Reading the Sagas
Old spelling: Ok mun ek ríða heim aptr. Modern spelling: Og mun ég ríða heim aftur. The words and endings are nearly the same.
How It Works
Two kinds of editions. School and popular editions print the sagas in modern spelling. The scholarly series Íslenzk fornrit uses a normalized old spelling. Start with a modern-spelling edition.
Old spelling to modern spelling.
- ok → og, ek → ég, þat → það, at → að, hon → hún, svá → svo, aptr → aftur
- No u before a final r: maðr → maður, sonr → sonur, Úlfr → Úlfur
- The -st verbs end in -sk or -zk: sýnzk → sýnst. See -st verbs.
- Some editions write ǫ for ö.
Older words and forms.
- eigi means ekki (not).
- er often means sem (who, which) or þegar (when), not only is.
- vér means við (we), and þér is the plural þið. Old Icelandic also had vit and þit for two people.
- Verbs such as hefir for hefur. See older verb forms.
- The separate article with an adjective in nicknames: Sighvatur hinn rauði. See hinn + adjective.
Words that changed meaning. Most words mean the same, but a few do not. drengur is a boy today, but in the sagas it means a brave, honorable man.
The saga style. Sentences are short and plain. A new person is introduced with the name first: Mörður hét maður (There was a man called Mörður). The narrator often puts the verb first and switches to the present tense at exciting moments. See narrative inversion and historical present.
Examples (6)
- Mörður hét maður er kallaður var gígja.
There was a man called Mörður, who was nicknamed Fiddle.
Word by Word: Mörður was-called man who called was fiddle.
The first sentence of Njáls saga, in modern spelling. er means sem here. In modern prose: Maður sem hét Mörður var kallaður gígja.
- Hann var sonur Sighvats hins rauða.
He was the son of Sighvatur the Red.
Word by Word: He was son Sighvatur's the red's.
The nickname uses the separate article hinn, and the whole name is in the genitive after sonur.
- Úlfr hét maðr, sonr Bjálfa ok Hallberu.
There was a man called Úlfur, the son of Bjálfi and Hallbera.
Word by Word: Úlfur was-called man, son Bjálfi's and Hallbera's.
The opening of Egils saga in old spelling. In modern spelling: Úlfur hét maður, sonur Bjálfa og Hallberu.
- Fögr er hlíðin, svá at mér hefir hon aldri jafnfögr sýnzk.
The slope is beautiful. It has never seemed so beautiful to me.
Word by Word: Beautiful is the-slope, so that to-me has it never equally-beautiful seemed.
Gunnar's words in Njáls saga, in old spelling. In modern spelling: Fögur er hlíðin, svo að mér hefur hún aldrei jafnfögur sýnst.
- Ok mun ek ríða heim aptr ok fara hvergi.
And I will ride back home and go nowhere.
Word by Word: And will I ride home back and go nowhere.
In modern spelling: Og mun ég ríða heim aftur og fara hvergi. Only the spelling has changed.
- Eigi skal höggva!
Do not strike!
Word by Word: Not shall strike!
Snorri Sturluson's last words in Sturlunga saga. eigi means ekki.
Common Mistakes
Using old spellings in modern writing.
Ek kem á morgun ok fer heim.Ég kem á morgun og fer heim.ek and ok belong to old texts. In modern Icelandic, write ég and og.
Leaving out the u before a final r in modern writing.
Hann er sonr Jóns.Hann er sonur Jóns.Old spelling has sonr and maðr, but modern Icelandic always writes sonur and maður.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reading the sagas builds on older forms, relative er and verb-first narration.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Reading the Sagas in Bubblegum
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