> Unfortunately, not so clear to me but then I´m not so bright:(
> What is the nom pl neut of 'hættr'? I could only imagine it being the
> same as the nom sg neut and since the subject of the sentence 'øroefi'
> is nom pl (as shown by 'eru') thought the adjective must agree with the
> subject. Are you saying that, despite this, the 'hætt skipum' phrase is
> an example of the impersonal phrase 'e-m er hætt við e-u' which Zöega
> glosses as 'someone is in danger of something'? Gordon gives the example
> 'hlífum hætt' - 'destructive to shields' which to me is not necessarily
> an impersonal construction.
I see your point but I think I'm correct in
interpreting this as, essentially, two sentences:
eru víða øroefi - there are widely open coasts
ok - and
hætt [er] skipum - ships are in danger
If we changed this string of words to omit the 'ok' I think
we would get the grammar and the meaning you had in mind:
"Eru víða øroefi hætt skipum."
- There are widely open coasts dangerous to ships.
This is quite subtle now that I start thinking about it :)
Kveðja,
Haukur