--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Stridmann" <stridmann@...> wrote:

>
> > > 'elska at...' Is it possible that this is a modernism?
> > This is very recent usage, totally anachronistic.
>
> I've found such exaples:
>
> "...elskaði hún hann mjög..." (EYRBYGGJA SAGA)
> "...Signý elskaði hann..." (HRANA SAGA HRINGS)
> "Haraldur konungur elskaði mjög Íslendinga." (SNEGLU-HALLA ÞÁTTUR)

Hi Tim,

Sorry, I didn't really explain clearly enough what I meant. The
difference is that in each of these examples, the complement/object of
the verb is a noun. This is perfectly normal in Old Icelandic; most,
though not all, of the examples I saw had an animate noun as the
complement, as in these three examples. The anachronism is the use of
'elska' with a clausal complement such as 'at ganga náttliga' to
describe an action which the subject of the verb 'elska' "likes/loves
to do".

LN