Old Norse for Beginners - Lesson Eight
by Haukur Þorgeirsson and Óskar Guðlaugsson
Table of Contents
Grammar
1.1 Present-Preterite Verbs
ON has a small group of verbs that conjugate in a special way. English has the same phenomenon, but less noticeable. The verbs are called “present-preterite”, because their conjugation for the present is imitative of the preterite (= past) conjugation. This has to do with a development or shift that is believed to have happened early on in the ancestral Proto-Germanic language. To put this all into context we will state that the Germanic languages have three kinds of verbs. They are all still represented in English.
Strong verbs
- Preterite formed with ablaut (certain type of vowel change)
- Certain endings in the present (in English an ‘s’ in third person)
Weak verbs
- Preterite formed with a dental suffix (in English ‘d’ or ‘t’)
- Certain endings in the present (in English an ‘s’ in third person)
Present-preterite verbs
- Preterite formed like the preterite of a weak verb
- Present formed like the preterite of a strong verb
We’ll demonstrate by comparing a present-preterite verb (‘can’) with your garden-variety strong (‘come’) and weak (‘love’) verbs.
| I | come | came |
| you | come | came |
| he | comes | came |
| I | love | loved |
| you | love | loved |
| he | loves | loved |
| I | can | could |
| you | can | could |
| he | can | could |
Comparing the actual conjucations with the blurbs above we see that ‘can’ does not add an ‘s’ in the third person of its singular present tense; just like the other verbs don’t have an ‘s’ in their preterite. We also see that it forms its preterite with a ‘d’; just like the weak verb. The Old Norse cognate of ‘can’, ‘kunna’, is also present-preterite.
While the English difference in conjugation is minor, ON present-preterites are more divergent. We have learnt two irregular verbs whose conjugation is somewhat similar to this class of verbs, ‘vera’ and ‘vilja’; they are not historically present-preterites but it may be practical to speak of them in the same context:
| vera | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | em | erum |
| 2p | ert | eruð |
| 3p | er | eru |
| vilja | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | vil | viljum |
| 2p | vilt | vilið |
| 3p | vill | vilja |
The present-preterite verbs are some of the most useful and common in the language so you should be careful to learn their conjugation by heart.
The first verb we’ll look at is the auxiliary ‘skulu’ which is the cognate of English ‘shall’ and similar in meaning.
| skulu | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | skal | skulum |
| 2p | skalt | skuluð |
| 3p | skal | skulu |
The change of vowels from ‘u’ to ‘a’ is not our everyday umlaut but something even more arcane called ‘ablaut’. We’ll look at that again later.
Our next auxiliary verb does not have an English cognate but it is most similar in meaning to English ‘will’. One of its primary uses is to indicate the future.
| munu | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | mun | munum |
| 2p | munt | munuð |
| 3p | mun | munu |
Note the anomalous infinitives, with ending -u instead of -a. The verbs ‘skulu’ and ‘munu’ are the only verbs in the language with this infinitive ending.
In the Völuspá we have a lot of ‘munu’ where the seeress is speaking of the future. One example is “Baldr mun koma” which is easily translated as “Baldr will come”.
By now you may have noticed something characteristic about present-preterites; in the singular, the only endings are -t in the 2nd person. In the plural, they have -uð and -u in the 2nd and 3rd persons.
Our next verb has the same ablaut as ‘skulu’ but now our normal infinitive is back.
| kunna | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | kann | kunnum |
| 2p | kannt | kunnuð |
| 3p | kann | kunnu |
The meaning of ‘kunna’ is related to that of its cognate ‘can’ but there are some differences. While English ‘can’ means to be able to do something either through ability or circumstances, ON describes only ability. Also, English ‘can’ is always an auxiliary, while ‘kunna’ can be a main verb with a simple direct object:
| Ek kann þat. | I know [how to do] it, I can do it |
One more verb for now, ‘eiga’ (own):
| eiga | ||
| Sg. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | á | eigum |
| 2p | átt | eiguð |
| 3p | á | eigu |
You should already be familiar with its 3p sg form, ‘á’, which has been used already. The vowel change between ‘á’ and ‘ei’ is actually neither ablaut nor umlaut but don’t worry about it (it has to do with a phenomenon called Verner’s law).
The verbs ‘skulu’, ‘munu’, and ‘kunna’ from above are some of the most common auxiliaries in the language, just as they are in English (substitute English ‘will’ for ‘munu’). Just as in English, no infinitive marker is used with them when they are used as auxiliaries:
| You will go. but not **You will to go |
| Þú munt koma. but not **Þú munt at koma |
1.2 Assimilative Nouns and Adjectives
It often happens in languages that a consonant assimilates to a neighbouring consonant. We have already seen some examples of this in the etymological ponderings:
| *benkr -> bekkr (bench) (the ‘n’ has been assimilated to the ‘k’) |
| *áhta -> átta (eight) (the ‘h’ has been assimilated to the ‘t’) |
One type of assimilation is important in declensions; their nominative -r has been assimilated by the final consonant of the stem. This happens with three consonants, ‘s’, ‘l’ and ‘n’, and only when the vowel of the stem is long. Let’s look at some examples:
| *ísr -> íss (ice) |
| *hólr -> hóll (hill) |
| *steinr -> steinn (stone) |
The complete declension of those nouns is as follows:
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom | íss | hóll | steinn |
| acc | ís | hól | stein |
| dat | ísi | hóli | steini |
| gen | íss | hóls | steins |
| Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom | ísar | hólar | steinar |
| acc | ísa | hóla | steina |
| dat | ísum | hólum | steinum |
| gen | ísa | hóla | steina |
Quite simply, the nominative -r is replaced by one of the other consonants. Nothing else happens.
Then there are adjectives with the same feature, declining thus in masculine indefinite:
| háss | hoarse |
| háll | slippery |
| groenn | green |
| Sg. | |||
| nom | háss | háll | groenn |
| acc | hásan | hálan | groenan |
| dat | hásum | hálum | groenum |
| gen | háss | háls | groens |
| Pl. | |||
| nom | hásir | hálir | groenir |
| acc | hása | hála | groena |
| dat | hásum | hálum | groenum |
| gen | hássa | hálla | groenna |
Take special notice of the genitive plural, where the assimilation occurs.
Remember that the assimilation only occurs in words with long-vowel stems, but not stems of short vowels:
| gulr | yellow |
| vanr | accustomed |
| Sg. | ||
| nom | gulr | vanr |
| acc | gulan | vanan |
| dat | gulum | vönum |
| gen | guls | vans |
| Pl. | ||
| nom | gulir | vanir |
| acc | gula | vana |
| dat | gulum | vönum |
| gen | gulsa | vanla |
1.5 Bisyllabic Stems
Some strong masculine nouns have a bisyllabic stem; observe their pattern of conjugation:
| hamarr | hammer (stem: hamar) |
| himinn | sky (stem: himin) |
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | ham-ar-r | ham-r-ar |
| acc | ham-ar | ham-r-a |
| dat | ham-r-i | höm-r-um |
| gen | ham-ar-s | ham-r-a |
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | him-in-n | him-n-ar |
| acc | him-in | him-n-a |
| dat | him-n-i | him-n-um |
| gen | him-in-s | him-n-um |
First off, ‘himinn’ is assimilative. What is happening in these nouns is that whenever there is an ending with a vowel in it, the vowel of the second stem syllable is deleted:
| (sg dat) hamar + i > *hamari > hamri |
Note that bisyllabic names, such as Ragnarr or Einarr, completely ignore this rule and decline normally.
Some adjectives are bisyllabic; they commonly have assimilation:
| gamall | old (stem: gamal) |
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | gam-al-l | gam-l-ir |
| acc | gam-l-an | gam-l-a |
| dat | göm-l-um | göm-l-um |
| gen | gam-al-s | gam-al-la |
Vocabulary
2.1 Nouns
| áss | ace, god, one of the Æsir |
| íss | ice |
| þræll | slave |
| vagn | wagon, chariot |
| hamarr | hammer |
| himinn | sky |
| jötunn | ettin, giant (mythological) |
| drottinn | lord (or usually, “the Lord”) |
| hringr | ring, circle |
| hundr | dog |
| níðingr | villain, oppressor |
| viðr | wood |
| Þórr | Thor, the thundergod |
| Þórshamarr | Thor’s hammer |
| Ásgarðr | Asgard, the world of gods (Æsir) |
| Miðgarðr | Midgard, the world of men |
| Miðgarðsormr | Midgard’s Serpent (the serpent that encircles Midgard) |
| Jötunheimr | Gianthome (the mythological home of the giants) |
| Vestrvegr | “Westway” (west across the North Sea; the British Isles) |
2.2 Pronouns
| annarr | other, another |
| hverr? | who, what (masc)? |
| hverr | each |
| hinn | the other |
‘Annarr’ is a bisyllabic pronoun, with an irregular declension:
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | ann-ar-r | að-r-ir |
| acc | ann-an | að-r-a |
| dat | öð-r-um | öð-r-um |
| gen | ann-ar-s | ann-ar-ra |
As happens in ‘maðr’, the sequence ‘nnr’ becomes ‘ðr’. The main irregularity in the word is its sg acc form, ‘annan’, where we’d expect ‘*aðran’.
‘Hverr’ declines like an adjective with j-insertion:
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | hverr | hverir |
| acc | hvern | hverja |
| dat | hverjum | hverjum |
| gen | hvers | hverra |
An alternative (old) form of sg. acc. is the more regular ‘hverjan’.
‘Hverr’ is the interrogative that refers to masculine nouns or persons. It can also mean ‘each’:
“Hverr þeira segir þá öðrum…” Each of them then says to another…
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| nom | hinn | hinir |
| acc | hinn | hina |
| dat | hinum | hinum |
| gen | hins | hinna |
Declines just like the article ending; in fact, it is just a modification of the pronoun from which the article is derived.
2.3 Adjectives
| sjálfr | (him)self |
| írskr | Irish |
| slíkr | such |
| groenn | green |
| háll | slippery |
| heill | whole, healthy, “hail” (greeting) |
| víss | wise |
| gamall | old |
| gulr | yellow |
| vanr | accustomed |
2.4 Verbs
| gjøra, gjøri | do |
| aka, ek + dat | drive |
| hringa, hringa | wind around (as serpents do) |
| hjálpa, help | help |
| róa, roe | row (a boat) |
| leiða, leiði | lead |
| vernda, vernda | protect |
| reka, rek | drive out, drive sth forward from behind (such as cattle) |
| verða, verðr + nom | become |
‘verða’ is followed by a compliment, i.e. a noun in nominative.
The object of ‘aka’ is in dative rather than accusative.
2.5 Adverbs
| aftr | again |
| saman | together |
| bæði | both |
| því næst | then, thereafter, subsequently |
| né | nor |
2.6 Prepositions
| við + acc | by, next to |
| um + acc | about, around, through |
| af + dat | off |
| yfir + dat | over |
| gegn + dat | against, in front of |
| hjá + dat | by, with, in the company of |
| til + gen | to |
2.7 Conjunctions
| at | that |
| svá at | so [that] |
“svá at” is sometimes contracted to “svát”
2.8 Phrases
[It seems to me that some modern phrases have crept into Óskar’s text; I’ll check on this later. – Haukur]
| standa saman | stick together, stand united |
| standa með + dat | stick with someone, help someone |
| gefa sik | give in, surrender |
Exercises
3.1 Translate the phrases into English
- Þeir ganga saman um víðan vang.
- Þeir sjá menn standa við forsinn.
- Annarr spyrr, “Hverir standa þar, við forsinn?”
- Þá svarar hinn, “Þeir kalla sik Eirík ok Hauk, ok eru norskir.”
- “Hvat gjøra slíkir menn hér?”, spyrr annarr hinn.
- Jarlar Noregs eigu marga hunda ok þræla írska.
- Í Noregi er oft íss í vágum, svá at vísir menn sigla þar eigi.
- Hann gengr til groenna skóga, þar er álfarnir búa.
- Þeir ganga saman á hálum ísi, en falla eigi.
- “Hér er háll íss. Ek vil eigi ganga hér um.”
3.2 Translate the phrases into Old Norse
- “Lord, protect us,” an Irish man says.
- “I am lord here, and protect you,” says the earl.
- “[The] Lord in Heaven (“Drottinn á himni”) will not help.”
- “[The] Lord himself is with us,” another Irish man says.
- “But is he not in Heaven? (“á himni?”)”, the earl asks.
- [The] Lord in Heaven protects the men while they sail.
- The earl calls (says) himself the lord of the slaves.
- Icelandic men protect themselves (“vernda sik sjálfa”) against Norwegian kings.
- They take (go with) an old man to the boat.
3.3 Translate the texts into English
Þórr heitir áss, ok er sterkr mjök ok oft reiðr. Hann á hamar góðan. Þórr ferr oft til Jötunheima ok vegr þar marga jötna með hamrinum. Þórr á ok vagn er flýgr. Hann ekr vagninum um himininn. Þar er Þórr ekr, er stormr.
Þórr kennir orm, er menn kalla Miðgarðsorm. Ormrinn er langr ok hringar sik allan um heim manna, Miðgarð. Þórr vill veiða orminn ok vega hann, því at hann er illr.
Þórr kennir ok jötun er á bát. Þórr tekr vagninn ok ekr. Hann ekr vagninum ór Ásgarði ok um himininn. Hann ferr til jötunsins. Er hann finnr jötuninn kallar hann til hans, “Jötunn, þú skalt taka bátinn er þú átt ok hjálpa mér. Vit munum fara ok veiða sjálfan Miðgarðsorm.” Jötunninn er mjök hræddr, ok svarar, “Ek skal gjøra sem þú býðr, Þórr, því at ef ek gjøri eigi svá, vegr þú mik. En ormrinn mun eta okkr báða, því at hann er stórr ok illr.” En Þórr er áss bæði djarfr ok reiðr ok vill fara gegn Miðgarðsormi.
Því næst róa þeir saman á báti jötunsins. Þá kømr slíkr stormr, at jötunninn verðr hræddr mjök. Er Þórr sér hann svá hræddan, mælir hann, “Sjá, jötunn, hér er hamarrinn er vegr þik ef þú roer eigi,” ok sýnir hánum reiðr hamarinn.
Óláfr kallar sik konung alls Noregs. Jarlar Noregs skulu ok kalla hann konung. Ef jarl gjørir eigi svá, ferr Óláfr konungr gegn hánum ok rekr hann ór Noregi. En margir jarlar vilja eigi kalla Óláf konung, svá at þeir standa saman gegn hánum.
Jarl heitir Ragnarr, er kallar Óláf eigi konung. Óláfr konungr foerir marga menn gegn hánum ok segir: “Heill, Ragnarr jarl. Kalla þú mik Drottin, eða ek mun reka þik ór Noregi.” Svá býðr konungr jarli (translate: “the earl”). Ragnarr svarar, “Heill, Óláfr. Vit skulum eigi leiða svá marga menn hverja gegn öðrum. Ek skal nú fara ok leiða alla er standa með mér. Vér skulum sigla brott í bátunum ok vér skulum eigi koma aftr til Noregs, meðan þú lifir. En ek mun eigi kalla þik konung, Óláfr, því at þú ert eigi góðr maðr ok þú munt eigi góðr konungr verða.”
Hinir jarlarnir standa eigi með Ragnari gegn Óláfi. Konungrinn hefir svá marga menn, at Ragnarr gefr sik hánum ok ferr. Hann segir mönnunum er eru með hánum: “Vér skulum nú fara, því at níðingrinn Óláfr leiðir marga menn gegn oss, ok hinir jarlarnir standa eigi með oss. Óláfr gefr oss grið, svá at vér skulum sigla brott ok finna oss nýjan heim.” Margir menn fara með hánum í bátana, en sumir gjøra eigi svá. Þeir fara til Óláfs konungs, því at þeir eru norskir menn ok vilja búa í Noregi.
Kormákr heitir þræll ok Svartr annarr. Kormákr er írskr maðr. Svartr er danskr, ok ungr mjök ok sterkr. Kormákr er gamall maðr ok spakr.
Jarl býðr nú bæði Kormáki ok Svarti at fara í skóginn ok finna við. Viðinn skal brenna hjá jarli.
Þeir fara nú báðir í skóginn. Við skóginn er stórr hóll, ok háll íss í vangi. Svartr segir við Kormák (“to Cormack”), “Vit skulum ganga yfir ísinn.” Kormákr mælir þá Svarti, “Eigi skal þat svá, því at yfir ís svá hálan, sem þú sér þar, skal eigi ganga. Þar falla menn í ísinn, ok deyja. Kom þú með mér, ok göngum vér nú á hólinn.”
Ganga þeir svá á hólinn ok af hánum í skóginn. Kormákr mælir, “Í skógum eru oft illir vargar. En ver eigi hræddr, því at Drottinn himna verndar okkr.” Svartr segir þá, “himna-drottin kenni ek, er hefir hamar góðan ok flýgr í vagni um himininn. Sjá, Kormákr, hér hefi ek Þórshamar, en meðan ek hefi hann mun Þórr vernda okkr báða.” Kormákr segir, “Eigi verndar okkr Þórr né hamarrinn; Drottinn á himni er með okkr, ok mun vernda okkr gegn illum vörgum.” Finna þeir nú viðinn ok foera hann jarli.
3.4 Translate the text into Old Norse
Ragnar now leads many vikings into the boats and sails away. “We have no slaves, for Olaf the Oppressor takes them all. We shall go and find Irish slaves, in Westway. Then we shall find another homeland and live there.” The vikings say “You shall lead us, Earl Ragnar, to Westway (“í Vestrveg”), and we will do as (“svá er”) you bid.”
As they sail away, out of the cove, they see many green meadows, broad cascades, and forests wide. Ragnar speaks, “Evil is the oppressor Olaf, to (“at”) drive us out of Norway, with such green meadows and forests. We will not find such cascades in another home.”
Looking at real texts
4.1 Half a strophe from Þrymskviða
Loki suggests the following to Þórr:
| Mun ek ok með þér |
| ambátt vera. |
| Vit skulum aka tvau |
| í Jötunheima. |
Notice the plural of ‘Jötunheimr’.
| ambátt | female slave |
| tvau | two |
Notice the difference between ‘munu’ and ‘skulu’. The first is a statement of fact (as far as a statement about the future can be) while the second is more like a suggestion. But in reality the verbs could be interchanged here with no real change in meaning. Thorpe, for example, translates both with ‘will’:
| I will with thee |
| as a servant go: |
| we two will drive |
| to Jötunheim. |
4.2 An answer from Gylfaginning
Hár segir: “Þat eru tveir úlfar, ok heitir sá er eftir henni ferr Skoll. Hann hræðisk hon ok hann mun taka hana. En sá heitir Hati Hróðvitnisson er fyrir henni hleypr ok vill hann taka tunglit, ok svá mun verða.”
Remember the feminine pronoun, ‘she’:
| nom. hon |
| acc. hana |
| dat. henni |
| gen. hennar |
| tveir | two |
| eftir + dat | behind, after |
| fyrir + dat | in front of |
| hræðisk | fears |
| tunglit | the moon |
| sá | the one |
| ferr | goes, fares |
Menu
How can I help support Awaken the North?
Awaken the North is a family and we are dedicated to helping each other grow. The only way we are able to accomplish this is through the generous financial support of our members. Every single one of our Council, Chairs, and support staff are purely VOLUNTEERS. Not a single person benefits financially from any funds within Awaken the North. Even Beast, the Leader, doesn’t get a dime. All funds are directed back into Awaken the North to pay for the website, buy supplies, help support our members, etc.
We are so very, VERY grateful to our members who help support us! If you are looking for ways to help Awaken the North, please see the options below.