungr king over a whole great people, fyoSskaldr a great skald, poet, fyoSspekingr great philosopher, fyoSgata highroad.

Stor- is used in endless comp. with subst* adj., and adv., out of which it forms augmentatives, e. g. storeign great possessions, slorbser great buildings, storgrfti great stones, from grjot, stordeila great strife, stormenni great man, stdrtiSindi great tidings, stdrrikr very powerful, storauSugr very wealthy, stor-gjofull one who gives great gifts, stormikill very great, stor-illa very ill.

Smd- (from smdtt, smdr, smd), forms diminutires, e. g smasveinn little page, smaqvikindi small beasts, smamey little maid, smakonungr Singling, small king etc. In the same way as these two words, are also used mikil- and litil, marg- and fd9 but they occur less frequently, e. g. mikilmenni a tall, commanding man, litilmenni little, insignificant, person, marg-vitur much knowing, favitur little knowing.

N$- (from n$tt, n$r, n$), expresses our new or newly, e. g. n^kjorinn newly chosen, nj'rnindaSr newmade, n^staSinn upp newly risen up, n^maeli news, etc.

God- e. g. g65gjor5r good fare, goSverk good works, godfus wellmeaning, gdSfraegr having a good name.

Ill- e. g. illgjorS ill doing, illmenni badman, illviSri bad weather, illgresi weeds, illfiis ittmeaning, spiteful.

418. Of words used last in compos, the most common are:

-maftr, joined to genitives and denoting, (a) a man of a certain character, gafumaSr a gifted man, genius, mselskumadr a talker, fyonustumaSrserwz^ man, motsioSiunadr with stander, gleSimaSr a merry man, i^rottamaSr one distinguished in

athletic sports, bo&smaffr a bidden guest, a guest, liturnarmaftr a painter; (b) a dweller in a certain region, e. g. Asiumenn Asiatics, Austurrkismenn Easterlings, Austrians, Trqjumenn Trojans , ParisarmaSr a man of Paris, Strassborgarmenn Strasburghers , borgarmaOr burglier, townsman, lanzmadr a native (especially opposed to vikingar searovers), and by no means to be confounded with landi which means landsman, countryman; (c) one of a certain party, e. g. fjandmaSr foeman, boandmad'r one of the peasant party , konungsmafir kingsman, royalist, which last must be clearly distinguished from konungmaft'r king, kingly person.

-kona forms fern., which answer to the foregoing masc. e. g. pjonustukona handmaid, moistoflukona withstanding woman } einsetukona hermitess.

-land, the Icelanders seldom use any name of a country that is not comp. with -land, -riki, or the like, e.g. Indialand, Jorsalaland Palestine, Polinaland, Prussaland, Flaemingjal.ind Flanders, Valland Italy, (this often means France in old writers), Serkland Barbary (Saracenland). The words -heimr, riki , and veldi are added to the gen. pi. of the name of the people, e. g. Vanaheimr the home or land of the Wends (Sclavonians), Frankariki the realm of the Franks, S via veldi the rule of the Swedes', but -land often to an abbreviated form, which is perhaps the sing., e. g. S^rland Syria, Grick-land Greece, Frackland France, Eingland, Skotland etc. (llo. 178. ,321.)

-borg, a town is seldom named without being comp. with -borg -staftr -kaupdngr, or some other Icelandic appellative,p. & Trojuborg frwtonn, Kartagoborg, Jorsalaborg or Jorsalir Jerusalem, Akursborg Acre, Atenuborg Athens, Parisaborg Paris, Ni8ar6s Trondjem, Kaupmannahofn Copenhagen, Stockhdlmr.

-efni denotes (a) one who is about to be something, konungsefni kingsheir, cronnprince, biskupsefni one nho nnll be bishop, prestsefni a priest elect, magsefni future son in

law, k^refni a calf which will be sometime or other a cow; (b) an object for any sense, e. g. hlatursefni any thing laughable* sorgarefni any thing to sorrow over.

- list forms the names of arts or practical sciences , e. g. malaralist art of painting, now konst or kunst (contracted from kunnusta) is also used in such cases.

-korn forms diminutives, e. g. ritkorn a little writing, pamphlet., profkorn a small proof, stundarkorn the twinlding of an eye, karlkorn mannikin, piltkorn a little boy, barnakorn baby, my dear child, (Dansk Bornlille.)

-fullr, e. g. hjatruarfullr superstitious, lotningarfullr worshipful; -mikil and -rikr are also used in like cases, e. g. abatamikill advantageous, avaxtarmikill very fruitful, gaezkurikr very good, all good, (used of God) bloSrikr fullblooded plethoric, etc.

-laus forms negative adj. e. g. saklaus guiltless, huglaus spiritless, vopnlaus weaponless; these adj. are often used in the neut. as adv., e. g. the word interregnum, is thus expressed , |>a var kominglaust, hofSinglaust, pafalaust etc.; in regard to the subst. formed from this in -leysi and -leysa see rule 333. -litill is used nearly in the same way, e. g. avaxtarlitill bearing little fruit etc.

-gjarn denotes an inclination, e. g. metnaSargjarn greedy of honour, droltnunargjarn eager to reign, namgjarn teachable, fegjarn avaricious, mutugjarn corrupt, ready to take bribes, pralugjarn strifeloving, hence are formed abstract subst. in -girni.

-vis denotes a quality in general, e. g. daunvis quick-scented, sharpsighted, prettvis crafty, deceitful, stelvis thievish, h vat vis petulant, saucy, laevi's faithless.

419. Many more might be reckoned up, which form whole classes of comp. words, e. g. subst. -kyn, kind, kin,

-lag way, manner, -gcfor, -illr, -sail etc. But they are easy to master, and it would be endless to describe them all. I need only remark, that however extended and unlimited composition may be in the old Norse, the chief word, or that which contains the general idea, must always be placed last in subst.; the genius of the language not admitting in the

least such words as

FOURTH PART.

Syntax.

CHAPTER XIII.

General view.

420. The true Icelandic syntax is distinguished in general by simpleness, strength, and regularity; it seldom employs long or complex periods, but rather short and loose sentences, commonly connected by 6k or enn (i. e. but} etc. e. g. in Egils' Saga, Bjorn het hersir, rikr ma5r i £ogni, er bjd a Aurlandi. Hans son var Brynjolfr, er arf allan tok eptir foSur sinn. Synir Brynjolfs voru f)eir Bjorn ok porSr; |>eir voru menn a lingum aldri, er f>etta var tiSenda. Bjorn var farmaSr mikill: var stundum i viking, enn stundum i kaupferftum. Bjorn var hinn gerfiligsti ma5r etc. Or the following from Sverris' Saga, Eysteinn erkibiskup haf(5i £at sumar komit vestan af Einglandi snemma, ok hafSi verit f>rja vetur i Einglandi fra stoli sinum, ok |>a saettist erkibiskup viS Sverri konung, ok for hann urn sumarit norSr til stols sins.

421. Nevertheless the construction is more free than in the new tongues; because the many and clearly distinguished cases, genders, and other forms, render it easy to find out what words are to be taken together. The chief word can therefore be placed at will in the place where it will have most effect; and in this way many circumlocutions of the new tongues are avoided; so that the construction is made

shorter and more powerful; e. g. Sagt er fear ok frt daufla hvers f>eirra ok Iegsta6, there is it said both of the death of each of them, and of their restingplace (grave). Fan |>eir! aptr munu |>eir koma. Let them go! they will (soon) com* back. Manninn skapaft gu5 seinast. God shaped man last.

Again the numerous inflections of words require the greatest accuracy in writing and speech, because they must always answer to each other in the strictest way, according to the natural relations of the words in the sentence, just as in Greek and Latin, and perhaps even more strictly; at least we here find no such exceptions as in Greek and the Eastern tongues, where the verb and its subst are sometimes put in different numbers; e. g. Haralds saga hins harfagra, the story of Harold the fairhaired ; here all three words must stand ia the gen. masc., as it is not enough to say as in Swedish, Harold den harfagres historia, where only the adj., because it comes last, takes the posses, sign *s. So also Saga Olafs kooungs ens helga Haraldssonr. (Rae8 ek) at j>u fair Haraldi frsenda frinum annat konungsriki. Sem ecki leyfir oss at vcra oldungis hirSulausum urn vora egin velferS.

422. This regularity has been perhaps the reason why, in order to avoid monotony in the endings when several Words in the same case follow immediately one after the other, it is usual to separate them by inserting some expression with a different close, or which stands in another case; c. g. gott verk ok astsamt, a good worlc and a lovely. j>a tck pdrarinn til mals Neffdlfsson. Fair munu lastalausir lifa c?a glropa (viz, lausir), instead of, Fair munu lifa lasta e6a gl»pa-!a«sir, Few will lire without backbiting or without sin. Hoggva f>at e5r meida etc. This is again extended much farther, in fact almost to every case where two words belong together, even though they may be of different kind and case; in questions and answers in particular, the adv. is separated from the word to which, or with which, the answer is made; e. g. hvaC kostar j>aS mikiS? how much does that cost? hvaCertu gamall? how old art thou? SvA vara £ar Ijon stor sera uxar. There were lions as big as oxen.

423. One remarkable peculiarity of the old Norse is that the oratio obliqua is often suddenly changed for the oratio directa, viz, when the most important portion of a persons speech comes; e. g. |>a sogSu ^Esirnir at hann (Fenrir) mundi skjott slita mjott silkihand, er hann hafSi fyrr brotit stdra jarnfjotra; "enn ef |m faer eigi f>etta band slitit |>a skulum ver leysa f)ik" Then said the JEsir that he must be able to snap asunder in a trice a limp silken band, he who had before burst great iron fetters. "But if thou'rt unable to break this band, then will we loose thee. In the same way, and still more commonly, number and person are changed in one and the same period, viz, when at one time the chief person is more thought of, at another all who share in the matter; e. g. Sverrir reiS vi5 500 manna til bus Simunar i Skriksvik; toku f>ar upp buit, enn brendu baeinn, ok fjorutiu nauta let hann reka a" Vermaland. "Sverrir rode with 500 men to Simon's house in Skriksvik; they pulled down the house , but burned the hamlet , and he let forty head of cattle be driven into Vermland."

424. The common order is otherwise quite simple and natural; the subject with the words which define it are put first, then the verb with the adverbs belonging to it, and last the object with whatever is joined to it; e.g. Sverrir konungr | samnaSi nu saman | ollu liSi sinu, which may however be changed in manifold ways, according to the meaning of the speaker, as well as the connection with the foregoing or following clauses in the context,

CHAPTER XIV. Syntax of Substantives.

425. Titles are generally placed, as in Latin, alter the Proper name, e. g. Sverrir konungr, Ein'kr jarl, Guttormr hertogi, Otta kaisari h.nn mikli, Ari prestr, Vastcs drotning. fferra and Slra however (together with Frti and Madama, Frauken and Jungfru) are put before the name, e. g. lira Karl, Sra jon, because they are not the names of any actual dignity. Herra is used in old Norse of kings, bishops, and knights, Sira on the other hand exclusively of priests.

426. Genitives and possessives are usually placed after the nouns to which they answer; in later times however it has become somewhat more common to set them first. The rule may perhaps be best laid down thus, that they are placed before when emphatic in the sentence, but afterward in all other cases , e. g. GerSu bat fyrir hennar sakir, do that for her sake! BroSir hans var kominn aSr. Er beir Hindu Gunn-hildi moSur sina.

427. Where we in the new tongues (i. c. Swed. and Dansk) merely place two subst. side by side, of which one denotes a part of, or serves to measure, the other, the Icel. requires that the name of the substance should either be put first, and as it were compounded with the other word; or also, if it be not a subst., or for any other reason be not suitable for compos.. that the name of the substance be set last with the prep, af, e. g. gefSu mcr ofurlitiS pappirsbLO. Swed. gif miff ett litct stycke (Had) popper. Give me a little piece of paper. Hann kastafii kokuhita fyrir hundinn, han kastade en bit brod (kaka) for huiidcn. He cant a piece of cake to the dog. Af barkarslyekjum beim, af de stycken bark, from the pieces of bark, koriitunuan kostar 20 r. dr. En tunna spannmul kostar 20 r. dr. .•/ tun of rye cost* 20

SYNTAX OF SUBSTANTIVES.

rixdollars. Liti5 af saftrani a litte saffron. Einn knefi af riisioum eSr korennuni a handful of raisins or currants. NB. The English language uses sometimes the Icel., sometimes the Swedish idiom.

428. Subst. which serve to fill up a description, are put in the dat. where we use by or in, and in the gen. where we use of. Mann het Ormr rettu nafni, he hight Ormr by his right name. Hvat heitir |>at oSrum orCum? what does that mean in other words? Uann f><5tti mikillar natturu vera.

429. A subst. which marks the length of time, or travel, is put in the ace., e. g. konungr la f>ar Lallan manuS, (the) king lay there half a month, peir dvoldust |mr litla hri8, they dwelled there a little time, peir foru margar f)ingmanna-leiSir * 5 margur ini'lur. They fared many miles. Hanu for landveg, sjoleiSina etc. The only exception from this rule is the phrase. He went on his way , hann for ferSar sinnar (in the gen.) as in Germ, er zog seines Weges.

430. If on the other hand such words only stand as definitives with some comparat, prep., or adv., and thus do not immediately denote the measure, they are commonly put in the dat. e. g. halfum manu3i seinna, half a month later. Hem-ingr andaSist vetri sidar. 290 arum eptir Noa fl65. Segfiu fcat, Eldir! sva at J)a einugi feti gangir framar.

431. A word denoting a means, instrument, manner, etc. is es put in the dat. without a prep., e. g. berja i grjoti hel, to slay with stones. Steig |>6r f)a fram 63rum faeti. Thor stepped then forward with one foot, pess varir mik at |>u maelir feig-um munni. Var fiat eidum bundit. Sigldi Uutr liSi sinu su^r.

* A JjinginannaleiS contains one third of a degree after the common reckoning;

CHAPTER XV.

Syntax of Adjectives.

432. Both the def. and indef. form of adj. are used as vocatives, e. g. gu5 minn goSr! blessaCr minn! barnil gott! husmoSir g65! ek vilda, g65r dreingr, at jm geingir inn i stofuna. Nu Jdn litli! piltar litlu. But if both subst. and adj. be put in the def. form, then the sense is general and collective, e. g. goSa barnit, the good child, or good children.

433. When adj. stand as subst., the Icelanders put them most often in the indef. form; e. g. danskir the Dams, is-lenzkir the Icelanders, peir gjorSu allt j>at illt (gott etc.) vi8 hann sem {>eiin var moguligt.

434. When an adj. answers to two subst., of which one is masc., the other fern., it is put in the neut., even though one or both subst. be left out, and only understood from what goes before, e. g. Enn er f>au (viz Grimr oc Loplaena) voru bum, oc byr gaf, heldu |>au tveim skipum austr me8 landi, (Orvar Odds Saga. ch. 1.)

435. Descriptive adj. govern the dat., e. g. fagur s\nuin, litill vexti, fair of face, little of growth, likr oSrum monnuni. Words which define or strengthen comparat. are also put in the dat., e. g. hverjum munni haerri, taller than any man. Hverri konu fegri. Ljosalfar eru fegri enn sol >wunn. enn Dockalfar svartari biki. The Light elves are fairer than the sun to look on, (in face), but the Darkelves svartfuer than pitch. Gylf. ch. 17. pri&jungi styttra. Var {j;i korn eingum inun betra. Ok er sja (fotr) J)\i ljutari at af er ein tain, peim inun heldr sem, so much the more as. Instead of this f>vi or f)eim nmn, the particle at with the comparat. is also used; e. g. menn voru {>eir at vaskari. £ingi ma8r mun Kink kalla at meira koming |>6 at haun drepi einn bondason (210). No man mill call Eric any more a king^ though he slay a peasants son. There

are besides many adj. which govern the dat. as in Greek and other tongues, but which it is hard to bring under any rule. Vanr bessu starfi. ReiSr einum. Feginn bvi.

436. The superl. on the other hand is strengthened by the gen.; e. g. Haun var allra manna vitraslr. He was of all men wisest. Hun var allra qvenna fri'Sust. Er sva sagt at Egill geingi fyrstr manna i borgina. Hann var beirra seSstr (210).

437. Adj. which denote a measure take to them the name of the measure in the gen.; e. g. halfar annarar alnar langr, one ell and a half long. Fimm qvartila og bn'ggja bum-lunga har. Five quarters and 3 thumbs high , bijatiu ara gamall (otherwise britugr). There are also other adj which govern the gen. but which can hardly be brought under any rule, e. g. verSr, verSugr ills dauSa. pa urSu beir bess varir.

CHAPTER XVI.

Syntax of Pronouns.

438. Where in other tongues a personal proii. is joined to a Prop. Name by the conjunct, and, the Icelanders leave out and, but on the other hand throw the pron. into the Dual or PL, in the same case as the Prop. Name; e. g. Eyjolfr var opt viS skip um sumarit, ok attu beir HreiSar mart saman i vinfeingi. Eyjolfr was often at the ship during the summer and Hreidar and he had many dealings together in friendship. Viga Glums Saga. ch. I. Einka gripi vil ek ber gefa, er ver hofuin mikinn trunad* a-haft fraendr. i. e. / and my friends, 0»* forefathers. \ 7 iga Glums Sag. ch. \ T 1. \ 7 inatta ockar Hakonar konungs stendr grunnt. Mine and king Haltons friendship stands in a tottering state. Enn vaentir mik at fundr voi-Bagla verSi. / still hope that mine and the Baglarna's meeting will come aboitl. Instead oi a Prop. Name a title may also be used in the same way, e. g. Skildu beir jarl meft

vindttu. lie and the Earl parted in friendship. If on the other hand no definite person be spoken of, to which the pron. can refer., peir in the pi. agreeing in case with a Prop. Name in the sing., forms an idiom exactly expressing the Greek *ot jtf.%1 with a Prop. Name; and may be rendered in Engl. by N. N. and his party, friends, or the like, e. g. peir SigurSr logSu fram. peim Hakoni byrjaOi seint.

439. Hann and hun are always used personally, and sa, 8u invariably as demonstratives, and not as in the new tongues personally in the common gend.; e. g. JarSarmcrgr er blendingr af kalki og leir, ef hann er lag&r lit til vifirunar verSr hann a<5 dupti. Meiningin kann aS vera sumum au5scn, po eigi se him pat 611 um. pat, sa, sii, again are used of a entirely unknown, and hitherto unmentioned person or thing, where we place a before the relative, e. g. Hann var girSr sver5i pvi er hann kallaSi Lang. i. e. He n'as girded with a sword which he called Long. Hann sagSi henni at par var ma6r sa er skomm fserSi at peim. HeiSrekr barfiist vid koniing bann er Humli hot. Me5 peim haetti sem ver faum ecki skilil, i. e. In a way which we cannot understand, par e5 gu5 hvorki vill ne getr pvingat oss til gd5s me6 pcirri makt, sem ver getum ecki moti staSit.

440. How the indef. personal one (Swed. and Germ. man) is expressed, has been already spoken of (228.). It may however be added, that where we use one in a sentence which describes how one should set to work in any matter, the Icelanders prefer to throw the clause into the passive, inverting the form; e. g. pa tiinnin er skipt i vissa parta, er einn partrinn latinn dbrukaSr, svo hann cr hvorki sleginn ne beittr. When the land is divided into certain parts, one part is left waste, so that it is neither mown nor grazed. NB. The English uses either idiom, though the passive perhaps is more common.

441. The pron. one another, and the one — the other. are seldom expressed in Iccl. by pron. (221), but usually in a shorter way by the simple passive, or reciprocal form of

the verb, e. g. er f>eir voru bunir hlaupast f>eir at. When they were ready (armed) they run one against the other. P^ramus og Tisbe £au untust i a>. Pyramus and Thisbe they loved one another of yore*

442. Instead, of the possess, pron. the dat. of the personal, are commonly used with subst. denoting any part of the body, and which are governed by a prep.; e. g. Fell akarn nockut i hofud mer ? Gylf. 45. Fell an acorn on my head? Enn er hendr hans voru lausar leysti hann bond of fdtum ser. So also, f)dr61fr fell fram a faetr konungi.

With the gen. of other words also the gen. of the pers. pron. are used instead of possessives; e. g. |mt stendr i sjal-fra vor valdi.

443. The article is properly hit, yet often also j>at, and sometimes both are used at once in order to make a greater impression. Hinn is placed before adj., which then stand in the def. form,; e. g. hit gamla, hinn ungi, hinn vana, even if a subst. be added, as in Dansk; e. g. Hit gamla skip, Hinn ungi ma8r, Hver er sii hin vsena mser? who is that fair maid? or it is joined to the end of subst. In the last case if an adj. go before, it may either stand in the def. form, e. g. unga stulkan, the young damsel, ace. unga stulkuna etc. which is more common; or the art. may be placed before it here also, so that it is used twice, as in Swed., e. g. hinn ungi maSrinn, hina lingu stulkuna Braut f>ar hit goSa skipit, enn hit minna skipit helzt; or lastly the adj. is put indef., e. g. heilagr pafinn the holy Pope. Which last however seldom occurs.

After genit., posses, pron., and pres k particip., the adj. is often put in the indef. form, contrary to the custom of the new tongues, e. g. Efla vort egiS og annara sannarligt gagn. Farther your own and others true welfare. Gud gaf i dauSan sinn eingetinn son. John HI. 16. Eptirfylgjandi snoturt rit.

444. Partitives commonly govern in Icel., as in Latin, the genit.; e.g. Jjeir unnu bddir verk eins hinna. Seemingr var J>eirra

cllifu me^tr. Ek veit eigi hvart nockur varr mundi. I know not whether any of us will etc., Hver peirra which of them? or each one of them. In these cases the partitive is often put in the neut. sing., if it be of adjectival nature, e. g. Mart manna. Fatt manna. Hvat i prdtta muntu vilja hirta fyrir oss?

But these words are also often set in apposition, where of is used in the new tongues, e. g. Heima menn Skallagrims foru til leiks niargir. Many of Skallagrims house folk fared to the sport. Gjora mattu hann svo kaeran per sem pu vilt, eSa fleiri pa fraendr. Jesiis utsendi tvo sma larisveina. Ma pa5 sja af sumu pvi er peir hafa skrifad. petta er ein sii p^ngsta hyr'Si sem a buanda folki liggr. Eitt hit saklausasta ok spakasia d^r. Verst eitt-hvert, something of the norst. peir letu eingan meS li'fi brottkomast, pann en a karfanum var.

445. Numerals commonly stand as adj. in appos.; but sometimes as subst. with the genit., e. g. in Sturlusons Yngl-inga Saga. ch. 29. pa lifSi hann liu veiur, svd at hann matti eiki ganga, pa bldtaSi hann (aptr) ok lif&i hann pa enn tia vetra.

446. Great numbers are read in the same order as the figures are written; e.g. 8325, read, atta pusund prjii hundniS tuttugu og fimm. Yet the date of the year is usually reckoned for the sake of brevity after the centuries; e. g. 1817 read aljan hundru5 og sautjan.

447. Every other, every third year etc. is expressed in an inverted order, e. g. annat, prifija, fjorCa, hvort ar. So also with the art. e. g. At hvi'la hinn sjounda hvern dag. It tiunda hvert 4r.

448. Halft is used as in Swed., i. e. it is put before the ordinal, which it lessens by half e. g. halft fjorSa hundrafl. 350, half the fourth hundred, half onnur alin an ell and a half. Hann var par varla halfan annan dag. He was there barely a day and a half.

Halft has the same force when joined to words denoting a persons' age, however singular the custom may now seem;

e. g. pritugr 30 years old, halfpritugr is consequently, 25 years old, as also halffertugr 35, halffimtugr 45, halfsextugr 55 etc.; which expressions must not be confounded with the Dansk word halvtreds i. e. 50, hahfjcrs 70, and halvferns 90. The cause of this difference is, that the Icelanders reckon by tugr (10), but the Danes by tyve (20), from 50 to 100 inclusive. The Icel. halfpritug is therefore 2£ times 10 — 25; but the Dansk halvtreds (or halvtredsinstyve 2| times 20 — 50.

CHAPTER XVII.

Syntax of Verbs.

449. The verb is often put before the subj., though no question is asked; but most often when the sentence is dependant on, or connected with, another going before it. e. g. pa var sagt prselunum til um petta kaup; letu peir korn fram ok malt ok seldu Asbirni. Siglir porarinn pa a haf lit.

450. An adv. belonging to a verb is placed before the subst., as near to the verb as possible, as in Swed., e. g. Hann vatt upp segl. Hratt fram skipi. The case is the same with prep, which stand as adv.; e.g. pa rendu at skipin Olafs. Matvaeli, sem pena til at feita med fugla. In these cases great care must be paid against taking the prep, along with the subst., by which the sense of the clause would be entirely destroyed. If the clause be auxiliary, in which the verb stands last, the prep, is commonly compounded, or at least coupled, with it, e. g. Sverrir konungr hafSi viSset pessi snoru, er peir aetluSi hann i-veiSa. KlseSi, er jarl hafSr i-farit. Mart raddu menn fyrir konungi um siSu peirra Egils, ok fannst pat & konungi, at hontim var h'tt at skapi slikt, er hann pdttist af-fretta i. e. (af pvi, af siSum peirra Egils). This often happens though the verb does not stand last, e. g. at meiSa folk, er i-eru kasta lanum. Margir hofftu ftyit, peir er a5r hofiJu

spurn af-haft urn fer&ir Bagla. pat mon ok af-kjusa, er yffr mun byckja Mil mannligra (i. e. of bessu, af bessuin kostum).

If neither the verb nor the prep, have any object in the clause, the prep, is placed before the verb, though in the new tongues it stands last; e. g. Ok bordi ba einginn amoli at mala, and then none dared to speak against (it).

451. In narrative style, as in other tongues, the pres. is often used for the imperf. , which tenses are however often suddenly interchanged in the same sentence; e. g. bor steig fram 68rum foeti at bar er Skrymir la og tystr i hofufi honum enn Skrymir vaknar ok spyrr hvert laufsblaS felli etc. Gylf. 45. Thor stepped with one foot forward thither where Skrymir lay, and dashes (his hammer) against his head, but Skrymir makes and asks whether a leaf fell etc.

452. Sometimes the verb is not guided by the actual subject, but by the predicate, if this last come between; e.g. bar er enn sa staSr er Himinbjorg heita. Hann a bar riki er briiSvangar heita.

453. Particip act. in -anda, -andi, contain also the idea of the Alt. part, pass., and thus answer to the Latin pres. part, in -cms, -ens, -ntis, and the fut part. pass, in -andum, -endum, both in signification and form; e. g. varla er tnianda, it is hardly to be believed. Er nii gott berandi bor5 a horninu. I strax nefnanda brefi.

454. The pres. con]., which also serves to supply the optat. (276.), often gives a strength and terseness in expression which can hardly be conveyed in the new tongues, e. g. La turn hann fara slika for. Let us make him come as badly out of it. Minnumst a bat, Let us think of that. AfklaeCumst bessuin ham. Let us throw off' this garb.

455. The passive is in the Old Norse. 1. reciprocal. (282.). Ingi konungr frelsaSist (i. e. frelsaSi sik) me5 fldtta, King Ingi saved himself j got clear off, with the fleet. Hann let ci kiigast (i. e. kuga sik) til bess at taka vi5 kristni. At lata eigi skirast (i. e. skira sik), not to let himself be baptised,

2. a mutual action, c. g. Er f>eir voru bunir hlaupast |>eir at. When they mere ready they run against each other. The proper pass, meaning on the other hand is rather expressed by a periphrase as in Germ., e. g. |>a var |>ar flutt i vist ok onnur faung. Then was brought thither food and other neadful things. Ok var J>ar gjor sat tin, and then atonement rvas made.

456. The ace. with the infin. is a very common construction in Icel.; e. g. J>er qvaSut solina fara skjotar, dixistis solem celerius procedere. If the ace. be a personal pron. and the same person the subj. in the sentence, it is omitted, and the verb put in the pass.; e. g. Ek sagSist (i. e. sagSi mik) ecki trua {>vi. Hann qveSst (i. e. qveSr sik) Gestr heita. Hann qvaSst (qvaS sik) aetla. Hann lezt (let sik) inuudu, he let it be understood he mould. It is besides remarkable that if any adj. or the like, answer to the ace. left out, it is notwithstanding put in the nom., e. g. f>eir qvadust allir til f>ess skyldir. peir qvadust f>vi fegnir verSa.

457. The double genit. of the Greeks, and the double ablative of the Latins, are expressed in Icel. by two dat. and the prep. at } e. g. At f>vi gjorvu, hoc facto. At endaSum sjukdominum.

458. Some verbs, which in the new tongues take a simple infin. after them, require in Icel. the infin. with at; thus kunna, and |)ora to dare, e. g. Einginn J>eirra kunni at st^ra skipi. Where we have the simple infin. with a prep, before it, the Icelanders commonly insert f>at in the case required by the prep.; e. g. Eg get eigi betr utmalaS J>etta, en meS J>vi at segja fra hversu, etc. Ek vil gefa honum orlof til f)ess at fara heim til Skotlands. / will give him leare to fare home to Scotland.

459. Here, as in other tongues verbs govern various cases; but it is hard, or perhaps impossible, to give sure rules, as to which govern one, and which another case. The reason of this government is doubtless that certain prep, are left out; sometimes indeed these expressions are found at full

length, e. g. fylgja (me3) einum; but since the cases are so positively defined, there was no need on most occasions to insert the preposition. A verb is often joined to several subst., of which one denotes the actual object, another the person in view, a third some casual circumstance, etc. These must be well distinguished, because they are usually put in different cases.

460. Most transitives. the object of whi.ih is immediate and direct, govern the ace : e.g. sla, drepa, elska, iCka, taka, leggja, reisa, fella, bera, grata einhvern. to weep for any one, byrja soguna to begin the tale, and numbers more.

461. Many verbs which have the signification of setting a thing in motion, without sharing in it oneself, govern a dal.; e. g. snua, venda, kasia, fleygja (to sling, properly to cause to fly ), skjola, leggja spjoti to stick ivith a spear, sla ollu i vind to make light of, to neglect, hleypa fyrir lokunni, to shoot the loff against, lynta . hefja, sa, dreifa to spread, scatter, drey pa to drop, pour, stock va to make to spring, sockva to sink etc. So also fara and koma, when used transitively, e. g. Hann kom A'sum opt i vandrseSi. Ef hann fer minum rafiuin fram. So also manv

J

which mean to govern, change, destroy, help, protect, etc. ra<5a sign", styra skipi, bjoda gesiuin, vaida bagganum to lir equal to the burden, breg^a biii to change one's house, breyia to change, sleypa ovinum sinum, hrinda (imperf. hratt) einum i eldinn, umturna, granda, eyd'a, farga, tapa, tyna to /osc, eyra, hb'i'a, pyrma, hjalpa, bjarga, duga, skyla etc.

462. Those principally govern the genit. which signify to desire, wish, and the like; such often take the pers. to them ID the ace. and the thing in the genit.; e. g. beida, biftja einn nockurs, spyrja hann ra&'a, fregna, krefja, (5ska, afla to earn, gain, leita, ra&a, biSa. gseta, to take care, geta to talk of, njdta. unna, etc. In the case of these words the pers. who is the obj., must be carefully distinguished from that for the sake of which the action is undertaken; e. g. biSja einn friflar to ask some one for peace, but bidja einum friSar ask for peace for some one.

13

If the name of a person be placed with this verb in the genit. the meaning becomes to woo, e. g. JEllar fm at biSja hennar. Dost ihou mean to woo her. In the same way fa is used with the gen., when it means to get to wife. e. g. Hann feck J)eirrar konu er porun het. He got to rvife a woman hight Thorun.

463. When the verbs which govern the dat. are thrown into the pass., they become impersonal and keep the object in the dat.; e. g. at safna liSi, pass, var f>a Ii5i safnat. BregSa sverSi, pass., Tyrfingr varS manns bani, hvern ti'ma er honum var brugftit. Tyrfingr was a man's lane every time use was made of it. Skipta akri, pass, akrinum hafSi skipt verit me5 landinu. These often do not become actual pass, but only impersonals act. in Icel., though in the new tongues they must be expressed as passive; e. g. Ijiika to end, close, svo l^kr her hverju hestaj)ingi. Such is the ending of every horseftght. Slitr nu verzlu |)essari. Eptir um daginn skaut upp likunum. In a corresponding way many verbs are used which govern the ace. as an impers. act., where the new tongues require the pass., or some other personal verb, e. g. fm hserra sem reykinn lagSi i loplit upp. Jarl setti dreyrrauSan. Bra honum svo viS at hann gerSi folvan i andliti. He became so changed, that he was pale as death in his face.

464. Of the conj. it must especially be remarked, that the pres. is used without a conjunction when the clause may be filled up with if, or in case ; e. g. Se £at svo, f>a laet ek |>at vera. If that be so, then I will let it be. i. e. it will do very well. Vili hann ecki meS goSu, f>a komdu til min. Komi hann ameSan eg er burtu etc. The imperf. is used nearly in the same cases, the chief difference being that when the imperf. is used it is hardly expected or hoped that the thing will happen; e. g. vzeri |>at svo, £a vaeri f>at sok ser. Were that so there would be something in it. Kaemi hann ameSan eg er burtu, (sem ecki mun ver5a) Should he come (which will scarce be), while I am away. This way of turning the sentence is especially used in very polite requests; e. g. in letters. Maetti eg sja linu fra y5r um |>etta mal, J>etti mer

pat ofrvaent. VilduC per gera svo vel, pa van eg yCr mikit skuldbtindinn. For the rest po pott, although, and svo so. so that, together with at after verbs which do not express a thorough certainty, always govern a conjunctive, e. g. Eg veil at hann var par. / know that he was there , hut. Eg held hann hafi veriS par. / thought he had been there. Enn po svo vari. Hann vek ser viS svo pii sarir pal heir. He mov-ed himself so that thou mightest see that letter.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Particles.

465. With verbs expressing a journey or short stay, the Icelanders almost always add some adverb expressing the region, which in the new tongues is altogether redundant, e. g. Gunnhildr gerSi fer5 sina suOr til R6marborgar. Erlingr jarl var pa i vikinni austr.

Sometimes the place, whence or whither the journey is made, is not mentioned by name, but the adv. only is used; in these cases it must be retained and translated, or else supplied by the name of the place itself; e. g. Sunnan langt ur heimi, Out of the far distant southern world. Pegar hann kom austr, When he came to the East.

466. It is also remarkable that an affirmative answer ie made to a negative sentence, when the negation is meant to be assented to or strengthened; e.g. po picki mer mikit undir, at per rjufit eigi pessa saett: Sva munu ver pa gjora, segir Skarpheflinn. Leyfa mun ek, ef per prettifl hann i ongu; peir qvafiust sva gcra mundu.

467. Where the case alone is not sufficient to determine the relation of ideas, prepositions are brought in to help the meaning; these require, as in Latin and Greek, certain cases,

13*

SYNTAX OF PARTICLES.

•e

utum.

innum.

umfram.

wnich ihey are said to govern; some prep, govern several cases, according to their different meanings.

468. The following govern the ace. alone.

Urn. (of) about, concerning umhverfis. round about

krin<rum. }

1 . } round about

ikrmgum. j

out, outwards in, inwards through

and several such like compounds; e. g. fyrir sunnan fjall south of the mountains, fells, fyrir handan ana beyond the river, fyrir \itan brcinn outside the town. Um and of, are sometimes found in old poetry with the dat.

469. These always govern the Dat.

besides

over and above upto

framyfir.

framundir.

fyrir norSan to the north of

The frequent compounds with fra, e. g. yfir-fra over-against) austr-fra east fro, utifra away from, etc. are actually adv., and seldom govern any case unless they are used separately as two words, so that the prep, takes its usual meaning, e. g. upp-fra aloft, above, but upp fra pvi from this time forth.

470. The following govern only the Genit.

& milli a meSal. between, among. til. to. i sta5. instead of.

i sakir. (fyrir) ) sokum

( vegna

by means of.

an. without, (sine).

utan. without, beyond.

innan. within.

auk. besides.

So also those conip. with inegin, e. g. badumegiu arimiar on both sides the river, oSruinegin on one (or /he other) side, bmuniegin on the other side, beyond, f>essumegin, hernamegin, on this side, ollumegin on all sides; which are however often used as adv., and besides comp. with the prep vi«, e. g, hernamegin vi8 ana on this side of the river. Badum megiii tic. are also found.

471. The following govern both the ace. and dat.

a, uppa on, upon. eptir after,

i in, to. fyrir before.

meft with. undir tinder.

vifi with, at. yfir over.

The main rule in Icel., as in other tongues, is that ilu-se govern the ace. when they denote motion to, (he dal, when they express rest at, a place; e. g. f>at stendr mer sifeldliga fyrir augum. pegar ek leiddi honum fyrir sjdnir. But since they do not always refer to a place, this is not enough to give a clear notion of their application. The following points should therefore be attended (o.

472. A' governs the ace., (a) when it has the meaning to a place, e. g. sliga a skip, #0 on board, bera a iiininn, to carry dung to a field; (b) when it means against, in, at, e. g. fa?ra a vindinn to go against the wind, renna a lykiina pat er a fotinn that is up hill, is steep, (opposed to undau fa?ti; (c) when it means in a certain way, e. g. a |>ann hatt, a |):i leitta, a hinn kantinn, a a5ra (hina) si'duna, a hacgri hlifi-ina on the right side. So also hann la a bakit he lay on his back, if a bakinu were said, the meaning would be upon the back (of some one else), a norracna tiingu, a b<5k {)essa let ek rita; (d) when it means I'M regard to, e. g. f>at vex mi5r a haedina. Daufia-vatn er goSar f)rjar })ingmannalei&ir a leingd, enn halfonnur a breidd; (e) when it denotes an indef. fime,or when something is wont to happen in general, c. g. kulda-stormar ganga a vorin. Sjalfraedi er busmala hollast a sumrin (sumrtim)

So also, a veturna, a haustin, a natr, nsetrnar, a qvold-in, morgna a sumardag, vetrardag, during the summer, winter, and also of a fixed day in the week, e. g. a laugurdaginn kemr, on Saturday, a sunnudaginn var, on Sunday.

It governs the dat. when it means at a place, e. g. pat stendr a hafunrrhol, a oSrum staS segir hann; (b) when used of a definite time when anything actually happens, a hvorju qvoldi, a hvorri ndttu, a ari (hvorju), a fyrsta ari, a peim al-dri, a dagmalum at 9 o'clk in the forenoon, a hadeginu at midday. So also of a certain day in the week in distinction from other weekdays e. g. a laugardegi on a Saturday, a sumar-degi on a summerday. For the rest the use of this prep, with regard to time is uncertain, and seems partly to .depend on euphony, e. g. a vorin, a haustin, are said, but a sumrum, vetrum, without the art.; both a sumur and a sumri are said, etc.; (c) when it means about, of, with or by, in a figurative sense e. g. fa pecking a einhverju. Eg er a peirri trii. Hann lifir a malaferlum he lives by lawsuits. Hun hefir aSra meSferS a kum, nnepum, etc.

Uppa in like manner is used, though rarely, with the dat. if the meaning be upon, e. g. pa fer tuninu aptr uppa grasvoxt. Hann stoS uppa murnum.

473. 1' governs the ace. when it means (a) to a place, e. g. kom pessi saga a5 hausti i Tiinsberg. For pann ti5 mart norfimanna i MiklagarS. V r seringjar attu at fara i herfor nockra; (b) when used of time, e. g. i pann tima at that time, i gamla daga in days of yore, i annat ok priSja sinn for the second and third time.', yet i pessari tiS is also said in the dat.; i pvi bili in the mean time, i peirra svipan at the same time.

It governs the ace. when it means at, in, or the like. e. g. konungr var pa ecki i baenum. pat stendr i 55rum kapit-ula. Ok i peim alia |>eirra eptirkomendr. This prep, also is comp. with many adv., thus , uppi up in , liti out in, without* inni within, framin i, etc.

474. Me5 takes the ace. when one brings along with one some lifeless thing, or some one who must unconditionally follow, e. g. Ecki hefir hann komit me5 bdkina enn. pa foru menn amoti honum me5 mann fjotraCan.

It requires the dat. when it denotes (a) an instrument e. g. fjotraSr me5 hleckjum myrkranna; (b) when it means with, among, e. g. Gott j>ykir mer me5 f>er at vera. Landinn var skipt me5 freim; (c) when it means along e. g. Su8r meC landi southwards along the land; (d) or, along with c. g. Hann geek ut meS konu sinni; (e) or by means of, Hann sV-nOi me5 hugpr^Si sinni at etc. peir geingu amoti honum mefl miklum veg, and in such like phrases.

475. ViS takes the ace. when it is used of place, or answers to the Swed. vid, Engl. at, by, with, e. g. vig haemn, vi5 garSinn, viS {>etta J)6gnu8u f>eir allir. Var hann goffr vifl £ig? Eg taladi leingi vi5 hann. Hva5 er |>a5 at reikna viS hitt?

It requires the dat. when it means against, e. g. gaeta sin vi5 einhvorju. Hann tdk viS Birni, Skotar eru lausir k velli, ef viS f>eiin er horft. pat er gott vid morgum sjiik-domum. TJiat is good against many sicknesses. Mig velgir viS |>vi.

476. Eptir takes the ace. when it expresses the Latin post, after, but the dat., when it may be rendered by sc-cundum, according to, along trith. e. g. Eptir miftjan morgun. Eptir minn dag. Eptir J>eirri reglu. Eptir anni.

477. Fyrir governs the ace., (a) when it is used of time, before, fyrir timann before the time, litlu fyrir vetur; (b) when it means instead of, for, e. g. at gjalda fyrir einhvern. Hann sendi mann fyrir sig; (c) or, by means of, by, verCa salu-hdlpinn fyrir tnina, to be saved by faith; (d) when used of the price of anything, e. g. HvaC gafstu fyrir baekrnar? what gavest thou for t/ie books? Hann seldi fyrir tvo rikisdali alls; (e) when it means any kind of relation, e. g. Ecki er {>at gagnligt fyrir born, pat er gott fyrir kyrnar.

It governs the dat., (a) in the meaning of before, in the presence of, (cor am), e. g. Mdyses talaSi fyrir GySingum. peir hafa slaestu virSing fyrir honum; (b) of those for whom anything is intended; e. g. f>etta er fyrir bajndum skrifat. Hol-urnar fyrir frseinu; (c) when used of any hindrance, e. g. Hanu porSi ecki fyrir hundiuum. Ma5r er hvergi dhultr fyrir dauS-anum. Eg gat ecki veriS i friSi fyrir honum.

478. Undir with (he ace. has the meaning of (a) until, about, of time or number; e. g. puS vnr komid undir dagimil. It was almost 9 o'clk A. M. undir jol until Christmas. Undir pat not far from, that, nearly as much; (b) when it means under e. g. Hann ileygSi fw undir boro'15.

With the dat. it means (a) rest at a place, e. ° . pat fannst undir borSinu. That was found under the table. Hami la undir riiminu He lay under the bed ; (b) when it means under, subordinate to, dependant on, e. g. pat er ecki undir J)vi komit, ek vil ecki eiga undir |>vi. Eg a ecki undir honum etc.

479. Yfir governs the ace. when it denotes (a) motion to a place; e. g. Hann festi |>at upp yfir dyrnar He fastened that up over the door. Hann hljop (stock) yfir garSinn. He ran (sprang) over the fence. Sa domr man ganga yfir alia; (b) when it means more than, over, e. g. Hann svaf aldrei yfir sex stundir, He never slept over six hours. Hann lofar yfir sig; (c) when it means about, concerning, e. g. utlegging yfir texlann. Exposition of the text. Registur yfir salmalogin Register of the Psalmtunes.

It governs the dat. on the other hand, when it expresses (a) rest in a place, e. g. {>at si(r yfir dyrunum; (b) power, sway over, e. g. hafa vald sitt viS yfir einhvorjum, to have, show, his power over anything.

480. The prep, at (a8) alone governs three cases, the ace., dat. and genit.; with the ace. it means (a) behind* after, (a persons death) e. g.

Afl ok eljun, Power and strength,

allt hit goSa, all the good things,

er Arngrims synir, which Arngrims sons,

a( sik leifSu. left behind them.

Geek hann meir at pat, after that he rceitt farther ; and on Runic stones ; N. N. let reisa stein at fe8ur sinn; but this use is now obsolete; (b) when it has the force of a or the with the comparat. e. g. Eingi mun Ein'k kalla at meira mann, None will call Eric a better man, Ecki inun hroOr pinn at meiri, pott ek maelti berara. MaSr at verri. Unless perhaps the adj. is more rightly taken as standing in apposition to what goes before , and at explained as put absolutely for at pvi, i pvi tilliti.

The common construction of this prep, however is wilh the dat. It means either (h) to a place, (Germ, tiac/i) e. g. paS er laung dagferS fra Skdgum a8 Odda. pegar peir koinu at honum; or (b) at a place. (Germ, zu) e. g. at Uppsolum at Upsala. Hann bjo at Mosfelli; or (a) arc ay from a place, (Germ, her], e. g. a<5 austan, a5 titan, aS hciman; (d) of a material into which something is changed; e. g. verfia afl steini to be turned into stone, gera a5 aungu to make into nothing, annihilate , pad kemr honum a5 litlum notum. In this way many adverbial expressions are formed, e. g. a8 gagni, at ganmi sinu for his joke, a5 fullu og ollu, a5 nauCsyn-jalausu, aS forfallalausu, aS mestu, a5 vissu, surely, a5 eilifu, etc.; (e) of a time to come, viz, when the same thing which now is, will return again for the next time, e. g. a5 sumri, a5 vetri, a9 morgni, a5 ari, i. e. next summer, next n-inter, which are said when the foregoing summer and winter are still passing.

This prep, is construed with ihe genii, when it means nith any one, in his house, (Germ, bet), e. g. iiofl skyldi vera at MarSar. peir gisiu at Bjarnar, etc. which is perhaps best explained by understanding husi or some such word.

481. Instead of naming a house, or town, and sometimes even a country in the nomin. the Icelanders often use a prep.

with the dat., e. g. sa baer het a Steini that house hight Stone, Hann gjorSi bu at bae peim , er at Tjorn heilir. par er heitir i Ripum, i Arosi. So also, par er heitir i Danmorku. In the land that is called Denmark.

482. The prep, is not often repeated in the last clause, when it has been already expressed in that which goes before, e. g. PortaeSin er 65ruvisi en bloSseSarnar i pvi, at innan i hennar pipum finnust ecki paer vaengbloSkur (i. e. valves) sem peim (i. e. i peim). Heraf sja menn paS eins stora varuS parf aS bruka i pvi a5 hindra ecki e5r aptra pessum svita, sem eptir natturligum haetti kemr a5 enduSum sjukdomum, sem hinu (i. e. i hinu), a5 orsaka ecki svi'ta i peirra upphafi.

CHAPTER XIX. Of Ellipses.

483. A word is often omitted in a construction when it is so common as to be easily understood. This lakes place with kostr, choice, alternative, resource, e. g. Ok er sa til, at sigla undan, The only choice is to sail away. Sa mun nii grsenstr at segja satt. Now the best (resource) will be to speak the truth.

484. The third pers. of the verb is often used without a subject, when this is unknown, unimportant, or easy to supply; e. g. Sva segi'r i Voluspa (viz skaldit). This takes place in particular, when the same subject has been shortly before expressed; e. g. Margir eru svo fataekir, aS bagt eiga ine5 a5 kosta uppa viSar-kaup. The unimportant pron. pat sa, sii, or hann, hun are omitted both as subject and object, when the true subj. or obj. which they supply, have been already named; e. g. Bjorn setli fram skip sitt ok bjo (viz pat) sem akafligast. SiSari snei5 karkr hofo8 af jarli ok hljop i brott me8 (viz pat). Si'San let Olafr konungr leifia hann i

brott, og hoggva hofufi af (viz honum); Even though another case be required than that which has been named; e. g. Nock-urt hsefi er po til pess., og skeSr (viz pa8) all natturliga. Hun grof sig ni8r i rumiff, og la vi5 daufia (viz henni la vi5).

485. Of verbs vera is most commonly omitted, e. g. AstriCr sagSi Gliimi at nautarfjoidi Sigmundar va?ri kominn i tun, "enn ek hefi eigi fraleik til at reka (\ T \7. hann) i brott, enn verkmenn (viz eru) at vinnu. (Viga-GInm's Saga. ch. VII.) Astridr told Glum that SigmuncFs cattle nert come into the field, "But") said she, "I have not strength enough to drive them away, and the workmen (are} at work, peir sogfiu J)ar faungin (viz vera), enn J>a fraelta (viz vera), er attu, enn bruSgtimann (viz vera) a kafi. This especially takes place after the auxil. verbs mun and skal in the fut. (278), e. g. pa mun hann kominn (viz vera) til AOalsteins konungs. Far aptr Haleyingr! sa (viz kostr) mun (viz vcra) per hinn bezti.

Ver5a also is often omitted in a clause, when it has been expressed in the one before, though the context may require another form than that already used, e. g. verCa paer (gind-irnar) » sterkari, og orOugra (viz ver5r pat) at veita peira motstoSu.

FIFTH PART.

Prosody.

CHAPTER XX. Metres.

486. The Icelandic poetry does not distinguish itself like that of Greece and Rome, by a system of feet but has an arrangement of its own, in common with (he other old Gothic nations. This system consists chiefly (1) in the number of long syll., (2) in alliteration. Nearly all Icelandic poems are (3) divided into strophes (erendi, visa), which commonly contain eight verses or lines (orS, visuorS). These strophes are again divided into two halves (visuhelmingr), and each of these again into two parts (visufjorfrungr), which form a fourth part of the whole strophe, and contain two verses belonging together, and connected by alliteration.

Alliteration.

487. Alliteration (Letter-rhyme) is regarded as the most essential part of Icelandic versification, it is found in all kinds of verse, and in every age; for some few abortions of modern times, in which those laws have been set aside, which the tongue and nation, — nay the whole Gothic family — have laid down, under the guidance of nature, and undeviatingly followed since

ihe earliest times, do not deserve to be taken into consideration. The nature of Alliteration is thisj that in the two lines belonging together (visu fjdrSungr) three words occur beginning with the same letter, two of which must be in the first line, and the third at the beginning of the second. These corresponding initial letters are called rhyme-letters (Ijoflstafir*); the third and last of these is called the chief letter, (hofuSstafr) because it is regarded as ruling over the two others which depend on it, these have the name sub-letters (studlar). All rhyme-letters must be found in accented syll., and no more words in the two lines should begin with the same letter, at least no chief word which takes its tone on the first syll. e.g.

Farvel /agnaSar Farewell ye fields

fold ok heilla! of mirth and bliss.

The rhyme-letters here are f, that in the word fold is the chief letter, farvcl and fagnafiar on the other hand contain the sub-letters.

Should the chief letter be compounded; especially if the word begin with sk\ st, sp, the sub-letters must be the same, so that in such a case, a simple s, or 5 with some other cons, as a subordinate letter, would be regarded as a fault; but this rule is not attended to so strictly with bl, br, gl, gr, /7, fr, etc. though it is considered more correct and beautiful if the three agree thoroughly in all points. If the verses are very short (as in the metre called fornyrdalag) one sub-letter only is often found in the first line, e. g. Se spjoti |)vi If that spear

er spentu v/'Sar spanned by the rvide

^reipar HelvarSar gripe of Heflswarder vi5 ^renitre jafnat, mere matched with the pine.

* This is doubtless the right form of the word which comes from 1J65 song, verse, (Germ. Lied), from which Poets also are called IjodasmiSir (songsmiths) \ but this word is commonly confounded with hljoSstafr rotrcl, from hljoS sound,, (Germ. JLaut), though the two words are wholly different both in meaning and formation. This observation has been communicated to me by the learned Icelander Mag. H. Scheving.

Here only one sub-letter is found in both places, but this is compounded (sp, gr,) in both instances, as in the chief letter.

488. Should the chief letter be a vowel, the sub-letters must also be vowels, yet all three if possible different, the rule being here just the contrary to that laid down for consonants; e. g.

^Mngri skal ek so wngri Neer shall I love,

wnna silki-gunni any maid however young,

enn, so at ^tar finni hereafter, however she be,

onnarri enn {)ik, svanni! other than thee my maid.

Here u is the chief letter in the first place, au and u the sub-letters, being all different according to the rule. In the second place a is the chief letter, e and y sub-letters, being again different vowels. The words etc, in the first, and at and enn in the last lines, are not reckoned as faults because they are unimportant words, and, especially the two first, quite toneless; enn on the other hand at the beginning of the third line has a tone and might be rendered "henceforth" or "at any time", and its vowel is therefore counted as an essential sub-letter.

J and v, which in the old tongue were not distinguished from i and u, are not reckoned as forming any hindrance against vowel alliteration. Sometimes also h is found before one of the sub-letters.

489. In short verses (chiefly of the metre called fornyr-dalag) one or more short and toneless words are often found, which are indispensable to complete the meaning, and are introduced before the chief syll. in the second line; these the Icelanders call malfylling i. e. filling up of the sentence; these are never reckoned in the metre of the verse, but considered as something as it were apart, e. g.

Um arsti'5 milda In the mild season

f>egar ofanfallnir what time rain-showers

regnskurir /ata from above falling

ALLITERATION.

/ond 611 groa, make all the field green,

og spreUandi blom and springing flowers

af &/undi vakir, awake from sleep ,

og prutnir knappar and swelling buds

preySan dag qveSja. hail the wished for day.

Here in the first couplet o is the chief and a the sub-letter; the u in um is not to be counted as any sub-letter because it is altogether toneless, while pegar is a case of malfylling and therefore also without tone. In the two next lines / is the rhyme letter, in the third couplet 61 is the alliterative letter with af for malfylling; and in the fourth pr without it.

490. The sub-letters in the first line have not so definite a place as the chief letter, and therefore though short syllables are sometimes found in them before a long one, they are not called actual cases of malfylling; but still these are not taken into account, for as a general rule all Icelandic verses begin with a long syllable, in other words, they are either trochaic, dactylic, or spondaic, and very often of a mixed kind, which depends solely on euphony, because the old Norsemen , like the present Icelanders, never arranged their verses after distinct feet; e. g. in the last quoted strophe, um in the first line , and og in the fifth and seventh, are a non-essential malfilling of the same kind, or a superfluous addition to the metre. In addition in the longer (octosyllabic) kinds of verse it is a rule with regard to the sub-letters, that the second should stand in the middle, or at least both in the last half of the first line; but they are hardly ever placed, the one at the beginning, the other at the end of the line; because there would then be too great a space between them, making the alliteration less plain; e.g. in an impromptu of Paul Vidalin in the name of his brother the Bishop.

Ecki smackast vorunum via To my lips wine has no taste,

visitazian aldrei dvin the visitation never ends,

/mgrinn ftygr Aeim til pin my mind flies home to thee,

Ajartans allrakaerasta rain! dearest of all to my heart I

Mere the sub-letlers have their proper and common place in the two latter lines, in the two former the one which i;» allowed them for the sake of change.

Quantity.

491. Long (langar) and short (skammar) syll. are used in the same way in poetry, as in prose (30. 52) ; the only difference being that spondees are pronounced somewhat more lightly in every day speech, almost like trochees, while in verse each separate syll. is heard more clearly and sharply in its natural length; e. g. ddauSligir deathless , is sounded in daily talk almost like two trochees, but in poetry as a spondee and trochee, or as two spondees.

492. In poetry especially in the longer and more regular kinds of verse, the following are long, (1) the first syll in the word which has the chief tone, or in an essential part of compounds, e. g. 6 in odauSligr, y and e in fyrirgefa; (2) those syll. which end in a double cons, or two separate cons., which answers to the Greek and Roman position, e. g. ofund envy, which forms a spondee; (3) those which contain a diphthong, or accented vowel, e. g. taekifaeri chance , which forms two trochees; (4) the chief syll. in dissyllabic flexional or derivative endings, e. g. ari, ugf, ligr", aSi, adr, andi. But the three last quoted cases are properly doubtful, unless they are joined with the one named first.

Most monosyll. words are doubtful, especially pron. and particles, the quantity of w r hich depends on their place and weight in the context, e. g. ek, nu. vi5, etc.; and also the first syll. in comp. or deriv. words, the second syll. of which has been the beginning of the chief word before it was compounded, e.g. dsjaldan, forsilfra; in common talk however it is always long, the endings, r, ur, z, M, «, are short; e. g. tekF, fagur, geisli, valdi, angu, hjarta', reiSuliga'. Yet even these may be used as long or common if several cons, follow immediately after and form a position.

Assonances.

493. Another important part of versification, though not extended to all kinds of verse like alliteration and syllabic quantity, is Assonance, (Icel. bending, Dansk linierim) or Line-rhyme, this is of two kinds, whole and half assonance. Whole-assonance (or perhaps consonance Icel. adalhending) consists in the occurrence in one and the same line of two syll., the vowels of which and the following cons, agree entirely together after the Icelandic manner (54); e. g. suui-ir gum-ar, merk-i sterk-a, and the like. It is called half-assonance (skot-hending) when the vowels are different, and only the following cons, the same in both cases; e. g. in the words stirS-um and norS-an, varS and for5.a etc.

The flexional endings r and s after cons, are not reckoned as forming part of an assonance, so that e. g. bjarts and hjurta are a perfectly correct whole-assonance, and aSr fKfii also a good half-assonance. But it must always be clear and intonated syll. which answer to one another in this way.

494, Both kinds are commonly used in one ami the same kind of verse, in such a way as thai the first line of the couplet, which contains the sub-letters, takes the half-assonances, the second with the chief letter the whole-assonances, and so on throughout the whole strophe, e. g.

FastorSr skyli /?r5a The king that would be rich

in men

fenasxM vera bew^ill, should always keep his word,

fJaflr heit at rjufa to break thy plighted faith

beseems

hjaltur mdgnu&r! ber aldri * thee nerer thou mighty man!

* The construction is simple, Fastorfir skyli firfia feng-sall bengill vera. Hjaldur mognuSr! aldri haefir ber at rjufa heit Firftar is a poet, word for people, warriors, bengill the same for king, and hjaldur for rvar, strife, mognudr comes from roagn strength, bellipotens.

In this there are half-assonances in the first and third lines viz orS-r fir5-a, haefir and rjufa; in the second and fourth whole-assonances, feng and J)eng-ill, hjald-ur and ald-ri.

Rhyme.

495. Final-rhyme also plays an important part in the Old Norse poetry; but like assonance only in certain kinds of verse. It has in Icel. the same name as assonance, viz bending, and like it is divided into whole and half-rhyme; the sole difference between the two being (hat the rhyme requires, if it be monosyll. that the final cons, should agree, and if it be dissyll. that the following final vowels in both words should be also the same, which does not come into consideration in the case of assonances because these are all monosyll/, though they are most often found in dissyll. words.

Whether the final-rhyme be monosyll. or dissyll., is sometimes regarded as an immaterial variation which makes no change in the melody, e. g. in Skaldhelga-rimr:

Katla feck i knerri setur kaupmenn satu i Noreg vetur gumnar bjuggu Grsenlands far geek him Jjangat sem farmann rco\

FerSast will hun flaustri z farmann tok ei skjott a [)vi styrimanni stoltar fljoft steypti i kjoltu miklum 5/08.*

Here the first strophe begins with dissyllabic, the second with monosyllabic rhyme. As an example of half-rhymes. I will quote the following strophe out of Stellurimur. 3.

* Knerri dat. of knorr ship, setur i. e. place, far ship, farmann nom. for farmaSr travelling merchant Flaustri dat. of flaustur ship, tok ei skjott a |>vi answered slowly to this, flj65 woman, the construction is; stoltar fljoS steypti miklum sj65 i keltu (a) styrimauni, kelta i. e. bosom.

RHYME.

Old, ef skalda-^kjur fae eg

ecki sparaB,

maelir, J)egar mitt ser qverifi miki5 skald hefir |>elta veriff! The folk, if but bombastic words

1 do not spare,

says, when it my work has seen, a poet great this man has been.

Here the first line is unrhymed, the second, only half as long, is on the other hand half-rhymed with the two last, which are whole-rhymed, because sparaS has the same cons, at the end of each syll. as qveriff and veriS, but unlike vowels.

In old Poetry only the two lines bound together by alliteration rhyme; never as is often the case with us the first and the third, and the second with the fourth; or in short any other variation, by which (he rhymes belonging together arc separated.

CHAPTER XXI.

Of the different kinds of verse. Division.

496. In the last chapter we considered the various arrangements by which the Greek feet were supplied in the Old Norse; it is the different employment and connection of these, that form and distinguish the several kinds of verse, which are very numerous (100 at least being enumerated), because these arrangements may be almost endlessly varied. The Old Norsemen gave each a separate name, but did not divide them into fixed classes, which however is indispensable in order to obtain a general view of the subject.

Olafsen assumes four head classes, without however giving any definite ground of division. Since agreement in sound, or a regular repetition of the same sound, constitutes a chief feature in the Norse versification, it is best in my opinion to adopt three chief kinds of verse in the old poetry, answering to as many modifications of this characteristic feature. The first has only alliteration, and may be named Narrative verse, (fornyrSalag) because it approaches most nearly to daily speech. The second has assonance besides alliteration, and may be named Heroic verse (drottqvaefti, in which may be included Olafsens third kind toglag), this was chiefly used in eulogies on Kings and Saints. The third has rhyme besides alliteration, and seems to be most fitly named Popular verse, (runhenda), because it is .most commonly used in popular songs. We will only briefly consider each of these chief kinds because it would require far too much space to describe and give examples of each separate variation.

Narrative Verse.

497. FornyrSalag is considered as the oldest kind of Norse verse; all the songs in the Poetical Edda belong to this class. It has also the name of StarkaSarlag, which however may perhaps be more rightly considered as the first kind of verse under this general class. ; it takes its name from the old StarkaSj of whom it is said that "Hans qvaeSi eru fornust |>eirra er menn kunna", (His songs are the oldest of those that men know) , and under it are comprised several unimportant distinctions in the Skalda. It is the freest of all kinds of Norse verse, has the longest "malfylling", and often only one sub-letter. Its chief characteristic is that each line has two long syll., or two resting points for the voice, but some short syll. must follow after these. In general one or two short belong together, sometimes even three short to one long syll., according as euphony may allow. Each strophe has regularly eight lines. As an example the 20th strophe of the GuSrunar-qviSa in the Edda may serve;

Sakna ek i sessi / miss at the board

ok saeingu and in my bed

mins malvinar, my friends discourse,

valda megir Gjuka! this is Gjukes sons' work!

Valda megir Gjuka Gjukes sons have wrought

minu bolvi, my mischance,

systur sinnar their own sisters

saram grati. bitter tears.

It is sometimes also found in irregular divisions of ten, twelve, or more lines; e. g. in Rigsmal, or without any proper distribution into strophes, e. g. in the Translation of Paradise Lost. This kind might be called continuous Starka&arlag.

498. In this kind of verse the lines may be quite different, both in length and cadence, without overstepping the rule, but since poetry expressed by song requires regularity, this freedom has been very rightly restricted by poets. The second line of the couplet is the most regular, and has most commonly four syll. arranged as two trochees, the first on the other hand is either like the second, or has still oftener five syll., sounding as a trochee and dactyl, though both lines are varied with great freedom in Starkaftarlag; but another more regular kind of verse in this class has the first of the two lines either trisyll.. and all three syll. commonly long, or ends at least with a monosyll. intonated word, by which means it obtains a cadence quite different from other trochaic lines. Olafsen calls this knept, orst^ft i.e. "shortened" fornyrSalag. In this kind of verse the Ynglingatal, as well as Hakonar-qviSa, are composed; together with Egil's Sonar-torrek, and Arinbjarnardrapa; e. g. I will quote the 8"» strophe of the last named, which describes how Egil recieved the head (life) of Eric Blodyxa.

\ 7 iS pvi tok; / tooh hold on it,

en tiru fylgOu but with the gift followed

sog svart-leit swarthued seas (eyes)

sifira briina; of bushy brows,

ok sa muftr, and the mouth

er mina bar which brought forth

HofuS-lausn * my heads' ransom

for hilmis kne. before the kings' knee.

499. Another very old kind of FornyrSalag verse, is Lj68ahal.tr ? which has six lines in each strophe, the two first of these, as well as the fourth and fifth, are connected by alliteration , and are altogether of the same character as those in SlarkaSarlag; but the third and sixth arc isolated, and have another cadence, and at least two rhyme letters; they have also most commonly three resting points, pauses , or long syll., besides the accompanying short ones, e. g. the 45tii strophe out of Hafamal:

Feiztu ef bii vin att, Knowest thou that thou a friend

hast

f>anns pii #el triiir, whom thou we'l trustest,

Ok viltu af honum <jrott ^eta: and willt thou get good from him: <7eSi skaltu vi5 bann blanda, thou shallt mingle thy heart with

him,

ok e/jofom skipta, and exchange gifts,

/ara at /"inna opt. and fare oft to find him.

The Hafamal, Lokaglepsa, Grougaldur, SolarljoS, and many more, are composed in this kind .of verse. The third (and sixth) line may also be altogether like the two proceeding, in which case it is also joined to them by alliteration, so that it has only one rhyme-letter, which does not answer to the fourth line but to the first and second, e. g.

pat er ba reynt That is then proved

er bu at runom spyrr when thou askest of runes

enom reginkunnom which every man knows.

It sometimes happens also that the strophe has nine lines or only three; this is however an variation allowed for the sake of change and no new kind of verse.

* This is my emendation which I hope will be allowed to pass by Norse philologists. In Eigla hefd is written for hof5, which seems only to be an abbreviation wrongly read, and destroys both the sense and verse.

500. Sometimes Starkafarlag and Lj68abattr are mingled together in the same poem, e. g. in the Hakonnrmdl, and Getspeki Heidrekskonungs, I will here quote (he 7tb and 8»i> strophes of the last named as an example.

Hverr er sa hinn hvelli, Who is the shrill one,

er geingr harSar gotur, that treadeth hard ways,

ok hefir hann f>aer fyrr um farit: and hath trod them before:

mjok fast kyssir, very close he kisseth,

ok hefir munna tva, and mouths hath he twain,

geingr a gulli einu. he stirreth for gold a j one?

Heftrekr kongr Now king Heftrekr

Jujfjgftu at (jdtu! think on the riddle!

God er gdta f)/« Good is thy riddle,

gestr Hindi! thou blind guest!

getit er tyirrar. yet is it solved.

Geingr hamar a hammer goeth

a gloS Vinar, for the seas glory (gold),

kveSr viS halt, loud is his voice,

ok kemr a steffja. as he comes on the stithy.

The first of these strophes is in LjoSahattr, in its common form, but the refrain is in Starka6arlag; the second strophe on the contrary has the refrain in Lj6Sh;ittr, consisting of thiee similar lines, and the actual answer in Starkafiarlag.

501. These kinds of verse, especially LjoSahattr, answer very exactly to the Hexameter of the Greeks and Romans, and are beyond a doubt the same verse in their element and origin; so that three Icelandic lines go to one according to the Greek arrangement *. But both nations have changed the Original rude form, each after its own way; The Icelanders have furnished all the three members with alliteration, the Greeks on the other hand have limited the number and position of the short syll. according to a scale of feet. Jt is in consequence of this, that we are neither able always lo arrange FornyrOalag as Hexameters, nor Hexameters as Fornyr-

* This interesting observation has been communicated to me by Prof. Fin. Magnussen.

Salag; very often however this may be done without exercising the least violence; e. g. in the verses already quoted,

G6S er | gata |un J gestur | blindi! | getit er | peirrar. So also in the Edda.

Vessel 1 | maSur ok j illur j skapi | hla&r at hvi | vetna. Ut skyidi | senda | allar } vaettir | griSa at | biSja.

As an example of the agreement of the Greek Hexameter •with (he FornyrSalag, the beginning of the Odyssey may serv e :

"Av$(>ct (lot evveice, jrXay/Ov?, E'JTE*

(btotiaa, ;roAi)T£Ojrov, TJ>OI-K itgov

05 ftaXa jpoWia jfTokisQfiov

Hence we may see how idle it is 5 to seek, like some German scholars, the Icelandic assonances in the Latin Hexameter; when the Hexametr answers to that class of Icelandic verse, which nev.er has assonance or rhyme, except in a few cases where they have accidentally slipped inlo the poem.

Heroic Verse.

502. This class has a more definite syllabic measure, with no "rnalfylling"; and has thus in general a more regular structure, and more evident agreement with the Greek and Roman metres. Another main characteristic is assonance, the second line of the couplet in particular has commonly whole assonances, the first sometimes whole, sometimes none, most commonly only half assonances. It seems best to divide this class into three main kinds, according to the length the lines: the first consist of four or five syll., the second of six, the third of eight; for the different position and relation of the assonances seems to be a less essential feature.

503. Those lines are called Toglag, which have less than six syll. in each line, and these are again subdivided into several variations. Some have all their lines of like length: One of these has four syll. , two of which are long,

and two short, in soch a way that (hey form two trochees. Another has four syll. three of which are long, with consequently the cadence of a spondee and trochee. A third has four long syll. with no short one, unless it be r (ur) that enters into the line.

All these have no kind of miilfylling, but they are usually linked together with so much art in the assonances, that it would be impossible to apply them to poems of any considerable length; they are therefore only found in a few separate strophes, as curiosities in Sturlusons HaUalykill. More important are the Toglag verses of five syll., in which the Rafnsmal is composed, and which is very like Adonic verse, except that the middle syll. is always long, so that the first foot must either be reckoned as an amphinacer or as a ts'ochee, when the second would become a dactyl, being thus an inversion of Adonic verse; this kind of toglag never ends in a monosyllable.

Others have lines of uncertain length, being of four or five syll., two of which in particular have the chief tone, and contain the assonances; this is the Toglag properly so called, after which the Knutsdrapa, and several other laudatory poems were arranged. As an example the following strophe of the Knutsdrapa may serve:

Ok Idru i byr Bhie sails at the yard

b\d segl vifi ra bore with fair breeze (dfr var rfoglings for) (dear rvas the kings journey)

dreJcar landr^a: the ships of the chiefs-.

enn peir er A'omu but the ships that came

kilir vestan til, away from the west,

urn 7«8 /z'Su glided safe over

L/mafjar5ar brim Limfjords swell.

Another very melodious kind of Toglag is quoted by Olafsen out of the Skalda, under the name ofHaghenda. This has lines of unequal length; viz, the first consisting of three trochees, and a long syll., the last on the contrary of a spondee

and a trochee. It is most likely however (hat no poem of any length is to be found in this kind of verse.

504. DrottqvfftSi has three trochees, or properly spondees in each line; but dactyls may also be used in the two first places, e. g. in the following verses out of Njala. ch. 59:

Her verSr Tpraung a tyngi, Here is a throng in the meeting,

fyof gengr langt or hofi, the noise goeth far beyond bounds,

sz'5 man saett meS {)jo5um late will atonement be made

sett', leiSiz mer fyetta: with men; this wearies me:

raskligra er rekkom better is it for men

rjo6a vapn i bloSi to redden arms in blood,

vist tern ek graSinn geysfa readily mould 1 still the hunger

gjarna ylgjar barni of the greedy rcolfs young.

In this kind of verse are composed Geisli, Vellckla, Bersoglis visur, and many drapur as they are called, of which however only a few have come down to us in a perfect state.; and in addition many unconnected strophes in the Sagas, in which an important event in life, or a strong emotion excited on such an occasion, have been clothed for the sake of keeping them in memory, and if possible of preserving them everlastingly. Sometimes also these verses are the inventions of the writer of the Saga in order to give his narrative more truthfulness.

505. These loose strophes are often full of artificial and overdrawn circumlocutions, together with confusing and arbitrary transpositions of words, because they are for the most part to be considered as impromptus, in which the author, perhaps into the bargain no poet by nature, has often fallen into difficulties. Some of this art belonged also to the taste of the age, and a great part of the difficulty must be laid to the account of later copyists, who have often not understood the poets expressions, and corrupted the text by their carelessness. As a help I may observe (a) that the sense very seldom extends itself beyond the four lines which make half a strophe; and (b) that at the same time there is often in these four a parenthesis, sometimes two, which must first be picked

out and separated when we wish to resolve these verses; (c) that we must also collect and lay aside the words which belong to a periphrasis; and (d) during all these operations pay great care to case and other inflections, as well as to the manner in which they are wont to be combined in the Old Norse. The neglect of these rules has often misled translators, e. g. Geisli 12. (In the 3rd p ar t of the Heimskringla) which runs as follows:

Sighvatr fra ek at segfii / know that doughty Sighvatr

soknhvatr konungs daSir, sung the king's deeds,

spurt hefir old at orti the world has heard how Ottar

Oltar af gram drdtlar: told of the peoples' king:

|)eir hafa {>engil Macra they that hight first of scalds

(I)vi er s^st frama) Ifstan, have sung of Norway's ruler,

(helgum lyt ek) cr hcto (for his vafotir is proved)

hofuS-skald firar (jofri). / bow to the holy (king).

The construction of the last half is: {>eir, er firar hetu hofutskald. hafa lystan Msera fjengil! {>vi er syst frama (hans): ok tyt helgum jofri. But this has been altogether misunderstood in the Copenhagen Edition, because the parentheses have not been distinguished; so that sy-st is construed, contrary to grammatical rule, with jofri, and tyt (veneror) confounded with hlyl (coffor) as will as Maera gen. pi. of Maeri, i. e. the province More (as in the following strophes, praenda, Kauma, HorSa etc.) with the verb Macra to sing.

For the rest this verse, which consists of Greek feet linked together by assonance and alliteration, cannot be in its nature harder either for a poet or reader than onr new kinds of verse, in which feet are combined with rhyme.

506. This kind of verse admits of many variations in the assonances, as well as in their position and relations, e.g. In the LoSbrokarqvifia which has assonance only in the two last lines of the strophe, viz; half in the first, and whole in the last, which however is not accurately observed. This song has besides ten lines in each strophe, of which the first is the refrain, and the second serves to connect this with the

HEROIC VERSE.

strophe; viz it fills up the alliteration of the refrain, and thus belongs to it in mechanical construction, and doubtless also in singing, but with regard to meaning it always belongs to the strophe itself; e. g. the 24th strophe.

Hjuggom ver med hjorvi.

Hitt s^niz mer raunar

at forlogom fylgjom,

farr gengr af skop norna,

eigi hugSa ec Ello

at aldurlagi mirio,

J>a er ec bloSvali braeddac, *

oc borS a log keyrSac;

vi'lt fengom f)a vargi

verS i Skotlands fj0>5om.

VFe hewed with the sword. It seems to me certain we follow our fate, few fall from the Nornas degree, I trowed not that Ella should rule oer my death as I fattened the ravens, and drove oer the sea', wide gave we the wolf food in Scotlands friths.

507. Liljulag differs from DrotlqvaeSi solely in having eight syll. instead of six in each line, that is, it has four trochaic spondees, which may also be exchanged for dactyls except in the last place. By way of an example, the first stophe of the Catholic Ode Lilja, from which the verse has its name, is here quoted.

Almattugr guS allra stetta, yfirbjoSandi eingla ok JyoSa,

ei fmrfandi staSi ne stundir, staS haldandi i kyrrleiksvaldi: senn verandi uli ok inni,

uppi ok niSri ok {>ar i miftju, lot* se fxir urn aldur ok aefi eining sonn i [irennum greinum !

God Almighty oer all beings, thou that swayest angels and

peoples,

needing not time nor place, holding state in power of love: being at once without and

within, above and below and eke i'

the middle, praise be to thee for ever and

ever, Oneness true in three members.

* Valr is falcon, but bloSvalr raven, and is put here in the Ace. pi. Braeda to feed (from brad) here stands in I* 1 pers, imperf.

POPULAR VERSE.

Popular Verse.

508. Runhenda is more regular than narrative, yet more free than heroic, verse: like the first it allows of malfylling yet of a shorter kind, and consists like the latter of tolerably regular spondees, dactyls, or trochees, connected by alliteration and final rhyme.

The strophes are of eight lines , and each of these commonly of the same length. This class may also be divided into several kinds, according to the number of long syll., viz, into those which have two, three, or four long syll., or resting points. Those with three such are most common, e. g.

Munat gramr viS mik The king rvilt not toward me

(venr hann gjofli sik) (so the scald hopefh)

(bess mun grepp vara) spare rings of gold',

gullhring spara. (to munificence he is rvont)

Segi siklmgr mer Let the king teV me

ef hann heyrSi ger whether he eer heard

d^rligra brag? a better song?

bat er drapulag! that is a drapa-verse!

Egil Skallegrimson's "Ransom for his head" is in this kind of verse, whence it may be seen that it is very old, older at least than Christianity in the North. It is needless to adduce any examples of the other kinds.

Refrain.

509. In the old songs, especially in the drapur, a kind of refrain (stef) is commonly found, consisting of two or four lines, which belong to a regular strophe, and are only repeated at the end of a new division of the song; such a division is called stefjabalkr, stefjamaM, they were sometimes of like, sometimes of unlike length, according to tke natural character of the matter.

510. Another kind of refrain is the viSqvsefti, as it is called , consisting of two or more lines , separate from the strophe, and which are repeated at the beginning or end of each strophe, either throughout the whole song, or in some portion of it: the refrain was sometimes changed two or three times in the same poem; for the rest it is written in all kinds of verse, and therefore needs no fresh description.

511. In strophes ascribed to ghosts, or Gods, or which contain anything mysterious, gloomy, and sublime, the last line was often repeated with some slight variation. In the Skalda a verse of this kind inLjoSahattr is quoted, which has the name of galdralag; but it is found in many other kinds of verse, e. g. in Njala chap. 79. one is met with in Droltqvaefti; and in chap. 176. another in FornyrSalag, where the two last lines are repeated, so that it is rather to be regarded as a kind of refrain than as any peculiar kind of verse.

CHAPTER XXII. Hinds of Poetry.

512. The various poems were naturally of quite different length; yet they were all, in the Edda at least, unconnected songs, each forming a whole in itself; these belong therefore to the Lyrical, or Epic branch of Poetry. Of the actual dramatic or didactic the Old Norsemen seem not to have had the least idea.

513. The separate songs consist in general, taking an average number, of 30 or 40 strophes, sometimes also 50 or 60; and some few, to which the poet wished to give an especially commanding appearance, contain 100 strophes. It is remarkable enough that this, making a total of 800 lines, is also the sum of the longest of Homers Rhapsodies, and thus seems to be the natural limit which a separate song can not readily overstep without at once tiring both the poet and reader.

514. A song in general, or a lay, is called qvseCi, popular songs, fornqvacfti; but these are for the most part, if not entirely, translations from the Dansk, and of small poelic worth; a magical song galdur, and a bitter personal satire or lampoon m'5. Laudatory poems were of two kinds; a short eulogy, or song of thanks, much the same as a poetical letter, was called flockr; it was presented to Earls and Princes, but seldom to Kings, because it was thought too insignificant for them; it was made up indeed of several strophes but not of divisions marked off by refrains : The longer and more stately kind of these poems were the drapur. Sometimes also more detailed songs relating the deeds of departed Princes recieved this name; they were commonly in DrdttqvaeOi or Runhenda; and consisted of several divisions separated by a refrain; they were also used in honour of God or the saints.

Of a song in fornyrSalag, the words qvi<5a, mal, IJ65, of an elegy the word gratr, are also used in compos, with the name of the chief person. The separate verses (visur, stokur) have been already mentioned; Psalms properly so called, (salmar) and lays (rimur) belong to later times.

CHAPTER XX11I.

Modern Poetry.

515. The poetry just described has in the main kept itself alive until the present day. In all Icelandic poetry alliteration is still found, and the lines are best scanned by the long syll. because the strict Greek and Roman metre has never been introduced. FornyrSalag is still used in long poems without rhyme, for which purpose it seems extremely well fitted from its similarity to the Hexameter, its freedom and its simplicity; e. g. in the excellent translation of Milton, and Popes "Temple of Fame". Heroic verse is now

less frequently used, because all objects for its use have disappeared from among the people.

On tho other hand the popular verse has gained the upper hand, since it is used in religious poetry, rhymes, and small pieces of verse; in short it is the only kind which is is still accompanied by song. It is distinguished by alliteration and final rhyme, and a trochaic cadence. The following innovations have been adopted from foreigners; (a) the having lines of unequal length, (b) the having more or fewer lines than four in the half strophe, which (c) is reckoned as a whole verse in song, (d) to interchange the final rhymes, and not to confine oneself to making the two lines connected by alliteration, and immediately following one another, rhyme together. One kind in particular has become general having six lined verses, with four long syll. in each line; the first line rhymes with the third, the second with the fourth, and the two last with each other. As an example I will quote a passage from Eggert Olafsens' didactico descriptive poem, BiinaSarbalkr (on the countrylife of Iceland), which has been translated into Dansk verse by Prof. Magnusson; viz the beginning of the 3^ song.

Vaent er at kunna vel a8 biia, vel aS fara meS herrans gjof,

bans verkum ser i hag aS sniia honum packa fyrir utan tof,

enn ser og 6'Sruin gjora gott,

glefijast og forsma heimsins spott. Fair is it well to keep ones' house, well to apply the gifts of God, to understand to use his works ^ to give him thanks without delay, to do good to ones' self and others, to joy, and scorn the world's reproach.

516. Though the words in the tongue begin invariably with a long syll. and are thus either trochaic or dactylic, it is nevertheless very easy both in Icelandic, and the new Northern toneues to throw them as it were into iambics or an-

apacsts by placing a short monosyllabic word before. This occurs also very often in Old writers, but in them the short syll. is either "malfylling" or altogether accidental, because the Old Norsemen never purposely arranged their verses after feet. In New writers, who have accustomed their ear more to feet, iambic verses are found though very rarely; e. 5. the following disjointed strophes of Mr. Attorney Peterson.

pa eymdir striSa a sorgfullt sinn. og svipur motgangs um vanga riSa,

og bakivendir f>er veroldin, o» % vellyst brosir aft f)inum qviffa;

£eink a!lt er knottott, og hverfast Jaetr,

sa hlo i dng er a morgun graetr.

Alt jafnar sig.

WTien anguish wars in thy heavy breast, find adverse scourges fash thy cheeks, and the world turns her lack on thee* and pleasure mocketh at thy pain: Think all is round and light to turn., lie weeps to-morrow who laughs to-day. Time makes all good.

517. The rimur, as they are called, when they are separate, answer to what we call ballads; but in common several such belong together and form a great poem, in which the life and deeds of some old hero are celebrated; this is thus a kind of national Epos, which arose about the time of the Reformation, and has maintained itself in great favour among the people of Iceland up to the present day. Among many such the Ulfarsrimur in sixteen songs are* considered best. A beautiful satirical poem in this form has been composed by a poet still alive, Mr. Attorney Sigurd Peterson, under the title of Stellurimur in eight songs. Each song or rima should begin with an introduction in 8 or 10 strophes (i. e. half-strophes) which is called mansaungr, loi'e song, and is commonly very artificial, being full of Eddaic periphrases, sometimes hardly intelligible, and containing most often an invocation to Odin or Bragi; sometimes also a kind of connection

15

with the proceeding song. The final verse in each song is of the same artificial character. The metre is invariably ruuhenda with rhyme, yet it is varied so that it is seldom that two rimur in the whole poem have precisely the same form of verse, and never two following immediately the one after the other. By way of example a few verses of the Stellurimur are here quoted.

From the 1st rima.

Havelborni heyrftu mer herra Asgar5s-bua! (i. e. Odin} ef mig styrkja eitt-hva5 fer, a f)ig skal eg trua

From the 2nd rima.

Ecki neinum manni incin mm er lyst a5 bjoSa a5 skemta mer og oSrum er efm'8 stirSra Ij65a.

From the 3rd rima (to Odin concerning the hero)

Veittu honum tvennum tolf enn tiSast |>rennum i hoggi a5 steypa Hels aS inni, svo hann ei Ulfari verSi minni!

From the 4th rima.

VakniS |>iS, sveinar! vakniS f)i5, fljdS! varpi5 |)iS {>ungum rockurmoS! skentfan bjdSa Skollvaldsker er skumandi standa a bordi her.

i. e. Odins drinking horn which stands foaming on the board, that is, the verses which I sing, awakens you and bids you be merry.

SIXTH PART.

Of the Dialects

CHAPTER XXTV.

Historical View.

518. All the northern tribes of Gothic offspring, formed in ancient times one great people, which spoke one tongue, that namely which I have now striven to describe. Even then it is natural to suppose, variations in speech were to be met with, but the orthography was arranged on the same principles, and these peculiarities in speech were so unimportant, as not to deserve the name of Dialects. Even now, when the Old Norse has been entirely destroyed and shattered to pieces in Scandinavia, the difference between the new tongues is scarcely greater than that between the Old Greek Dialects, when allowance is made for the fact, that the alphabetical system, which was always the same among the Greeks, is differently arranged in Swed. and Dansk, e. g. Swed. riY/, Dansk vit, Swed. van, Dansk ven y Swed. bast, Dansk bedst, hafvet, Dansk kavet, ga, Dansk gaa or rjaae etc.; have all precisely the same sound however differently th°y r»2y be presented to the eye.

No such deviations were found in the Old Norse, or if any they were very few and indefinite., not distinguished by

country or people; but in the words themselves and their forms the indentity is still more striking. On the older Runic stones altogether the same tongue is found in all three kingdoms, and in the oldest laws of each people very nearly .the same.

This tongue occurs first under the denomination Donsk tunga, because Denmark in the oldest times was the mightiest kingdom, as it was the first in which the tribes were collected and bound together into an united realm; whence also the religion of Odin, and in all probability along with it the art of writing and poetry ^ spread itself over Sweden and Norway. But the Old Norse began also first to decay in Denmark, and therefore took the name Norraena, because it was probably spoken best and most purely in Norway. This realm was also at one time the most powerful in the North, but in it too the tongue soon fell into decay, so that already before the Union of Calmar it was materially changed both in Sweden and Norway; then arose the name islenska, which the tongue has kept until the present day.

519. From the three Northern realms, especially from Norway, sprung the Icelanders, and so carried with them the old tongue and poetry, both which they cultivated with so much care, that in all three countries their superiority in these respects was universally acknowledged; kings maintained Icelandic poets at their courts, and caused their histories to be written by Icelanders. To this period the great mass of histories and poems is to be ascribed, which may be called the Classical Literature of Iceland, e. g. The Edda, Heims-kvingla, Knytlinga, Sturlunga, Njala, Eigla, Gretla, and many more, of which more than half still lie hidden in M. S., or have been edited without learning, criticism, or taste. *

* This state of things has happily undergone a great change since the work of Rask was written, thanks to the unwearied efforts of individual Philologists like him, and the combined exertions of that praiseworthy body the Society of Northern Archaeologists at Copenhagen. [Translator's note.]

But in Iceland also the Old Norse had its periods. A liule before the Reformation the Literature and language were at their lowest ebb.; since that event they have been cultivated anew, and the last half of the 18«> century, and the beginning of the IQtii, have been particularly distinguished by a happy striving to approach the purity, simplicity, and taste of the old time. To this period belong I ViSalin's Huspostilla, who for his pure and nervous style has been called the Icelandic Cicero. Judge ViSah'n's legal Treatises, and Commentaries on obscure words in the Old Icelandic Laws, Attorney Jon Espolins Continuation of the Sturlunga down to the present day. The writings of the Royal Society for Icelandic Literature. Those of the Icelandic Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge, among the writers of which Bishop H. Finson, and Councillor M. Stephensen, are the most distinguished. The new Icelandic Literary Society also which has not yet published any original work. Among celebrated Poets, a class of writers in which Iceland has never been deficient, the last Catholic Bishop may be selected, as prominent in the Later Literature, as well as Hallgrimr Petursson, Steflan Olafson of Vallanesi, the abovenamed Pall ViSalin and Eggert Olafsson; together with the following poets now alive, Sra. J<5n~porlaksson, Assessor P. Grondal, Attorney Sigurd Petursson, and Prof. Finnr Magnusson in Copenhagen.

520. From the North the same tongue was spread over the Ferro, Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles, and from Iceland to the East Coast of Greenland; but the Old Greenland has been now for a long time lost, and since the Scottish Isles were joined to Scotland, the Old Norse language has given way to the New English. On the Ferro Isles a Dialect is still spoken, which comes very near to the Icelandic, but is of little interest, since it has no Literature, except some popular songs, which however have not been printed up to the present time. *

* These ballads were published with a Dansk translation by Lyng-bye, Randers 1822.

Since therefore the language of the three Northern realms has altered itself by degrees, and this period of transition seems to belong to the History of the formation of the new Scandinavian tongues, and since the old tongue on the Islands is either extinct, or become insignificant Dialects without Literature. It remains only to consider the Oldest and Poetic Dialect of the Old Norse, together with the modern language in Iceland itself.

CHAPTER XXV.

The Oldest and Poetic Dialect.

521. It has been customary among all nations to retain the old tongue longest in poetry, partly perhaps because it was familiar to the people in their older songs, partly because it gave the diction a kind of venerable appearance, partly perhaps for the greater freedom thus gained, by having a choice between more words and forms, which indeed might be very needful as a counterpoise to the restrictions which the construction of the verse lays upon the poet.

Among the poets therefore most Archaisms are found, for it is absurd to suppose that these writers ever ventured on changes in their diction altogether arbitrary, which would have drawn down on them ridicule instead of admiration. In addition most of these poetic idioms are met with in the oldest prose writers in Icelandic, or in other kindred tongues, so that both classes of writers may be considered under one head,

522. In old writers are often found:

o for u in endings, e. g. tungo, tiingor, tungom, koliorn, kolloflom, kolloSot, kollo9o, kolloS, etc.

r for ur essential, e. g. norCr, veCr, akr, vetr, vitr; but not often for ur of the pi. from fern, in -a; e. g. sogor not sogr for sogur.

ce for €B throughout, where the root form has 6, e. g. boeli from bdl, beer for baer from bua. bjd, (73). It is also confounded wit au and <e which comes from a, though wrongly.

<s for e, and cei for ei, e. g. aef, vaela, «iga, «ila.

ey for -o, e. g. geyra, eyx, eyrindi, gleygyr, steyckr, keyr for kjor.

au for o. For this change see 29. In old M. S. simple o is often found for o; in words which are sometimes spellt with au, sometimes with o, we may be always sure that the right sound it o.

fing, eng, ing, ong , ong, for any, eing, ing, ung, aung, and eyng, e. g. ganga, lengi, hringr, konongr, fong, etc. of which change much has been said above (73,78)-

o for va, e. g. orr, on, oro, ko6o, for varr, vdn, varo, qvA5o.

The oldest pronunciation of a was d (a«), which

is proved by assonances and rhyme, e. g.

Skawungagramr hanum.

Flestr maSr of frd hvat fylkir vd.

See farther on this point 13. w, y, for ve, vi, e. g. ondurSr, ondugi, dogurCr, kykr, kyk-

vindi, tysvar, for 6ndver5r, ondvegi, dag\*er?r,

qvikr, qvinkindi, tvisvar. So also yrkja (forvirkja)

from verk.

o for a. Thus the pronounciation a in the new Northern tongues, was already a dialect in the oldest times, though it is very rarely found in Old Norse writings, e. g. o for a a river, (Swed. ti) boro for baro they bore, fom for fam (Swed. fa) few.

<B : ec, for jd. jo, e.g. saer forsjar, sjor (Swed. ejo) sea. snaer for snjar, snjor (Swed. sno) snow, nefr and rjafr

roof,, slaefu for sljofu Fafnisb. 30. slaeforum fos sljofari Lokagl. 22. 23. t*5 or teS for tjaS V61-undarq. 16.

e for o and vice versa, e. g. neqvi for nockvi, kerit for kjorit, igognom for igegnom, koinr for kemr, (Gcrm o komt) ofri, ofztr, for efri, efstr.

The vowels a and u often fall away at the end of words after another vowel, especially if it be accented, e. g. trja for trjaa, bra for braa, etc. Sa gen. pi. for saa., fam for faum. Gro for Grdu, se for seu, and many more.

523. With regard to the cons, many peculiarities are also found.

H often falls away before the hard cons., e. g. lutr^ Ijdp., riugr, ok-reinn, nifr, etc. for hlulr etc. , but before j and v it never falls away.

C is often used for k by the Angl. Sax. orthography; e. g. Cristr, cor, scip, scegg, fecc, (though not cv for 7ro, or qv) but especially at the end of words, e. g. oc, ec, mic, etc. which are now written with g.

E is often used for/, particularly before a and o, after the Angl. Sax. fashion, e. g. earn, sealfr, earl, be65a, feorSr. beorn.

8 for nn, e. g. vi5a for vinna, bre5r, fi5r, ku9r, etc.. of \\hich mention has been made above.

T for 5 at the end of words after a vowel, e. g. hofut, koliut, standit upp!

P for f before a hard cons.; e. g. ellepti, tolpti, bor-dlpsson.

p seems sometimes to have been used as an abbreviation for ddj and z for ss, e. g. nab-gofugr for nadd-gofugr, (naddr is point, arrow , spear) Gizur, Ozur, Pjazi, bleza etc.

Besides these, many variations of particular words are found; which it is hard to bring under any rule, e. g. gliki; giikligt, for likr likligt, gnaga fornaga, oliungis now oldiiugis,

skilh'ngr MOW skildingr, vcetta for vaenta, Girkir for Grickir, leyfa for lofa to praise, etc. Sometimes also the assonances have compelled the poets to force some words a little, thus we find e. g. ata for atta (7 orvned) Heimskr. 11. ch. 48. lattr for latr the lair of seals, heiSengja for hei5ingja, riCari for riddari.

524. Inflection itself has also its peculiarities, thus the vowel change of a into b is sometimes neglected before the ending u, e. g. skjaldo for skjoldu . even in the sing. ace. skjald, dat. skjaldi, herjaSu for herjuSu etc.

525. Words in -andi (2nd decl. 122) are often thus de clined in the pi.

N. A. cigendr or cigendor Dat. eigondom or cigandom Gen. eiganda.

and these forms are also used when they stand as actual particip. or adj.

526. Instead of faSir f65r also occurs, ace. and dat. feflr. gen. foStirs. From broSir is found in the gen. and dat. brceJJr (brauf>r) Volsungaq. 21. and Sturluson's Hak. Adalst. 20.

527. It has been already remarked (158) that many feni. of the 7u» decl., especially those of which the vowel is o, took of old ar for ir in the pi., e. g. farar, sakar, gjafar, fjaSrar, hallar. attar, etc. as well as that elfr, byr5r, merr, heiSr etc. were anciently used for elfa, byrfii, men, heifii, (159).

528. Those words of the 8"» decl. which end in n, .«, r, assimilate the pi. ending r with the final cons., e. g.

bon, pi. baenn, gas, pi. gaess,

brun, pi. br^nn, tonn, pi. tenn.

In the same way like assimilations are found also at the end of other words. (93, 139, 189, 256.) It is however seldom that sr within the word becomes ss in the inflection of adj., e. g. vissa for visra, fiissi for fiisri.

529. Adj. in -igt, -ugt, (366) are contracted in old writers as well as those in -alt, -ult, and if the characteristic letter be a hard cons., the g of the ending is changed into k , e. g. oflgir ok astgir (Volusp. 17.)

Meingar f>ser ur5u |>6 hinn mattki Gu5 ekapti skirliga. (Sol. 10.)

Even the comparat. and superl. are contracted in Old writers, for which see 200. 205.

530. From the comparat. a peculiar dat. pi. is found in -rum, -urum, instead of the unchanging -ri, -ari, e. g. taldr me5 hinum staerrum monnum, af minnum sokum, enum sla3f-orum, etc., which now only takes place in the two irregular words fleira and meira in the dat. pi. of the indef. form fleirum (meirum) and in the dat. sing, meiru.

531. As an irregular superl. bazt baztr, is often met with for bezt beztr, but not bozt in the fern.

532. The old forms of the pronouns ec, mic. var etc. have been already mentioned., we may remark in addition okr (ocr) for ockr, and iS and er in the 2nd pers., for |>iS and f)er in the pi., which last forms were doubtless of later origin, by the addition of f> from the sing. The Swed. and Dansk forms 7, as well as the Germ. Ihr, answer to the old form; e. g. Hvi i5 JEsir tveir? Lokagl. 19. Ollut er (ye rcere the cause). From hann honum is also found in the dat., fem. hon (hon).

533. It has been already remarked (215) that the dissyllabic possessives are regularly declined in old writers^ great care must therefore be taken not to confound their fem. with the dat. of tke personals, e. g. yckur (vestra amborum), yckr (vobis ambobus).

For mitt, minn, etc. the gen. of the pers. mm, fun, sin, are sometimes used unchanged, especially by later poets.

For van the old poets have another word in all the cases, the ending of which begins with a vowel, e. g. osso, ossoin, ossa, pi. ossir, which is the Germ, unser, [and more especially the English us.]

534. From petta pvisa is found in the dat., masc. persi, dat. peima.

535. Of the old relatives hvart, hvarr, and hvat, hvar, mention has been already made (220); I will here only add an example of hvar in the fern., viz "hal ber old hvar" Ha-fam. 54. For hvat hot is found, at least in compounds, hot-vetna any whatever, alL Hafam. 49. and in the masc. hor for hvar Solarl. 27. is a variation which is strengthened by comparison the Swed. ho, Dansk hro.

The old es (for er) is often contracted with other words e. g. sas, panns, sus, pars, hvars, for sa er etc.

536. For nockut old writers often use nockart, nacqvart, nackvat. From ecki, engr, 6'ngr, ace. engi, are used in ihe masc.; fern, ong, aung, (e. g. SigurCarq. Fafn. 2. 26., and Hafam. 99.)

The negative ending -gi, after a hard cons. -At', is also compounded with many other words, but never with verbs, e. g. hitlki, patki, hvargi, gen. hvarkis, for hvorugr neither; sjalfgi fern, (non ipsa.) pagi, svagi, aefa, or sefagi, never. Masc. subst. throw away their r in this case e. g. Ulfgi, Loptki, vaettki also vettugi, whence the gen. vettugis, Vol-usp. 8.

537. Most of the peculiarities in the old inflection of verbs have been already mentioned, along with the common ones, with which they are often confounded; some verbs have peculiar obsolete forms or methods of inflection, e. g. gerva, styrkva, prongva, s^ngva, skepja (skapti, skaplr) pickja, (in all three pers. of the pres. picki) tjoa (tjoSi, ty^i); instead of gera, styrkja, preyngja,"s^ngja, skapa, pyckja,tja. And farther:

skynda skyndi, do skyudr

hjalpa helpr halp holpinn

fregna fregn frag-o freginn

sveipa sveip sveipinn

blikja blanda

Wngja)

mala

skepja

fljuga

Spn'nga is also found in the sense of springing, leaping, and has then sprang in the imperf. (Skaldhelgarimor.) pi. sprungu, conj. sprfngvi (Saemundar Edda). Heitr a regular present from heita, instead of heitir is also found. (In Orvar-odds, and Jomsvikinga Sagas Cod. Perg. No. 7. 4to.) From sja set is also met with instead of sjaiS, se instead of sja and senn instead of sen or se5r.

538. The verbs of the 2nd and 3rd class of the 1st con-jug, are often found in old writers with 5 (b) instead of #, d, in the imperf. and past part; e. g. merkSi, bekbi, glapbi, skilSi, dreymSi. In this case / is never doubled, or when it is, t or d are always used; e. g. villdi, skylldi, this has therefore been an actual variation of inflection. The same holds good in derivation, e. g. eycS, fjolS or fjolSi etc.

539. In the third class, a second, infm. is found with the same vowel as the imperf.; e. g. dvala, glaSa, for dvelja, gle&ja; lama, duna, huga, for lemja, dynja, hyggja are still used, and are regularly inflected by the 1st class, 1st conjug. For the particip. in -it, -zo>, -i$ see 269.

540. The imperf. conj. of the 3rd class 1st conjug., and of the 2nd conjug. is sometimes found with no change of vowel; e. g. ut bii ne qvomir for kaemir Lokagl. 27., komia for ecki kaemi (Grottas.) bningvi for br^ngvi etc.

541. From the auxil. verb vera the following variations are found in old writers; es for er, 3rd pers. pi. 'ro for ero,

after r or a vowel, imperf. vas, infin. vesa, conj. sja for se. From this form comes the Ice), vist, stay, entertainment, food. The German longues have also retained the 5 in the verb itself.

542. For the old endings, a in the l«t pers. for?, minthe 1st pers. pi. for urn, and i, 3"« pers. pi. imperf. conj. for u see 271—273. For u, t, instead of urn, ?<5, /5. 274. For the composition of the 1st and 2«d pers. pron. with the verb in the sing. 275. 277. This last occurs very often in old writers; e.g, emk for em ek, vask for var ek, hyck for hygg ek; draptu fortu etc. In passives or deponents the 1st and 3rd pers. pron. in the ace. mic, sic, is used, the vowel being thrown away me, sc, both in a dat. and ace. sense; e. g. sii eromc lick, for su er mer likn, Lokagl. 35.; this takes place especially in depon. verbs, thus in an active sense, e. g. ec dumc 1 fear (me), ec sjamc I see, and is formed like a pi. The simple 1st pers. of the pi. in um, together with the usual pass, in urns, umz, umzt, is also found instead of this, e. g. hjoCum. F bid, (otherwise we bid), ek aetlums I intend, my intention is, holluSumz, f)6ttum etc.

The ending sc for sic is besides extended in common speech to all the pers., because its origin was forgotten, after the vowel had fallen away, and sc, had been changed into z or st ; e. g. lata eggjasc, (eggjast) to let himself be egged on, hann lagSiso he laid himself don>n , sasc vi5 boendr hasca for sausc, saust, and this again for sau ser in the dat.

543. The verbs, like the pron., have a negative ending of their own, viz, at (or a if a cons, follow, and t if a vowel go before, which is however often neglected). It is added to all inflections, except the 2nd pers. pi. in 5, /. In the first two pers. of the sing, it is besides united to the pronominal ending, though this pron. is commonly repeated, either as an independant word, or in a new contraction, e. g. em-k-at aint /, I'm not, but commonly emkat ek, emkattak, or cmka-k; ert at-tu thoifrt not; er-at he is'nt', erum-a (eru-t the're not\\ and in the imperf. varca ec, var-attu, var-at, varoina (varo-t).

OLD POETIC DIALECT.

The 3ri» per*, pi. seldom occurs negatively in those cases where it might be confounded with the others in a positive sense. Farther examples are:

qveSkat ec, sitca ec, munca ec, seka ce, f)ori-g-a ek

skallatu, verSr-at, vinna-t

Pres.Conj. at ek at |iu

at allir

Imperf.

jni serat, munattu,

hm'gra-ftygra, munar samir-s

bita-t, vitu-S knego-S

sloSvigac

qveljat, at {m qveSir-a

skriSi-a renni-a, verdit

muni-t

mundi-g-a ek, hugSattac

Imperat. kjos-at-tu,

segit-a Voluspa. 21.

The Infin. and Particip do not occur with negative forms.

544. Besides the common auxiliary verbs the poets use a number of others, as periphrases for the pres. and imperf. the most common are, gera, na, kna, raSa , vinna,-geta, lata ? the five first with the infin. the two last with the past parti-cip, e. g. hann gei-Si, na5i, kriatti, reS, or vann hoggva, or hann gat, let hoggvit, i. e. hann hjo he hewed, [something like the use of gan in Old Engl. he gan hen>\.

545. In the formation of words the old tongue has very few peculiarities.

sn

-u<5r inasc., is an ending which forms subst. expresan agent, e. g. sal-vor5u8r housekeeper, indweller , men-

glotuSr necklace-destroyer, one who shares out gold, hjaldur-mognuSr who is able to carry on war, vigfra-madr a mighty man of war.

-nir, (Swed. ndr in konstndr etc.) is used in many Prop. Names, e. g. Skirnir, Sleipnir, SkiSblaSnir, Glitnir, Vitnir a wolf etc.

-la for liga* in adverbs is a common contraction in old writers, e. g. skjotla hastily, hljoSla softly, stilly, (381).

A few strengthening prefixes may also be remarked here, which seem to have been originally independant words, though they are now only met with in compos.; the most important are;

gin- e. g. ginheilagr right-holy. (Angl. Sax. gin-)

gamban- e. g. gambaiisumbl glorious-drink, gambanreifii fiercely wrath, gambanteinn holy conjuring rod, (Angl. Sax. gomban treasure.)

fimlul- e. g, fimbulljoS fine song, timbulfambi a great oaf (Dansk en Tjambe). Fimbulvelur the dreadful winter before Ragnarock.

The negative o is often written u in old works, which has been retained since in Dansk, e. g. liheill, uvitr, elc.

546. With regard to Syntax, the frequent ellipses of small words may be remarked; e. g. Hit qveSa (viz, peir or menn bat at) argan eggja.

HirS eigi bii (viz urn)

Hogna rei5i.

Oc varS hinn vorSr

vestallz (viz at) liggja.

Ohultir megum (viz ver) her

yfir-drottna.

Gengo peir (viz, til) fagra

Freyjo tuna etc.

547. The prepos. eptir and undir, are often met with on Runic stones in the forms ept and und, Til is used, like the Germ, zu, to express too much, e. g. hcldr til mikill far too much, gar zu gross. Of and urn are used reciprocally, and often added to verbs, sometimes even to other words, as expletive or emphatic particles, without any actual change of sense. As prepos. they are used both with the dat. and ace. e. g. i Gol urn Asom gullinkambi etc. In this case the meaning seems

to be orer. Of is probably also the root of yfir. Instead of fyrir for is also found, which is the root-form, and has been kept in Dansk, as also fur and fyri when a cons, follows yr, or is found for ur, medr for me5, viftr for vi$, af, against.

548. Among the old poetic conjunct, the following deserve to be remarked; all/, since* as., (Germ, als) with the indie.; siSr that-not with the c.uj.; heldr for that, with conj.; sizt since, after that (Lokagl. 17). The negat. is often no before the verb, as in Angl. Sax. and Russ., e. g. at per maela ne

549. It would rake as much space as it would be difficult to describe or bring under rule the poetic inversions, because they consist in their very nature in departures from all rule. As a very common kind I may remark, that ok with the last clause of a sentence is very often put before that which should be joined to it by the conj., e. g.

baru yxn oc attu enni-tungl, par er gengu firir vin-eyar vi'Sri vall-rauf, fjogur haufut.

The construction here is, yxn baru fjogur hofuS oc atta enni-tungl, par er geingu fyrir vin-eyjar vidri vall-rauf, i. e. The oxen bore four heads and einht eyes, (brow-moons), rvhcn they ment before (drew) the wide reft-field of the dear isle.

550. Besides these grammatical peculiarities the poetic language has many verbal variations from the common Icel. prose. These consist partly of peculiar words (okend heiti,) partly in poetic periphrases (kenningar), drawn, some from nature, some from mythology and the oldest Norse and German History. To enumerate and describe these would be to write a separate Dictionary. Until such a separate work shall bave been compiled, very valuable explanations on the matter are to be found in the Skalda, Olafsen's "Norse Poesy", as well as in the Index to the Landnama, Njala, Edda, and the Solutions of the verses in Eigla.

CHAPTER XXVI. The modern Tongue.

551. It has luckily been the custom in late times to approach nearer and nearer to the purity simplicity and taste of the old writers, both in style and orthography. The Grammar indeed was never materially altered since the language received a settled form in the Sagas; but in the middle Ages the Orthography was much corrupted, and at one time threatened to ruin the whole structure of the tongue. In order to feel at home in the worser M. S. written with German letters, as well as in the older Icelandic Editions, it is needful to have a knowledge of the most important of these changes, now happily laid aside, in the old orthography, which was beyond measure suited to the genius of the language, is found in good M. S. and in the Copenhagen Editions, and has been applied in the preceding pages.

552. Thus e was used for i in endings, e. g. fader; lande, daler, hrafuenn, honden, maklegt, sagde, etc., which is however wrong, because e is sounded like a (Engl. a), A sound inadmissible in these cases; according to this rule we ought to write ven, hemen, etc.

eig for eg when « follows, e. g. deigi, dat. of dagr, freigja, seigya, etc., but in this case g would be redundant, just as if we were to write havfa, tttfa , etc., where f would be redundant. Besides by this rule a multitude of words different both in origin and meaning would be confounded, e. g. deigi, deigr, weak, seigr tough, vegir ways, and veigar drinks in the dat. and gen. pi., with many more.

16

Double instead of accented vowels, e. g. fee, foor, saa, BJjda. nuu, though y was never doubled.

ie for 6, e. g. hier, giefa, fiell, together with giae, kiae, for gae, kae, e. g. kiaer, giaefr, etc.

The first makes it impossible to recognize the word, and confuses its position in Dictionaries; the last is altogether redundant, since g and k always have the sound of gj, JcJ 9 before «.

In the same way ie or ji was used for i (39), and ur for r without regard to its being essential or not; e. g. madur, brudur, godur. geingur, nidur, and all such; but that this is wrong may easily be shown, e. g. by a comparison with all the verbs, which have an' actual vowel before r in the 2nd and 3rd pers. pres., all these retaining it in the 1st pers., hann elskar, ek elska, hann segir, ek segi. Accordingly hann gein-gur, tekur, etc., ought to become in the 1st pers. geingu, teku, which never happens, but hann geingr, ek geing, hann tekr, ek tek, are thoroughly analogous.

That u is not any essential vowel in this case is plain from the fact that words, which otherwise insert^' before o, e, and w, never do so before this ending; e. g. at fremja to carry out, further, ver fremjum, £er fremiS etc.; but in the pres. sing, hann fremr, ek frem, (never hann fremjur). Farther this ending never brings about that vowel change within the word which u requires, e. g. taka, ver tokum, but hann tekr (never toTtur). The ending -ur is only right in subst. and adj. having essential r, and perhaps in those words of the G th decl., which have u in the ace. pi., together with the pi. of fern, in a.

d for 5 contrary to sound, and the old universal custom all over Scandinavia, until the Reformation.

bl for /?, e. g. abl, gabl; but that this is wrong seems clear from those in which f and / meet together by composition, e. g. he/ill plane, at hefla; so also hefja, hafinn, haffiir etc. (36).

fft or ckt for kt, o. g. agt for ackt or akt, lygt or lyckt for lykt, digta or dickta for dikta, etc.; but the first is a Danism which makes against the analogy ofvakt, inntekt, etc.; the latter superfluous, because Jet forms a position, which always makes the preceding vowel short and sharp, gt may however be defended on etymological grounds in those few cases where the root-form has g without a position, e. g. vi°t from vega, magt and megtugr from mega, magn, etc. The old Norsemen however wrote these words with k y e. g. Bishop JcSu A res on;

Ef ek skal daundr of danskri slekt og degja svo fyrir kongsins mekt;

But in root-forms it should always be writter kt, e. g. prakt, lukta, dikta, akta, forakta etc.

ft for pt, e. g. eflir, aftur, etc. but then we ought also to write klifti, kifti, etc. which would make it impossible to recognize many words.

The use of Capital Letters for all subst. contrary to all old use in Icelandic and most other civilized tongues.

553. As real improvements on the other hand in the later orthography may be remarked , the laying aside of au and ar instead of 0, which make the reading of old books very hard ; as well as of // in vildi, skyld, aidur, old, and the like. Again the distinction of j and r from / and // before all vowels, and the abandonment of z for * in many genit. , and for st in the pass., it being only retained for /s, ds, 8s, //s, where /, rf, 8 and tt ought not to be heard at all; i.e. chiefly in case sk ^ st or some similar position follow, e. g. gezka, islenzkt, bezt, elzt, styzt, and in all 2nd pers. pi. pass., as in all supines of the same voice.

554. In the inflections themselves scarcely any change has taken place, which has not been already mentioned. Words in -ir of the 5*h decl. are now commonly thus declined (144).

16*

Singular. Norn. Laeknir. Plural. Laeknirar

Ace. laeknir. laeknira

Dat. laeknir* laeknirum

Gen. laeknirs. laeknira.

But this ending is often interchanged with -art e.g. laekn-arar, Ireknurum, etc.

The word fotr (fdtur) is often used in the pi. (faetr), as if it were fern, faetrnar.

From some masc. subst. r has been cast away, e. g. in the Prop. Names. Fridrek. Hinrik, Isfjoi-5; as also in poetry, lofSung, dogling, etc. for lofSungr, doglingr (king), together with mann for madr.

Some fern, especially those in -ing, taka u in the ace., as well as the dat. e. g. gyllingu-na, meyju-na; but the true old form gyllingina, mey-na, may also be used.

-t in the neut., and in general when it is not radical, but merely a final syll., standing after a simple (accented) vowel or e, has in the later tongue become 8 (not d); e. g. hustf, f>a5, hvaS? hiS goSa, anna5, nockuS, gali<5, haldiS, a5, fe<5, etc.; which change is however hardly perceptible in sound, because the old pronun. was with a long and almost toneless vowel, e. g. f>at not batt, and agrees very well with the Latin id y aliud, quod, ad, and the like. This orthography also occurs occasionally in the oldest M.S.

In cases where it is radical, e. g. fat, net, fit, it is npt changed, not even if a cons, or diphthongic vowel go befo'rf^ e. g. hvert, snart, fatt, Ijott, lit, etc. The old form of the prep. aS, viz, at, is still however retained in certain compounds, e. g. athygli, atqvaeft, atvinna, atorka, etc.

k or c, has, in accordance with /, become g, in the pers. pronouns, e. g. eg, mig, frig, sig, as also the words ok, og mjok, mjog. This too is a scarcely perceptible change in sound; because the vowel is also long, so that the old pronun. was dk, meky tyk, sek, ak, by no means eck, mick, ock;

while the new is with hard g, ag, eg, meg, Sg, not at all aj, mej, according to the Swed. pronunciation. This change also agrees very well with the Latin ego; eg and mjog are found besides in the oldest M. S. After a vowel, and at the beginning of a sentence eg is commonly said.

Instead of benna bennan is now said, and for betta often betta5, for bau, baug is sometimes heard.

Some later verbs belong, as in Swed., partly to the 1**, partly to the 2nd class o f the 1st conjug, e. g.

bena, benar, benti, bent, benaC,

meina, meinar, meinti, meint,

forh'ka, foriikar, forlikaSi, forliktr, forlikaSr.

From hafa, eg hef, bu, hann hefr, are often used in the prcs.

555. In the formation of words, the following particles, at least in careless daily speech, have been adopted from other tongues;

be- e. g. besaekja, bestilla, begera, behalda,

an- e. g. antaka, amnerkning, ganga-an,

for- e. g. forgylla, forsylfra, forsigla.

-keit, neut. pi. e. g. serligheit, Veledaheit, Haa?ruver8-

ugheit, Velborinheit, etc. -istiy masc. juristi, s6fisti, qvartisti, etc. -ferftugt, siSferSugt (liferni) rettferSugt.

-era, traklera, konfirmera, reformera, and many more (with deep e French 4).

556. All good authors now strive to do away verbal Danisms and careless idioms, and to replace them by good old, or newly formed and genuine, words, e. g.

vigtugt by mikilvaegt. besakja by saekja heim.

slutning — alyktan. behalda — halda.

bolc^ryckjari — pre'ntari folgilla — gylla.

anmerJcning - athugagrein. juristi — lagamaCr.

reformera — endrbata. teolog — guCfraeCismaCr.

Should these efforts continue, and be aided by a thorough study of the old works , the Icelandic will have lost next to nothing of her old glory, but will have won much by greater stability in grammatical forms, as well as by the enriching of the literature with many excellent poems, treatises, and translations on subjects to which the old Norsemen paid little attention; e. g. Satires and Plays, as well as by minor works on matters of Economy, Natural History, Mathematics and Physics.

EXTRACTS

IN PROSE AMD TERSE

BY WAY OF PRAXIS.

Gylfaginning. Ch. 34. P. 33.

rifinn faeddu 1 .-Esir heitna, oc hafBi Ty> einn djarfleik s til at gjinga at ulfnum, oc gefa honuin mat. En er guCin sa s hversu mikit hann <5x * hvern dag, oc allar spar* savgCu * at hann inundi vera lagSr til skafia peim ; pa fengu * JLsir pat ra5 at j)eir gerSu fjotur allsterkan 8 , er peir kavllufiu foiling ', oc baru hann til ulfsins, oc badu hann reyna afl sitt vi5 fjotr-inn: en ulfinum potti ser {>at ecki ofrefli 10 , oc let |>a* fara me5 sem |>eir vildu; it fyrsta sinn er ulfrinn spyrndi vi5, brot-naSi 11 s£ fjoturr, sva leystiz hann or laedingi. pvi naest gerfiu yEsirnir annan fjotr halfu sterkara la , er peir kavlluSu droma", oc baSu enn ulfinn reyna pann fjotr, ok tavldu hann ver5a mundu aga3tan mjoc at afli l4 , ef slik storsmi'Si " maetti eigi hallda honum. En ulfrinn hugsafti at pessi fjolurr var sterkr mjoc, oc pat me8 at honum hafSi afl vaxit sifian er hann braut Iseding, kom pat i hug at hann mundi verSa at leggja sic i haettu 16 , ef hann skyldi fr»gr 17 verSa, oc let leggja a sic fjotrinn: oc er ^Esir tavlduz biinir 18 . pa hristi ulfrinn sic 19 ,

1 brought up. • daring. 3 the Gods saw. guflin neut pi. « ox imperf. of vaxa to grow, wax. 5 spar pi. of spa spaedom, soothsaying. 6 savgSu for sogSu a very favorite mode of spelling in Old Norse. 7 fengu 3 rd pers. pi. imperf of fa to take. 8 a very strong fetter. 9 Iseding i. e. that which overcomes by stealth. I0 not above his strength. " broke. w half as strong again. IS droma tight squeezing. M he would become very famous for strength. w stor-smiOi great smiths' work. " thought that he must be ready to expose himself to risk. " renowned. '* told him they were ready 19 hristi sic shook himself.

spyrnSi vift, oc laust 20 fjotrinum a jorftinu. sva at fjrerri llugu brotin; sva drap 2I hann sic or droma. pat er siSan haft lyrir orStak 23 , "at Icysi or Ircdingi", eSa "drepi OP droma, f)<i er einn hverr lutr er akaflega sottr. 23 Eptir |mt ottuSuz 2 * J^sir-nir at |>eir mundu ei fa bundit ulfmn, |>a sendi AllfavSr aa svein 26 f>ann er Skirnir er nefndr, sendimaSr Freys 27 , ofan i Svartalfaheim " til dverga nockra, oc let gera fjotr }>ann er Gleipnir heitir 29 . Hann var gjor of sex lutum 30 , af dyn kat-tarins 31 , oc af skeggi konunnar, oc af rotum bjargsins 32 , oc af sinom bjarnarins, oc af anda fisksins, oc fogls hraka 33 ; oc {)6ttu 34 vitir ei a5r |>essi ti'Sindi, |>a mattu im finna skjott her savnn daemi 35 , at ei er logit at £er: set munt |)ii hafa at konan hefir eigi skegg, oc engi dynr verSr af hlaupi 36 kat-tarins, oc ei eru rsetr 37 undir bjarginu, oc {>at veit irua mm 38 at jafnsalt 39 er f>at allt, er ec hefi sagt J>er, f>ott |>eir se 40 sumir lutir er {>u matt 41 ei reyna. pa mselti Gangleri 42 : {>etta ma ec at visu skilja 43 at satt er, £essa lutir ma ec sja, er |>u hefir nii til da3ina tekit: en hvernig 4 * var5 Qoturinn smiSaSr? Har 45 svarar: |>at kann ec |>er vel segja; fjoturinn varS slettr or blautr sem silkira2ma 46 , en sva traustr 47 oc sterkr sem mi

20 laust imperf. of Ijosta to dash; for the government of the subst. in the dat see rule 461. 21 drap imperf. of drepa to strike, dash. 22 orStak proverb. 23 sottr hard, toilsome. 24 were afraid.

25 more properly AlfaSir. i. e. Father of all, a name of Odin.

26 svein lad Engl. swain. 27 Freyrs' messenger. 28 down from above into the home of the Black Elves. ^ hight Gleipnir orGleyp-nir i. e. the swallower from at gleypa. 30 six things. 31 footfall of cat. 32 root of stone. 33 spittle of bird. 34 {)6ttu for f)6tt {)u. 35 savnn dsemi. neut. pi. for sonn daemi true proofs. 36 running springing. 37 pi. of rot. 38 and my good faith is my witness. 39 equally true. 40 se 3 rd pi. conj. of vera to be. 41 matt 2 nd pers. sing. pres. of mega to be able, see rule 275. 42 Gangleri i. e. the way-worn man, the name taken by Gylfi during Ids visit to Asgard-43 to distinguish, understand, Old Engl. skill. 44 how, in what way. 43 Har, i. e. The High One, the name of one of the three kings with whom Gylfi talked in Asgard. 46 The fetter was made smooth and soft as a silkenstring. 47 trusty.

skalltu heyra. pa er fjoturrinn var faerfir« A sunum bavck-uSu bcir vel sendimanni silt cyrindi 49 ; ba foru ^Esirnir lit i vatn bat er Amsvartner ^ heitir, i holm bann er LVngvi 51 er kallaSr, oc kavlluSu me5 ser lilllnn, syndu M honum silkibandit, oc baftu hann slila, oc qvoSu vera nokqvoro M traustara en li'kindi baetti M a-vera firir digrleiks sakar, oc seldi w hverr avSrum, oc treysti me5 handa afli, oc slit-naSi ei, en f>6 qvoSu beir ullinn slita mundo. pa svarar ulf-rinn. "Svii lilz mer 56 a jienna dregil 57 , sem onga fraegO ^ mu-nac 59 af-ljota; |)6tt ec slita i sundr svA injott band, en ef {>at er gerl meS list oc vael 60 , £ott {>at syniz h'tit, {>a kemr J>at hand ei a mina faetr. pa savgSu /lisirnir at hann mundi skjott .sundrslita mjott silkiband , er hann haffli fyrr brotit stora jarn-Ijolra 61 , ? 'en ef J)u faer ei {)etta band sh'tit, ba inuntu ecki hneda mega goSin 62 , enda M skulum ver {>a leysa pic. Ufrinn svarar. "Ef {>er bindit mic sva at ec faec ei leyst mic M , ba skollit 65 ber sva at mer inun seint verSa at taka af y5r hjalp 66 ; ufuss 67 em ec at lata betta band a mic leggja. En heldr en per fr^it mer hugar 68 , ba leggi einn hverr havnd sina i munn mer at veSi 69 at betta se falslaust gert. En hverr A'sarma sa til annars, oc botli nu vera tvav vandrefti 70 , vildi engi sina havnd framselja, fyrr en T^r let frain 71 havnd sina

48 past. part, of faera to bring. 49 eyrindi errand; mark the dat. and ace. after backa to thank. i0 Amsvartner i. e. tlie black lake of pain. S1 Lyngvi i. e. sown with heath. M s^ndu showed. 03 for nockru dat. sing, neut of nockut. 54 baitti imperf. sing of bykja to think, seem. M passed it. 56 it seems to ine. * 7 dregil band. 58 no glory, onga ace. sing. fern, for einga. 59 rnunac i. e. mun-a-c I will not. 6o guile. 61 iron fetters. 62 then thou wilt not be able to cause the Gods fear. M but. '' so that 1 cannot get myself loose. 6S skollit for skolli5 2 md pers. pi. pres. from skolla to show oneself, to behave. 66 that it will be late to me ero I get your help, it will be late ere I have to thank you for your help. 67 unwilling, loath. ^ rather than ye should doubt iny bravery. 09 as a pledge. 70 two evils, a choice of two evils, ivav for tvo. 71 let forward, put forth.

haegri 73 , oc leggr i munn ulfmum. En er u'frinn spyrnir, pa harSnabi bandit, oc pvi harSara er hann brautz urn pvi skarpara var bandit- pa hlogo 73 allir nema 'Jtyr, hann let 74 havnd sina.

Gylfa ff innm ff . Oh. 49. P. 63.

pa" maclti Gangleri : hafa nokqvorr meiri ti'Sindi orftit 1 meS Asunum? allmikit prekvirki 2 vann p6rr i ; pessi ferS. Har svarar. Vera mun at segja fra peim ti'Sindum er meira pdt-ti vert Asunum 3 . En pat er upphaf 4 pessar savgu 5 at Baldr en goSa dreymdi drauma stora oc haettliga 6 urn lif silt. En er hann sagSi Asunum draumana, pa baru peir saman raS 7 sin, oc var pat gert at beiSa griSa Baldri 8 firir allzkonar haska 9 : oc Frigg toe svardaga 10 til pess at eyra n skyldu Baldri elldr oc vatn, jam oc allzkonar malmr 12 , steinar, jorSin, viSirnir 13 , sottirnir 14 , d^rin 15 , fuglarnir, eitr I6 , ormar 17 . En er petta var gert oc vilat, pa var pat skemtun 18 Balldrs oc Asanna at hann skyldi standa upp a pingum 19 , en allir aSrir skyldu sumir skjota a hann, sumir havggva til 20 , sumir berja grjoti 21 . En hvat sem at var gert sakaSi hann ecki 22 ? oc potti petta avllum mikill frami 23 . En er |>etta sa Loki Laufejarson , pa h'kaSi honum ilia er Baldr sakafti ecki. Hann gcck 24 til Fen-

72 right. 73 pret. of at lae or hlae to laugh. 74 lost.

1 Past. part, of verSa to become, happen. 2 a glorious deed wrought with toil, alluding to Thor's vengeance on Midgards' worm. 3 which seemed more worth to the ^Esir. 4 beginning. 5 for pes-sarar sogu. 6 perilous. 7 rede, counsel. 8 griSa gen. pi. neut. peace, security. Baldri. dat. of the pers. 9 harm. 10 an oath. n spare. 12 ore. 13 trees. 14 sicknesses. 15 beasts. Germ. Thier. Eng. deer. 16 poison. 1T worms i. e. snakes, as in the Engl. blind-worm. 18 the sport. 19 in their assemblies, meetings. 20 hew at him. 21 throw at him with stones. 22 he took no hurt M great furthering, great gain. 24 imperf. of ganga to go.

salar 24 lil Friggjar, oc bra ser i konu liki *: pa spyrr Frigg ef su kona vissi hva( jEsir hofSuz ** at a pinginu. Hon sagfli at allir skutu at Baldri, oc £at at hann sakafii ecki. pa raalti Frigg. "Eigi munu vapn eSa viCir granda » Baldri; ei6a hefi ec |>egit af avllum |>eim." pa spyrr konan: " hafa allir lutir eiSa unnit 29 at eyra Baldri?" pa svarar Frigg. "Vex viCar. teinungr einn 3° firir austan Valhavll, sa er Mistilteinn 31 kall-aSr, sa |)6tti mer lingr at krefja eifisins. pvi naest hvarf konan a hraut 32 ; en Loki toe Mistiltein, sleit upp oc geek til (nogs. En HavSr stdS utarlega M i inannhringinum, jw'at M hann var blindr; f>a maelti Loki viS hann: hvi sky-tr {m ecki at Baldri? Hann svarar: fw'at ec se w ei hvar Baldr er, oc |>at annat 8 * at ec em vapnlaus. pa maelti Loki: gerfiu $6 i liking an-narra manna , oe veit Baldri saemd 37 sem a8rir menn; ec mun visa {>er til hvar hann stendr 38 ^ skjdt at honum vendi j>es-surn 39 . Havfir toe inislilteininn , oc skaut at Baldri at tilvi'sun Loka: flaug skotit i gognum 40 hann, oc fell hann dauSr til jarSar, oc hefir {)at mest dhapp verit unnit me8 goSum oc mavnnum 41 . pa er Baldr var Tallinn, }>a felluz 42 avllum Asum orCtavk 43 oc sva hendr at taka til hannz; oc sa hverr til an-nars. oc voru allir me5 einum hug til |>ess er unnit haf&i verkit: en engi matti hefna , |>ar var sva mikiil griSa-sta5r 44 . En j)a er JEsirnir freistuSu 45 at maela, J>a var hitt })d fyrr at gratrinii 46 kom upp, sva at engi matti avdrum segja meS orfi-

25 gen. pi. of Fensalr , i. e. the deep, or nether Halls, the Palace of Frigg, the Goddess of the Earth and wife of Odin. 26 and turned himself into the likeness of a woman. 27 hoiSuz at used to- do, chiefly did, from hofuO. 28 hurt. w granted, given, past part, from unna. 30 There grows one tree-twig. 31 mistletoe. 32 next to that the woman went on her way. M without, ou the outside. M because. M pres. of sja to see. M j)at annat another thing, in the next place. 37 honour. M I will show thee whereabout he stands. 39 with this wand. *° for i gegnum through. 41 and that is the greatest mishap that has been done to Gods and men, or, that has befallen etc. 42 failed. tt speech. ** that, was so holy a place. gri8*-sta5r asylum, sanctuary. ** tried. ** a weeping.

unum fra sinum harmi 47 . Enn OSinn bar peim inun verst penna skafta 48 , sem hann kunni mesta skyn 49 , hversu mikil af-taka oc missa Asunum var i frafalli 50 Baldrs. En er goSin vitkuSuz 51 , pa mselti Frigg oc spurSi, hverr sa vaeri meS Asum, er eignaz 52 vildi allar astir hennar oc hylli, "oc vili hann riSa a helveg 53 , oc freista ef hann fai fundit Baldr, ocbjdda Helju litlausn M , ef hon vill lata fara Baldr heim i AsgarS." En sa er nefndr HernidSr enn hvati 55 sveinn OSins, er til peirrar farar vard 56 : pa var tekinn Sleipnir hestr OSins, oc leiddr fram, oc steig HermdSr a pann hest oc hleypti braut s7 .

Skaldskaparmal. Ch. 35. P. 130.

Hvi er gull kallat haddr Sifjar l ? Loki Laufeyjar son hafSi pat gert til Irevisi 2 at klippa har allt af Sif; en er pdrr varS pess varr 3 . Toe hann Loka oc mundi lemja hvart bein i honum 4 , aSr hann svarSi pess, at hann skal fa af Svartalfum, at peir skulu gera af gulli Sifju hadd, pann er sva skal vaxa sem annat bar 5 . Eptir pat for Loki til peirra dverga er heita Ivalda synir, oc gerSa peir haddinn oc Ski'SblaSni 6 oc geirin 7 er OSin atti, er Gungnir heitr. pa ve5ja5i 8 Loki hofSi sinu vi5 pann dverg er Brockr heitir, hvart brdSir hannz Sindri mundi gera jafngoSa gripi prja 9 sem pessir voru. En er peir

47 woe. 48 But Odin as was likely bore this scathe worst of them. 49 as he could best judge. M falling away, loss. 51 came to themselves. 52 gain for his own. 53 and (this said she he shall have) if he will ride on the way to Hell. M a ransom. 55 the brisk. 56 was ready to undertake the journey. 57 and galloped away.

1 Sif s hair. Sif was the wife of Thor. 2 out of wantonness. 3 ware. 4 and was about to break every bone in him. 5 which shall grow just like other hair. 6 Ski3blaSnir Preys' ship. 7 the spear. 8 wagered. 9 three precious things equally good.

komu til smioju, p£ lagSi Sindri svinskinn i aflinn 10 , oc bafl blasa Brock, oc letta eigi « fyrr en hann ta?ki {)at or aflinum er hann lagSi i. En pegar er hann geek or smiojunni, en hinn bles, pa settiz fluga ein a hond honum oc kroppaSi 12 , en hann bles sem a5r, par til er smiSrinn tok or aflinum, oc var pat golltr I3 , oc var burstin 14 or gulli. pvi nast lagCi hann i aflinn gull oc baft hann blasa, oc haetta 15 ei fyrr blacslrinum en hann qvaemi 16 aptr; geek a braut: en pa kom flugan oc seltiz a hals honum, oc kroppaSi nu halfu fastara 17 _, en hann bles par til er smiSrinn tok or aflinum gullhring pann er Draupnir heitir. pa lagSi hann jam i aflinn, oc baS hann blasa, oc sagSi at on^tt inundi verSa 18 ef blaslrinn felli: pa settiz flugan milli augna honum, oc kroppaSi hvarmana 19 , en er bloSit fell i augun, sva at hann sa ecki, pa greip hann (il hendinni sem skjolaz 2°, me&m belgrinn lagdiz niSr, ocsveiRJi 21 af ser flugunni, oc pa kom par smifirinn, oc sagCi at nu lagOi naer at allt mundi on^taz er i aflinum var M , pa tok hann or aflinum hamar, feck hann pa alia gripina i hendr br66ur smum Brock, oc baS hann fara me5 til AsgarSz oc leysa vefijuna ^ En er peir Loki 24 baru fram gripina, pa sclluz ^Esirnir a domstola, oc skyldi pat atqvaeSi standaz 25 , sem segfii Oflinn, porr, Freyr. pa gaf Loki 08ni geirinn Giingni, en p<5r haddin er Sif skyldi hafa, en Frey Skidbladni, oc sag6i skyn x A 61-linii gripum, at geirinn nain aldii sladar i lagi 27 , en haddrinn var holdgroinn 28 pegar er hann kom a hofutJ Sif, en Ski6-blaSnir haf8i byr ^ pegar er segl kom a lojd, hvert er fara skyldi, en matti vefja 30 saman s.em duk oc hafa i pung seref pat vildi. par bar fram Brockr sina gripi, hann gaf O8ni

10 a swines' skin into the furnace. 11 not to leave off. 1J stung it. 13 a boar-pig. u bristles. 15 stop. 1B for kaemi. 17 twice as hard. 18 it would be useless. 19 the eyelids. ^ then he laid his hand to the place as quickly as he could. 2I brushed away. 22 and said that now it was nigh but that all that was in furnace had been spoilt. ^ settle the wager. 24 peir Loki. i. e. Loki and he. comp. rule 438. 25 and that decision was to be abided by. 26 and told the nature. v never missed its aim. w would take root and grow. M fair-wind. 30 fold.

hringinn, oc sagdi at ena niunda hverja ndtt mundi drjiipa af honum atta hringar jafnhofgir 31 sem hann; en Frey gaf hann goltinn, oc sagSi at hann matti renna lopt oc lavg, ndtt oc dag meirra en hverr hestr, oc aldri var9 sva myrkt af nott eSa i myrk-heimum 32 , at eigi vaeri aerit Ijdst M |>ar er hann for, sva tysti af burstinni: pa gaf hann pdr hamarinn oc sag5i at hann mundi mega Ijdsta sva stdrt sem hann vildi hvat sem firir-vsri 34 , oc eigi mundi hamarrinn bila 35 , oc ef hann vyrpi 36 honum til f>a mundi hann aldri missa, oc aldri fljugja sva langt at eigi mundi hann ssekja heiin hond 37 ; oc ef hann vildi, f>a var hann sva litill at hafa matti i serk ser 38 7 en {>at var tyti a 39 at forskeptit *° var heldr skamt. pat var ddmr f>eirra at hamarinn var beztr af ollum gripum, oc mest vavrn 44 i firir Hrim-fmrsum, oc daemSu |>eir at dvergrinn aBtti veSfeit 42 ; {>a bauS Loki at leysa hofuS sitt, dvergrinn svarar, sagSi at |>ess var engi von 43 . Taktu mik |>a, qva5 Loki, en er hann vildi taka hann, |>a var hann vi'Ss fjarri 44 ; Loki atti skua, er hann rann a lopt oc log. pa ba5 dvergrinn pdr at hann skyldi taka hann, en hann gerSi sva; f>a vildi dvergrinn havggva af Loka hofuS, en Loki sagSi at hann atti hofu9 en ei halsinn. pa tdk dvergrinn |)veng 45 oc knif oc vill stinga rauf a vavr-rum Loka 46 , oc vill rifa saman munnin, en knifrinn beitecki 47 . pa mselti hann at betri vaeri {>ar air 48 brdSur hannz, en jafn-skjdtt 49 sem hann nefndi hann, [ja var f>ar alrinn, oc beit hann vavrrarnar; rifjaSi hann saman vavrrarnar, oc reif or aesunum 50 : Sa J)vengr er muSrinn Loka var samanrifjaSr heitir Vartari M .

31 of equal weight 32 Mn the regions of darkness. 33 light enough. 34 he might dash it as hard as he pleased on whatever came before him. 35 fail. 36 vyrpi pret. conj. of verpa to throw. 37 that it would not come back to his hand. 38 in his shirt. 39 but that was a fault about it. 40 the haft. 41 and had the greatest defence in it. 42 should have the wager. 43 that of this there was no hope. ** far away. 45 thong. 46 and will bore holes in Lokis' lips. 47 took no hold on him. 48 awl. 49 quick as thought. 50 and he tore through the holes. 61 a word of doubtful meaning perhaps derived from vavr (vans) a lip.

Graenlending-a Patt. Ch. 4. Antiq. Americ, P. 47.

pat hafSi gerzt til tiflinda meSan a Gra?nlandi, at porstcinn i EireksfirSi haf6i kvongazt * ok fengit GuOriCar porbjarnar-dottur, er att hafSi porir austmaCr 2 , er fyrr var frasagL Nii fystist 3 porsteinn Eireksson at fara til Vinlands eptir liki porvalds, broSur sins, ok bjd 4 skip hit sama, ok valdi hann lid at afli ok vexti , ok hafSi mcS ser halfan priSja tog manna \ ok GufiriTii, konu si'na; ok sigla i liaf, pegar pau eru bum, ok or landsyn. pau velkti 6 uti allt sumarit, ok vissu eigi, hvar |>au foru ; ok er vika 7 var af vetri, pa t6ku peir land i Lysu-firSi a Graenlandi i hinni vestri bygS. porsteinn leitaSi pcim urn vistir, ok fekk vistir ollum hasetum 8 sinum; en hann var vistlaus 9 ok kona bans. Nii voru pau eptir at skipi tvo nok-kurar naBtr; pa var enn ung kristni a Graenlandi to . pat var einn dag, at menn kvomu at tjaldi n peirra snemmaj sa spurSi, er fyrir peim var 12 , hvat manna vasri i tjaldinu. porsteiu svarar "tveir menn," segir hann, "e5r hverr spyrr at? u ''porsteinn heiti ek, ok er ek kallaCr porsteinn svartr; en pat er eyrindi mitt hingat, at ek vil bjdSa ykkr baSum hjunum « til vistar til min." porsteinn kveCst vilja hafa umraeCi« konu

1 Passive of kvonga to marry. 2 whom Thorir the Easterling had had to wife. By austmaSr Norwegian is meant because that country lay east of Iceland. * was desirous. 4 got ready. * 25 men. see rule 448. 6 velkti pret of velkja to be tossed about 7 one week. The Old Norsemen reckoned the beginning of winter from the 14tb of October. 8 rowers. 9 without a lodging. 10 at that time Christianity was still youug in Greenland. «tent IS who was their leader. 13 ye two husband and wife, hjon neut pi. means a wedded pair. 14 advice.

17

sinnar, en hun baC hann ra5a, ok nu jaHar 15 hann f>essu. "pa mun ek koma eptir ykkr a morgin me5 eyki 16 , fw'at mik skortir ekki 17 til, at veita ykkr vist, en fasinni 18 er mikit meS mer at vera, f>viat tvo eru vi5 J>ar hjon, f>viat ek er einf)ykkr mjok 19 ; anann si'5 20 hefi ek ok, enn £er hafit, ok aetla ek f>ann f)6 betra er £er hafil." Nu kom hann eplir J)eim urn morgininn me5 eyki, ok foru f>au meSporsteini svarta til vistar? ok veitti 2I hann f>cim vel. GuSn'Sr var skorulig kona at sja 22 ? ok vitr kona, ok kunni vel at vera meS okunnum 23 monnum. pat var snemma vetrar, at s<5lt 24 kom i US porsteins Eireks-sonar, ok andaftist J>ar margir forunautar hans 25 . porsteinn ba5 gera kistur at likum J>eirra, er onduSust, ok faera til skips, ok biia |>ar um 26 : "{>viat ek vil lata flytja til Eireks-^arSar at sumri 611 likin. Nii er f>ess skamt at bi'Sa 27 , at sott kemr i h^byli 28 porsteins, ok to kona hans sott fyrst, er het Grimhildr; hun var akafliga mikil 29 , ok sterk sem kar-lar, en |)6 kom sottin henni undir 30 . Ok biatt 31 eplir f>at tok sotlina porsteinn Eireksson, ok lagu f>au hseSi senn 31 ; ok an. dafiist Grimhildr, kona porsteins svarta. En er hun var dauS, J)a gekk porsleinn frarn or stofunni eptir fjol 32 , at leggja a likit Gu5ri3r ma?lli |)a: "vertu litla hri5 i brott 33 , porsteinn minn!" segir hun; hann kva5 sva vera skyldu. pa maelti porsteinn Eireksson: "meS undarligum haelti er mi um hus-freyju vora 34 , j>viat nu orglast hun tipp viS 6'lnboga 35 , ok |)okar 36 fotum sinum fra stokki 37 ? ok J>reifar 38 til skua sinna." Ok i {>vi kom porsteinn bdndi inn, ok lagSist Grimhildr niSr i

15 says yea. 16 with dranght-horses. 17 for nothing falls short to me. 18 tedious, stupid. 19 very self-willed. 20 custom, religion. 21 treated. 22 GudriSr was a grand woman to look on. ^ strange. 24 sickness. 25 and many of his fellow-voyagers died. 26 and to lay them up there. 27 now it happened after no long time. 28 dwelling-house. K hugely big. 20 and yet the sickness mastered her. 31 strait way. 31 at once. 32 after a board. 33 be thou but a little time away. 34 It goes now after a strange fashion with our house-mother. 35 for she props herself up with her elbows. 36 thrusts. 37 bedstead. 38 feels.

f)vi, ok brakaSi 39 |>a i hverju tre i stofunni. Nii gerir porsteino kistu at liki Grimhildar, ok faerfli i brott, ok bjo urn 40 ; hann var baeSi mikill ma5r ok sterkr, ok Jmrfti hann feess alls, aCr hann kom henni hurt af baenum. Nii elnadi 41 souin porsteini Eirekssyni, ok andaSist hann. Gu5ri5r, kona bans, kunni }>vi lilt 41 , pa voru f>au 611 i stofunni. GuSriSr hafSi setit a stoli frammi fyrir bekknum 42 , er hann hafSi legit a, porsteinn bonfii hennar. pa lok porsteinn bondi GufiriSi af stulinum i fang ser 43 , ok setlist i bekkinn annan meS liana, gegnt« liki por-steins, ok taldi um fyrir henni marga vega, ok huggafti 45 hana, ok het henni jivi '<;, at hann mundi fara me5 henni til Eireks-fjarSar meS liki porsteins, bonda hennar, ok forunauta bans; "ok sva skal ek laka hingat hjon fleiri, segir haun, |>er til hugganar ok skemtanar 47 ;" bun |>akkaSi honuin. porsieinn Eireksson settist {)a upp, ok maelti: "hvar er GufiriSr?" £rja tima maelti hann f>etta, en hun J>agi5i 48 ; |>a maelti him viO porstein bonda: "hvort skal ek svor veita 49 bans mali e8r eigi?" hann baS hana eigi svara. pa gekk porstein bondi yfir golfit, ok settist a slolinn, en GuCriSr sat i knjam honuin; ok f>a maelti porsteiun bondi "hvat viltu nafni 40 !" segir hann. Hann svarar, er stund leiS 51 : "mer er ant til f>ess 3J , at segja GuSriSi forlog 53 sin, til |>ess at hun kunni £a betr andlati minu M , J)viat ek er kominn til goSra hvildastafia 55 ; en {>at er j>er at segja Gu8ri5r! at {>u raunt gipt vera islenzkum manni, ok munu langar vera samfarar ykkrar, ok marl manna mun fri ykkr koma, |>roskasamt, bjart okagaett, saett ok ilmatvel *•; munu }>itfara af Graenlandi lilNoregs, ok {>a8an til I'slandis ok gera bii a Tslandi; }>ar munu f)it leingi biia, ok muntu honuin leingr lifa 57 ; |)u munt utan fara, ok ganga suCr M , ok komo lit aptr

39 it cracked. w and buried it. *» rose to its pitch. 4I could not bear up against that. 42 before the bench. ° into his arms. 44 over against. 45 cheered her. 46 and promised her. 47 amusement 48 but she held her peace. 49 svor veita, give an answer. M namesake. S1 when a time had gone by. " I am eager for this. M fate. M my death. M resting-places. * strong, bright and famous, sweet and wellsavoured. 67 and thou shalt live longer thaa be.

88 and go southward, i. c. to Rome.

17*

til I'slands til bus jrins, ok |>a mun £ar kirkja reist vera 59 , ok muntu |>ar vera , ok taka nunnu vigslu 60 , ok f>ar muntu andast." Ok £a hnigr 61 porsteinn aptr, ok var biiit urn h'k bans, ok faert lil skips, porsteinn bondi efndi 62 vel vi5 Gu5-riSi allt |>at er hann hafSi heitit. Hann seldi um vorit jorS si'na ok kvikfe 63 , ok for til skips me8 Gu8ri8i nieSallt sitt; bjo skipit, ok fekk menn til, ok for si'San til EireksfjarSar. Yoru nu b'kin jorOuS at kirkju. GuSriSr for til Leifs i BrattahliS, en porsteinn svarti gerSi bu i EireksfirSi, ok bjo |>ar, medan hann lifSi, ok J)dtti vera hinn vaskasti maSr M .

Porfinns Karlsefnis Sag-a. Ch. 3. Antiq. Americ. P. 104.

I' |>enna ti'ma var hallseri * mikit a Graenlandi; hofSu menn fengit h'tit fang, |>eir er i veifiiferSir 2 hof5u farit, en sumir ekki aptrkomnir. Su kona var |>ar i bygS 3 , er porbjorg het; hun var spakona 4 , ok var kollut h'til volva 5 ; hun haf5i att ser 9 systur, ok voru allar spakonur, en hun ein var |>a a lifi. pat var hattr porbjargar um velrum, at hun for at veiz-lum 6 , ok buSu |>eir menn henni mest heim, er forvitni var a 7 at vita forlog sin eSa arferS 8 . Ok meS |>vi 9 at porkell var |>ar mestr bondi, £a f>6tti til bans koma at vita, naer letta mundi oarani J>essu, sem yfir st65. B^5r porkell spakonunni heim, ok er henni f>ar vel fagnat, sem si5r var til 10 , |>a er vi5 J>esshaltar konum skyldi taka n . Var henni biiit hasaeti, ok lagt undir hana haegindi 12 ; |>ar skyldi i vera haensna fiSri. En er hun kom um kveldit, ok sa maf)r cr moti henni var

59 be raised, built. w the hallowing of a nun. 61 falls back. 63 fulfilled. 63 live-stock. 64 the shiftiest man.

1 Scarcity. 2 to the fisheries. 3 district. 4 spaewife. 5 little prophetess. 6 to feasts. 7 who had curiosity. 8 how the year would turn out. » rae5 |)vi because. 10 as the custom was. u taka vi8 to receive. 13 a cushion.

sendr, J>a var hun sva buin ? at hun hafOi yfir ser tuglamot-tul 13 blan, ok var settr steinum allt i skaut ofan 14 ; hun haffii a halsi ser glertolur 15 , ok lambskinns kofra svartan 16 a hoftfi, ok vi5 innan kattskinn hvit, ok hun hafOi staf i hni.li. ok var a knappr ir , hann var buinn me5 mersingu l8 , ok scttr steinum ofan urn knappinn; hun hafOi um sik hnjoskulinda 19 , ok var {>ar a skjoQupungr ^ mikill, ok varfiveitti him J>ari tofr 21 sin, J>au er hun purfii til froSleiks 22 at hafa; hun haffii a fotum kalfskinnsskua lofina **, ok i |>vengi langa, ok a tin-knappar miklir a endunum 24 ; hun haffii a hondum serkattskinns glofa, ok voru hvi'tir innan ok lodnir. En er hun kom inn, £6tli ('ilium monnum skylt at velja henni 24 saemiligar kveSjur; hun tok j)vi, sem hcnni voru menn geOjafiir M til. Tok por-kell bondi i bond henni, ok leiddi hana til pess saetis, sem henni var buit. porkell ba5 hana \>;i renna |>ar augum yfir hju ok hjorS 27 , ok sva hi'b^li. Hun var famalug 28 um allt BorS voru upptekin um kveldit, ok er fra {>vi at segja, hvat spakonunni var malbuit; henni var gerr grautr a kiSjamjolk w , ok matbuin hjorlu 30 or ollum kykvendum, })eim er ^>ar voru til; hun hafSi mersingarspdn 31 ok km'f tannskcptan tvihol-kafian 32 af eiri, ok var brolinn af oddrinn M . En er bor5 voru upptekin, j>a gengr porkell bondi fyri porbjorgu, ok spyrr hversu henni jiikki par um at li'tast, eda hversu skapfeld 34 henni eru J>ar hil>yli e5a bsettir manna, eSa hversu fljotliga w hun inun vis verSa pess, er hann hefir spurt hana, ok monnum er mesl forvitni at vita. Hun kallast ekki munu segja, fyrr enn um morgininn eptir, er hun hafSi a5r sofit um nottina.

13 a kirtle or mantle laced with ribbons. u all down to the bosom. 15 glass-beads. 16 a black cap. 17 there was on it a knob.

18 also messing, Germ, messing, a metallic compound, brass, latten.

19 a girdle of bark. 20 purse of skin. 21 magic apparatus. ^ witchcraft. -•' rough, shaggy. 24 with long strings in them, and at the end of these great tinknobs. 25 ve^ja henni to hail her. x affected. 27 family and flocks. M of few words. w gruel of goatsmilk. *° the hearts. 31 a latten spoon. 3 - and a knife of brass with an ivory haft surrounded by two rings. M the point M pleasing. w quickly.

En um morgininn at alifomm degi 86 var hcnni veittr sa urn-buningr 37 , sem bun purfti at hafa til at fremja seiSinn 38 . Hun haS ok fa ser konur, paer er kunnu fraeSi 39 pat, sem til sei5-sins |>arf, ok varSlokkur hetu 40 , en |>a3r konur fundust eigi; pa var leitat at um baein, ef nokkur kynni; pa segir GuoYior: "hvarki em ek fjolkunnig 41 ne vi'sindakona 4a , en po kendi 4 » Ilallch's, fostra mm **, mer a I'slandi pat kvaeSi, er bun kal-Ia5i varSlokkur." porkell segir: "pa ertu happfroS 45 ;" bun segir: "petta er pat eitt atferli 48 , er ek a?tla i ongum atbeina at vera, pviat ek em cristin kona." porbjorg segir: "sva maetti verSa at pii yrSir monnum at liSi her um 47 , en pii va3rir pa kona ekki verri 48 enn aSr; en viS porkel mun ek meta 49 at fa pa luti til er hafa parf." porkell herSir 50 nii a GuSriSi, en bun kve5st gera mundu, sem hann vildi. Sldgu pa konur bring um hjallinn", en porbjorg sat a uppi; kvaS GuSriSr pa kvaeSit sva fagurt ok vel, at engi pottist heyrt hafa me5 fegri rodd 52 kva^Si kvedit, sa er par var hja. Spakonan pak-kar henni hva?Sit, ok kvaS margar pa?r natturur 53 nu til hafa solt, ok pikkja fagurt at heyra, er kvasSit var sva vel flutt, "er aSr vildu vi5 oss skiljast ok enga hlySni oss veilaj en mer eru nu margir peir hlutir auSs^nir M , er a5r var ek duliS ok margir aSrir M . En ek kann per pat at segja, porkell! at hal-laeri petta mun ekki haldast lengr enn i vetr, ok mun batna arangr, sem varar 56 ; sottarfar pat, sem a hefir legit, man ok batna vanu braSara 57 . En per, GuSriSr! skal ek launa i bond

36 as the day was going down. 37 preparation. 38 to fulfill her enchantment. 39 art. 40 is called varSlokkur. i. e. a charm to draw together guardian spirits, from vorSr gen. varSar custos, aud lokka allicere. 41 skilled in spells. 42 wise woman, i. e. sorceress. 43 from at kenna to teach. 44 foster-mother. 45 of lucky wisdom. M the only matter. 47 for a help in this matter. 48 no worse. 49 ask. 80 pressed hard. 51 round the raised seat, this word also means the pedestal on which the images of the Gods stood. 52 voice. 53 natures i. e. spirits. 54 plain. w which were hid before from me and many others. 56 and the scarcity will grow better as the spring comes on. S7 the sickness also which has lain on you, will also grow better sooner than you think.

EXTRACTS.

li&sinni fcat M , er oss hefir af ber staflit; bviat bin forlog era mer nu allgloggsae »; bii munt gjaforfi «° fa her a Graenlandi, bat er saemiligast er, boat ber verSi bat eigi til langgaeOar 81 , bviat vegar binir liggrja lit til I'slands, ok man bar koma fra ber bseSi mikil aett ok g65, ok yfir bi'num kynkvislum skina bjartari geislar, enn ek hafa megin ti! at geta slikt vandliga set 62 , enda far bu nii heil ok vel dottir!" Si'San gengu menn at visindakonunni, ok fretti ba hverr bess, er mest forvilni var a at vita. Hun var ok g6S af frasognum, gekk bat ok litt i tauma er him sagSi 63 . pessu naest var komit eptir henni af 68rum baa; for hun ba bangat. pa var sent eptir porbirni, bviat hann vildi eigi heima vera, meOan sh'k hindrvilni var framit M , VeCratta batnaOi skjott, sera porbjorg haf5i sagt.

Vi'ga-GIiims Sa ff a. Ch. Vf.

Nii er at segja fra utanferC Glums. pegar hann kom vifi land, for hann uppa Vorz til Vigfuss, ok er harm kom at baenum, sa hann bar mikit fjolmenni ok margskonar skemtan ok leika '. Ok bat bottiz hann sj;i, at bar mundi a ollum lutum stormenska 2 vera. En bar sem hannsamarga menn merkiliga, ba vissi hann eigi, hvar Vigfuss mundi vera fraendi 3 hans. pat mark haf5i hann til hans, at hann sa maim mikinn ok vegligan 4 , i ond-vegi 5 i skautfelldi 6 blam, ok lek ser at spjoti gullreknu °. Gekk si'San at honuin, ok qvaddi hann, en hann tuk vel qveCju hans. Vigfuss spurSi, hvat manna hann vaeri, en hann qvazt

88 for that help. 59 *quite clear. w betrothal, marriage. 61 happiness for a long time. G - than I have power to see such things accurately. w and what she said was not far wrong. M when such contradictions, i. e. superstitious rites were going on.

1 and many kinds of games and sports. ' magnificence. 3 kinsman. 4 dignified. * in the first seat. ° cloke. ° with a spear the shaft of which was adorned with gold.

vera I'slenzkr ok Eyfirzkr 7 . pa spurSi Vigfuss at Eyjolfi magi 8 sinum ok AstriSi dotlur sinni, en hann qva5 hann and-auSann, en AstriSur lifir. Vigfuss spurSi: hvat barna £eirra lifSi ? en Glumr sagfti honum til syskina 9 sinna, en siSan sagSi hann honum, at |>ar var einn son J>eirra kominn fyrir hann. En er hann sag5i |>at, |>a rettiz ecki af um talit vi5 hann 10 . Glumr ba3 hann visa ser til saetis " j en Vigfuss qvazt ecki vita hvat satt vaBri af })vi, er hann sagSi: ok visa5i honum til saetis a hinn oseSra beck utarliga 12 : ok veitti honum litla virding. Hann var famalugr ok osiSbJendr 13 , f)a er aSrir menn drucku eSr hof5u aSra gledi, £a la hann ok hafSi felld ahof^i ser, ok j)6tti hann |>ar fol eitt 14 . par var veizla buin at vetp nottum 15 ok gert D^sa-blot 16 , ok allir skylldu |>essa minning gera. Glumr sitr i rumi sinu, ok gengr eigi til; en er aleid qvolldit 17 ok menn voru komnir, |>a var eigi svo mikil gledi sem likligt mundi {>ickja fyrir fagna8ar sakir ok vina fundar 18 , er |>ar voru margir saman komnir. pann dag er menn hofSu komit til bodsins 19 , hafSi Glumr eigi utgengit moti monnum, ok baud engum at sitja hja ser, e8a i hans rumi. Ok er menn voru komnir undir borS 20 , |>a var sagt, at sa maSr var kominn at baenum meS tolfta mann er Bjorn het ok kallaSr Jarnhaus 21 , hann var Berserkr mikill ok var £vi vanr at koma til manboda fjolmennra ok leitaSi f>ar or5a viS menn, ef nockr villdi J>at maela, er hann matti a {)iggja 23 .

7 a man of Eyfjord. 8 son in law. 9 of his brothers and sister, this word, which is preserved in the Swed. syskon, means all the children of the same father and mother. 10 then the conversation with him (Vigfuss) was not carried farther. n begged him to assign him a seat. 12 on the lower bench on the outside. 13 a man of few words and averse from conversation. u and he was thought there to be a fool. 15 as the winter nights came on. 16 Sacrifice to the female Genii, comp. Edda Saem. III. 317. 17 but when the evening was closing in. 18 and the meeting of friends. 19 to the bidding. 2° and when men were sat down to the board. 21 Iron-skull. 22 a great Baresark, so called from their going to battle without defensive armour. ^ which he might pick a quarrel out of.

Ok skoraft menn til holmgaungu 2 *. En Vigfuss bafl pess, at menn skylldi vel stilla orSum sinum. Ok cr pat minui laeging 25 enn taka meirra illt af honum. Ok hetu menn honum g63u urn pat. En Bjorn geek i skalann inn, ok leitaSi orSheilla viS menn», ok spurSi a enn aeCra beck enn yzta mann, hvart hann vaeri jam snjallr honum 27 , en hann qvaS fjaerri pvi fara. SiSan spurSi hann hvern of oSrum, par til er hann kom fyrir ondvegit: ymissa 28 orSa leituSu menn ser, en par kom m'Sr » at engi kvaz, jam snjallr honum. En er hann kom fyrir Vigfuss, pa spurSi hann, hvar Vigfuss vissi slikra garpa vanir 30 . En hann lez eigi vita hans jafningja. pa maeki Bjorn: "vel er svarat ok hyggiliga 31 , sem van var, at pu ert virdinga maSr mikiJl, ok gengit leingi at oskum lif pilt, ok engi hnecking 32 komit vegs pins ok sdma 33 . Nu er pat vel, at ek parf eigi annat viS pik at mala en gott eitt; en spyrja vil ek pik, ef pu pikizt jamn viS mik?" Hann svarar: "pa er ek var ungr ok i vikingu 34 , ok vann nockvut til frama, mi veit ek eigi hvart ek ina-tta pa viS pik jamnazt, eu nu halfu siSr 35 , at ek em gamall ok orvasi." 36 Bjorn sn^r a brolt padan, ok ferr utar meS oSrum beck; ok spyrr en, ef peir pikjaz jam snjallr honum, en peir qvoSuzt eigi jam snjallir honum. pa kom hann at par er Glumr la i pallinum 37 . "Hvi liggr sja ma5r sva" qvaS Bjorn, "en sitr eigi?" Sessunautar 38 hans svara, ok veita honum orfia fulllingi 39 : ok qvaSu hann svo ovitran, at ecki mark maelti a pickja, hvat hann nuelti. Bjorn spyrnir a hann fa?ti sinum ok mselti, "at hann skylldi sitja upp sem afirir menu," ok spurfii: ''ef hann v.neri jam snjallr honum?" En Glumr qva5 hann ecki purfa at eiga vi5

24 and he challenged men to single combat, holmganga, so called because the combatants used to settle the dispute on some small island whence there could be no escape. M a less disgrace, ^and demanded fair words of men. 27 whether he were equally brave as himself, jam for jafn. 28 diflerent. M but it came at last to this. 30 where Vigfuss knew that such mighty men (as himself) were to be looked for. 31 thoughtfully. 32 hindrance. M honour. w and led the life of a sea-rover. M but now much less by half. w feeble. 37 on the beuch. 88 his companions on the seat. 89 help.

sik 40 , ok kvaz eigi vita urn snilli bans, "ok vil ek af pvi 4l engu vi5 pik jamnax, at lita I'slandi mundi sa ma5r kallazt fol, sem pann veg laetr, sem pii laelr 42 : en her befit- ek vitad alia bezt orSum stilla 43 ." Hleypr upp si5an, ok at honum, prifr 44 af honum hjalminn, ok si'San hnyckir 45 hann upp elldi-stocki 46 , ok keyrir a milli herda honum 47 , ok lylr kappinn 4S Bjorn vi3; ok pegar annat, ok hvert at 6Sru 49 , svo at hann fell; ok pa er hann villSi a faetr faeraz, pa lauzt hann i hofud" honum. Ok let sva par til at hann kom lit fyri dyr. En pa er Gliimr villdi til saetis, er Vigfuss kominn a golfit, ok allir peir, ok fagnaSi £a vel fra3nSa sinum, qvaS hann nu hafa raun til gert, at hann var hans aettar. "Skal ek nu virda pik sem ockr somir 50 :" lezt pat til hafa geingit i fyrztunni at honum s^ndiz hann eigi brad gerviligr 51 "Villdack pess at bida, er pu fa?r5ir pik me8 skoriingskap M i pina aett:" leidir nii hann til saetis hja ser. Glumr qvazt piggja mundu pat soeti pott fyiT vaeri. Annan dag eftir er sagt andlat 53 Bjarnar. Vigfuss baud Glumi, at taka riki eptir sik ok virding, en Gliimr qvazt pigeya vilja, en fara po ut fyrst til I'slands, at eigi eignaSiz peir f65r-leifd bans 54 , er hann ann eigi at njota, qvazt aptr niunu koma sem fyrst. Vigfuss qvazt aella 55 pat forlog Gliiins at auka sma aett ok soma a I'slandi. At sumri laetr Vigfuss biia skip til handa Glumi, ok gefr honum farmin a 56 , ok mikit fe i gulli ok silfri, ok maelli: "svo segir mer hugr um at vi8 sjamzt eigi si'San: en enka gripi 57 vil ek per gefa, felld ok spjot ok sverS: er ver hofum mikinn trunad a haft fraendr 58 ; ok medan pii att gripina, vaentir ek, atpii t^nir eigi, virdingu 59 : en pa em ek hraeddr um, ef pu logar w peim." Sidan skiljazt peir.

40 that it was no business of his to meddle with him. 4I for this. 42 who goes on in the way in which you go. 43 but here I have learned best of all to hold my tongue? 44 tears. 45 snatches. 46 a brand. 4T and dashes it between his shoulders. 48 the champion. 49 and one (blow) after another. ^ as is also seemly. 51 not sufficiently manly. 52 boldness. 53 death. 54 his heritage. M foresaw. 58 lading in it. w things of rare price. 58 see rule 438. 59 that thou willt not lose in honour. 60 if thou partest with them.

EXTRACTS.

267

Hamars Heimt from Sseround's Edda.

1. ReiSr var pa Ving-porr » cr hann vacnafii,! oc sins hamars um-sacnaSi : scegg nam at hrista a , scavr 3 nam at dj'ja *, red JarSar burr um at preifaz 5 .

2. Oc hann pat or&a allz fyrst um qvaS: heyrSu mi, Loki! hvat ec um-maeli, er engi veit jarSar hvergi ne upphimins: Ass er stolinn hamri 8 !

3. Gcngo peir fagra Freyjo tuna, ok hann pal orCa

allz fyrst um-qva5: mun(u mer, Freyjal fja5rhams Ija 7 ef ek minn hamar maeltac hilta? Freyja qva5:

4. PO munda ec gefa per pott or gulli va?ri,

oc po selja 8 at vaeri Or silfri.

5. Flo pa Loki, fjaSrhamr dundi 9 , uns 10 for utan kom Asa garfia,

oc for innan kom Jolna heima.

6. prymr sat a haugi If pursa droilinn Ia ,

1 Thor the harler. 2 his beard he can bristle, scegg for a mode of writing borrowed from Angl. Saxon, and followed throughout this song. 3 head. 4 to shake, conf. Rigsm. 32. 34. * Earth'* son fell to throwing his hands about. 6 the God has been robbed of his hammer. Deus est malleo spoliatas. " wilt thou lend me (thy) feathery suit. 8 hand over. 9 gave a din from at dynja. I0 until. 11 on a hillock, or mound. I2 Lord of Giants.

EXTRACTS.

greyjom 13 si'nom gullbavnd snori 14 , oc mavrom 15 sinom mavn jafnaSi.

prymr qva5:

7. Hvat er me5 A'som? Hvat er meS A'lfom?

hvi ertu einn kominn i Jotunheima?

8. I'llt er meS A'som, illt er meS A'lfom, helir fm HlorriSa 16 hamar um-folginn 17 ?

9. Ek hefi HlorriSa hamar um-folginn atta ravstom 18

for jorS neSan: hann engi ma5r aptr um-heimtir, nema faeri mer Freyjo at qvaen 19 .

10. Flo £a Lokij fjaSrhamr dundi: uns for utan kom Jolna heima,

ok for innan kom

A'sa garSa.

11. Maetti hann f)6r mi5ra garSa 2°,

ok hann J>at orSa allz fyrst um qvaS:

12. Hefir f>u eriudi sem erfiSi 21 ?

segSu a lopti laung tiSindi: opt sitjanda savgor um-fallaz 22 ? oc liggjandi l^gi um-bellir ^

13. Hefi ek erfiSi oc erindi:

prymr hefir |)inn hamar pursa drottinn; hann engi maSr aplr urn heimtir, nema 24 honum faeri Freyjo at qvaen.

14. Ganga ibeir fagra Freyjo at hitta,

oc hann {)at orSa allz fyrst um-qva8;

13 hounds, dat. pi. comp. Engi. grey-hound. u for sneri pret. of sn^ to twist 15 horses, Engi. mare. 16 a name of Tlior, meaning the fierce thunderer, or he that careers in thunder, comp. Edda Saem. III. 437. 17 hidden away. 18 eight leagues. 19 Freyja to wife. 20 Thor met him in the middle of the yard. 21 hast thou the object of the errand as (thou hast) the toil. i. e. hast thou taken thy toil to some purpose. 22 fail, are broken off. M brings forth lies. 24 save.

EXTRACTS.

BiUu pik Freyja briiSar lini, 2J viS scolom aka i Jotunheima.

tvav

15. Rei5 var5 pa Freyja oc fnasaSi, 27

allr A'sasalr undir bifSiz 28 : staucc bat it micla men Brisinga 29 . "Mic veiztu verSa vergjarnasla 30 ef ec ek 31 me5 per i Jotunheima."

16. Senn voru JEsti allir a {migi,

oc Asynjor allar a mali: ok af pat reSo rikir tffar 3a , hve peir H16rri5a Lamar um-saetti.

17. pa qva5 |>at HeimSallr hviiastr A'sa;

vissi hann vel fram sem ^ 7 ani^ aSrir 33 : "bindom ver por £a brii5ar lini, hafi hann it mikla men Brisinga!"

18. Lntom und hanom M hrynja lucla 35 ,

oc kvenvaOir M

urn kne falla,

en a brjosti

brei5a steina,

oc hagliga

um havfu5 typpom 87 !^

19. pa qvafi pat pdrr prufiugr 38 A'ss:

"mic run no ^Esir argan 39 kalla, ef ec bindaz lost briiSar h'ni."

25 bind thyself Frevja in bridal veil. 2* drive. w snorted. 28 quaked under. w that the ^reat flaming necklace sprang up. How Freyja got this famous gaud may be seen at the end of Rasks Edition of the Prose Edda pp. 353. 57. *> fondest of men. " pres-of aka to drive. 3a the mighty Gods. M he knows well before him like other Vanir. These Vanir were a powerful race once at feud with the JEsir but afterwards reconciled with them, so that some of them were received into the number of the ,/Esir. Heimdall was one of these. 34 hanom for honom. 3i let us make keys ring under him. i. e. hanging at his waist. ** womens clothes. 3T and dress bis head neatly in a topknot, typpom from at typpa to dress a woman's hair up in a peak, from toppr Engl. top. te stern. *• cowardly.

EXTRACTS.

20. pa qva8 fat Loki Laufeyjar sonr

fegi |>u, porr

feirra orSa:

fegar *° muno Jotnar

A'sgarS biia,

iiema ]m |>inn hamar

fer um-heimtir.

21. Bundo peir por |>a

briiSar lini , oc enno mikla meni Brisinga; leto u nd hanom hrynja lucla, oc kvenvaSir urn kne i'alla, en a brjosti brei'Sa steina, oc hagliga um havfuS typto.

22. pa qvaS fat Loki Laufeyjar sonr:

"mun ec ok meS {)er ambott 41 vera, viS sculom aka tvav i Jotunheima."

23. Senn voro hafrar heim um-reknir 42 .

scyndir at scavclom, scyldo vel renna 43 : bjorg brotnoSo u , brann jor5 loga^ 6k 45 OSins son i Jotunheima.

24. pa qva5 J>at prymr pursa drotlinn: "standiS u'pp, Jotnar!

ok strai5 becci ^j nu faeriS iner 47 Freyjo at qvsen, NjarSar doltur ur Noatunom.

25. Ganga her at gar5i Gullhyrndar k^r,

oxn alsvartir Jotni at gamni 48 ^ fjolS a ec meiSma 49 ^615 a ec menja, einnar mer Freyjo avant |>iccir 50 ."

27. Var far at qveldi um-comit sniimna M , ok for Jotna avl framborit: einn at uxa, alta laxa 52 ,

40 straitway. 41 female slave. 42 forthwith the he-goats were driven home. 43 hurried to the traces (shackles) they were about to run well. w rocks were shivered. 45 pret. of aka. 46 and strew the bench. 47 now bring me. 48 for the Giant's passtime. 49 store have I of treasures. 50 of Freyja alone raethinks I have want. 81 that even it was come together early, i. e. the guests met together early. S2 eight salmon.

EXTRACTS.

271

krasir M allar, f>aer er konor scyldo; dracc Sifjar verr M said J»rju mjaSar w .

27. pa qvaS pat pryinr pursa drotlinn:

"hvar saltu briifiir bita hvassara *«? sa-c-a 57 ec bruSir bita breiSara, ne inn meira mjoS mey um-drecka."

28. Sat in alsnotra ambatt for 5S ,

er orS um-fann vi5 Jut (ins mali: "at vatr 59 Freyja alia nottom, sva var hon ofifus, i Jotunheima

ficci m£r 6r augom eldr of-brenna."

30. Sal in alsnotra ambait for,

er or8 um-fann vi5 Joluns m;ili: "svaf vaRtr 6 * Freyja atta nottom, svS var hon odus i Jolunheima."

31. Inn com in arma Jotna syslir,

bin er bruSfjiir M

bi5ja J)or8i:

"hitto \ivr af havndom

hnnga rauSa,

ef \m avfilaz M vill

astir injpjr,

astir inidar

alia hvlli."

29. Laut und lino lysti at cyssa 61 , en hann utan stavcc endlangan sal 62 . "hvi ero avndutt M augo Freyjo?

32. pa qva5 {)at pryinr pursa drottin, "berit inn tin mar brufii at vig;ja % leggit IMjolIni i meyjar kn6,

53 side dishes, dainties. M Sifs man i. e. Thor. M tiree gallons of mead. 66 bite more keenly. 57 I never saw. M the allcun-ning slave sat before him. M eat naught. ^ so eager was she for Jotunheim. 61 he stooped under the veil desirous to kiss. ea to the very- end of the hall. 63 angry. " slept naught. M the dire. 60 bridal fee. 67 yield from thy hands. w obtain. M to hallow the bride.

vigit ocr saman 34. Drap harm ina avldno

Varar hendi 70 !" Jotna systor,

bin er bniSfjar

33. HI6 HlorriSa of-beSit hafSi:

hugr i brjosti, h6n gcell um . Iaut

er harShugaSr « for scill{nga 74?

hamar um-|,ec5i ». en havgg hamarg

prym drap hann fyrstan, for hrfnga ^.

pursa drottin, sv ^ com 08ins son

oc aett Jotuns endr at alia lamSi 73 .

70 hallow us togethe r wi *h Vars' hand. Var, Var, Vavr, or Vor was one of the Asynjor, and ruled over affairs of love; see Gylf. 35. 71 hard-tempered. 72 knew. 73 shivered in pieces. 74 she got ringing blows for shillings, there is a play upon the words here for scilling conies from at skella to ring, chink.

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