--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Fred and Grace Hatton"
<hatton@...> wrote:

>
> Ormur svarar: "Víst þykist eg vin þinn vera [...]
>
> Orm answers, "Certainly it seems I be your friend, [...]

"Certainly I consider myself to be your friend". 'þykjast' "to
think/consider oneself (to be)" + accusative & infinitive; 'kveðast'
"to claim oneself to...", "to say (about oneself) that one..." +
accusative & infinitive. Thus 'Einar kveðst ekki vilja' "Einar says
that he (Einar) doesn't wish".

> er eg
> I am (er?)

Modern Icelandic has 'ég er' "I am" in place of earlier 'ek em'.
According to Stefán Karlsson (The Icelandic Language, pp. 29-30), the
use of 3rd person forms like this in the first person goes back to the
early 14th century. Other verbs were affected too at first, but in the
16th century the first person forms won out in the present tense
indicative singular, except for 'eg er'. In the past tense indicative
singular, the 1st person ending -a has been replaced by the 3rd person
-i: ON ek sagða > MnIc. ég sagði. First person -a has also given way
to -i in the past and present subjunctive singular.

> Einar kveðst ekki vilja annað en upp væri borið bónorðið. Ormur kvað

hann

> ráða skyldu.
>
> Einar declared of himself not to wish other than were the request

mentioned.

> Orm said he should prevail.

"prevail", that's a good way of putting it.

To be continued...