Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas

384 Pages·2017·58.67 MB·English

by  Jesse L. Byock

Viking Language 1

Viking Language 1

Learn O ld Norse, Runes,

and Icelandic Sagas

Jesse L. Byock

ÎV iW
Î

Jules William Press

www.vikingnorse.com

Jules William Press

w w w .vikingnorse.com

Copyright © 2013, Jesse L. Byock

Maps Copyright © 2013, Jesse L. Byock

All rights reserved. No part of this copyrighted book may be reproduced, transmitted, or

used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including internet,

photocopying, recording, taping, pdf, or any information storage and retrieval systems

without written permission from Jesse L. Byock.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Byock, Jesse L., 1945-

Viking Language 1 : Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas / Jesse Byock. - 1st ed.

v. cm. - (Viking language series)

Contents: v. 1. Viking language 1 : Learn Old Norse, runes, and Icelandic sagas, v. 2.

Viking language 2 : The Old Norse reader.

Summary: Old Norse Icelandic language introductory textbook with readings from

sagas, runes, and the Viking Age in Scandinavia.

Includes bibliographical references, vocabulary, appendices, and student's guide.

ISBN-13: 978-1480216440 (v. 1, pbk.)

ISBN-10:1480216445 (v. 1, pbk.)

1.
Old Norse language-Grammar. 2. Old Norse language-Readers. 3.

Vikings-Language. 5. Sagas-lcelandic. 6. Runes-Scandinavian. I. Title.

PD2235.B9 2012/v.l

439/.6/v.l-dc
2012921210 (LCN)

Printed in Calibri

Cover Picture Permission: Cf24063_C55000_100_VSH: Vikingskipshuset, det akademiske

dyrehodet fra Oseberg © Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet I Oslo / Ove Holst

Viking Language 1
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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my teachers of Old Norse: Einar Haugen at Harvard University;

Kenneth Chapman and Eric Wahlgren at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA);

and Gosta Holm at Lunds Universitet. They were great scholars with deep learning in

different aspects of Old Norse. It was an honor and a pleasure to learn with them. I

believe this book would please them.

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Viking Language 1

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

Viking Language was long in the making, and I am indebted to many for their help. I thank

the students and post docs who worked with me during the many phases of this project.

I especially thank Kevin Elliott, a brilliant student in Indo-European Studies with an

extraordinary knowledge of Old Norse. So also, I thank Randall Gordon, Marcin Krygier,

Colin Connors, and Davide Zori for their insights and critique. It is a professor's joy to have

such astute students. I also thank the undergraduates in my Old Norse classes at UCLA.

A good part of this book was written in Iceland, where for several years I was affiliated

with the Medieval Studies Program at the University. I thank Professors Torfi Tulinius, Helgi

Porläksson, Ärmann Jakobsson, and Ästräöur Eysteinsson for providing me with an office

and assistance. I warmly thank my friends Adalsteinn Davidsson, Gunnlaugur Ingölfsson,

and Khstjan Johann Jönsson for their assistance. These specialists in Old Icelandic cast their

sharp eyes over the manuscript. Camilla Basset, Chad Laidlaw, Miriam Mayburd, Rabea

Stahl, and Arngrimur Vidalin Stefänsson, excellent graduate students at the University of

Iceland, read the advanced draft. Their attention to detail and the additional suggestions

by Sigrid Juel Hansen, Ilya Sverdlov, and Brett Langenberger were a boon for the last phases

of the project.

Gudmundur Ölafur Ingimundarson, Jean-Pierre Biard, Robert Guillemette, and Ilya

Sverdlov worked with me in making the charts and maps, and I warmly thank them for their

great skill. I also thank Gayle Byock for her careful reading of the manuscript and constant

cheerful support. David Lasson and J. Sebastian Pagani read portions of the manuscripts and

contributed many useful suggestions. Any errors that remain are my own.

I
am grateful to the Arcadia Foundation, Menntamälaräduneyti (the Icelandic Ministry

of Education, Science, and Culture), the Alcoa Foundation, the Institute for Viking and North

Atlantic Studies, the Gelsinger Memorial Fund, the UCLA Center for Medieval and

Renaissance Studies, and the UCLA Academic Senate. Their support made this project

possible.

Finally, I thank the President of Iceland, Ölafur Ragnar Grimsson, for his constant

support for this long project and Björn Bjarnason, the former Minister of Culture.

V iking Language 1
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Organization and Notes For Using

Viking Language 1

This book has two narratives. One is
the tale of teaching Old Norse
language, especially the Icelandic
variant in which the sagas are
written. The other is the story of
the people who spoke Old Norse,
traveled widely, and carved runes.
Both tales are extraordinary.

Figure 1. Viking Age head carved on
elk-horn found in Sigtuna, Sweden.

The Book Includes

Table of Contents - a comprehensive listings so that all readings and grammatical

information can be easily located.

Introduction - defines the sources and culture for learning Old Norse / Icelandic and

runes.

Discussions, Lists, and Features

Old Norse / Icelandic Alphabet and Spelling.

List of Abbreviations.

Extensive Grammar Index telling where to find grammatical explanations and rules.

A list of Sagas and their locations on a map of Iceland.

Maps, Charts, and Illustrations.

Lessons - include Old Norse / Icelandic language, runic writing, and the history,

mythology, and literature of the Viking Age. Each lesson focuses on an aspect of

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Viking Language 1

language and life. The Old Norse reading passages and cultural sections in the first and

second lessons concentrate on the settlement of Iceland and Greenland. Succeeding

lessons turn to different locations in the Viking world including Denmark, Sweden,

Norway, the British Isles, Europe, the Baltic region, Russia, Byzantium, the East. An

extensive series of maps visualize the seafaring and travels of the Viking Age.

All lessons include grammar and exercises.

Runes are taught in almost all lessons.

Grammar Toolboxes. Special review sections defining basic parts of speech are

strategically located in the lessons. They offer overviews of core grammatical

elements for those readers wishing to brush up their grammar while learning Old

Norse.

Appendix A - Quick Guide to Old Norse Grammar is a study resource offering the most

important tables of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs.

Appendix B - The Most Frequent Words In the Sagas. Viking Language is designed with

a word frequency strategy to speed learning. Each lesson has a word frequency section

and the symbol ♦ marks each of the 246 most common words in the sagas. Two listings

in Appendix B give the 70 most frequent words in the sagas and the 246 most frequent

words.

Appendix C - Pronunciation of Old Icelandic. In addition to this appendix,

www.vikingnorse.com offers an audio learning section with Icelandic speakers

pronouncing reading passages from the early lessons.

Vocabulary. The rear of the book contains a comprehensive Vocabulary. So also, the

reading passages in the first 7 lessons have their own specific vocabularies. These small

vocabularies free the learner to concentrate on mastering the grammar of the early

lessons. For those interested in word stems, the vocabulary entries offer all necessary

information.

Viking Language 1

i v
i w
i

Contents

Introduction

Icelandic Sources

Scandinavian Runes

Old Norse Language

Cognates and Borrowings

Iceland Where the Sagas Were Written

The Viking Age

The Rus

End of the Viking Age

T ools for Using V ik in g La n g u a g e

Old Norse/lcelandic Alphabet and Spelling

Anglicizing Old Norse Personal Names

List of Abbreviations

Grammar Index

Lesson 1: Sailing W est to Iceland, G reenland, and North A merica

1.1 Culture - Atlantic Seafaring

1.2 The Letters P and 0

1.3 Reading - Ingolf Gives Land to Herjolf (Grcenlendinga saga)

1.4 Grammar Toolbox. Nouns and Personal Pronouns

1.5 Gender of Nouns and Pronouns - Masculine, Feminine, Neuter

1.6 Case of Nouns and Pronouns - Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive

1.7 Exercise - Case: Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive

1.8 Apposition - Case Agreement of Nouns

1.9 Word Frequency - The Most Common Words in the Sagas

Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 1. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

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Viking Language 1

in each part of speech

Exercises 1.10 to 1.17

1.18
Culture - Gudrid Travels from Vinland to Rome

Lesson 2: Norse Settlers in G reenland and V inland

2.1 Culture - Norse Greenland

2.2 Reading - 'Land-taking' in Greenland (Landndmabdk)

2.3 Exercise - The Reading Selection from Landndmabdk

2.4 Culture - Vinland (Vinland)

2.5 Grammar Toolbox. Definite and Indefinite Article

2.6 Proper Nouns

2.7 Grammar Toolbox. Verbs

2.8 Verbs, Infinitives

2.9 Linking Verbs - Vera, VerOa, and Heita

2.10 Culture - The Family and Sturlunga Sagas

2.11 Culture - Saga Genres

2.12 Grammar Toolbox. Adjectives

2.13 Old Norse Word Paradigms

2.14 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 2. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 2.15 to 2.22

Lesson 3: Denmark: Runestones and the First V iking State

3.1 Culture - Runes

3.2 Reading-The Small Runestone at Jelling, Denmark

3.3 Culture - The Elder and Younger Runic Alphabets

3.4 Runic Letters Which Spell More Than One Sound

3.5 Runic Spelling Variations and Standardized Old Norse

3.6 Exercise - Runic Script

3.7 Reading - Gorm and Thyri (6ldfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta)

3.8 Culture - Gorm the Old and the Danish Jelling Dynasty

3.9 Personal Pronouns - 1st and 2nd Persons

3.10 Exercise - Personal Pronouns - 1st and 2nd Persons

3.11 Personal Pronouns-3rd Person

3.12 Exercise - Personal Pronouns - 3rd Person

3.13 Nouns - Strong and Weak

3.14 The Verb Vera 'to be' - Present and Past

3.15 Exercise - The Verb Vera

3.16 Culture -S o n and Ddttir in Names

3.17 Exercise - Son and Ddttir

3.18 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 3. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Viking Language 1
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Exercises 3.19 to 3.26

Lesson 4: Kings and Heroes

4.1 Reading - The Large Runestone at Jelling

4.2 Exercise - Reading the Large Runestone at Jelling.

4.3 Grammar Toolbox. Vowels and Consonants

4.4 U-Umlaut

4.5 Exercise - O-Umlaut

4.6 Strong and Weak Verbs

4.7 Exercise - Strong and Weak Verbs

4.8 Weak Verbs in the Present Tense

4.9 Word Frequency - Weak Verbs

4.10 Exercise - Weak Verbs in the Present Tense

4.11 The Reflexive Possessive Pronoun Sinn

4.12 Exercise - The Pronoun Sinn and Personal Pronouns

4.13 Reading - Midfjord-Skeggi (Landndmabdk) and Hrolf Kraki's Sword

4.14 Exercise - The Reading Selection from Landndmabdk.

4.15 Culture - Harald Bluetooth Forges a Viking Age State

4.16 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 4. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 4.17 to 4.27

Lesson 5: Sw eden: A Family Runestone

5.1 Culture - Lands of the Swedes (Sviar) and Goths (Gautar)

5.2 Reading - Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer on the Ramsund Runestone

5.3 Culture - Sigurd the Dragon Slayer

5.4 Short and Long Vowels -Stressed and Unstressed

5.5 The Two Special Stem Rules

5.6 Verbs and the Special Stem Rules

5.7 Exercise - Special Stem Rules

5.8 Words with Stem Endings -j- and -v-

5.9 Strong Nouns - Introduction

5.10 Strong Nouns - Type 1 Masculine

5.11 Exercise - Strong Nouns - Type 1 Masculine

5.12 The Nouns Madr and Sonr

5.13 Exercise - Madr and Sonr

5.14 The Weak Verb Hafa in the Present Tense

5.15 Exercise - Hafa

5.16 Grammar Toolbox. Prepositions

5.17 Reading-A Man of Moderation (Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu)

5.18 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 5. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

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Viking Language 1

Exercises 5.19 to 5.30

Lesson 6: Sacral Kingship in A ncient Scandinavia

6.1 Culture - The Ynglings in Sweden and Norway

6.2 Reading - Domaldi Sacrificed for Better Harvests (Ynglinga saga, from

Heimskringla)

6.3 Culture - The Temple at Uppsala and Human Sacrifice

6.4 Strong Nouns - Type 1 Feminines and Neuters

6.5 Exercise - Strong Nouns, Type 1 Feminines and Neuters

6.6 Past Tense of Weak Verbs

6.7 Vowel Sounds and Assimilation

6.8 /-Umlaut

6.9 Identifying The Four Weak Verb Conjugations

6.10 Exercise - Identifying Weak Verb Conjugations

6.11 Verbs - Voice, An Introduction

6.12 Culture - Snorri Sturluson and Heimskringla

6.13 Reading - Halfdan the Black's Body in Four Parts (Hdlfdanar saga svarta,

from Heimskringla)

6.14 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 6. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 6. IS to 6.25

Lesson 7: Norway' s Harald Fairhair and His Son Eirik Bloodaxe

7.1 Culture - Harald Fairhair

7.2 Reading - Harald Fights His Way to the Throne (Grettis saga Asmundarsonar)

7.3 Culture - Harald Fairhair

7.4 Reflexive Pronouns

7.5 Exercise - Reflexive Pronouns

7.6 Strong Nouns - Type 2

7.7 Exercise - Type 2 Strong Nouns

7.8 Weak Nouns

7.9 Exercise - Weak Nouns

7.10 Nouns Whose Stems End in a Long Vowel

7.11 Reading - Eirik Bloodaxe, the King's Son, Receives a Ship (Egils saga Skalla-

Grimssonar)

7.12 Culture - Eirik Bloodaxe - A Viking King in England

7.13 Reading - A Cruel King, a Cunning Wife, and Their Promising Children

(Harolds saga ins hdrfagra, from Heimskringla)

7.14 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 7. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 7.15 to 7.25

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Lesson 8: Harald hardradi in Constantinople

8.1 Culture - Harald and the Varangians

8.2 Reading - Harald Hardradi Leads the Varangian Guard (Harolds saga

Sigurdarsonar, from Heimskringla)

8.3 Exercise - Translating from Harolds saga Sigurdarsonar

8.4 Culture - The Rus Across Russia and Further

8.5 Nouns - Kinship Terms in -ir

8.6 Nouns Whose Stems End in -nd-

8.7 Present Tense of Strong Verbs

8.8 Past Tense of Strong Verbs

8.9 Exercise - Principal Parts of Strong Verbs

8.10 Past Tense Ending -t of Strong Verbs

8.11 Exercise - Past Tense Ending -t of Strong Verbs

8.12 Reading - Harald Hardradi Sends Famine Relief to Iceland (Harolds saga

Sigurdarsonar, from Heimskringla)

8.13 Grammar Toolbox. Verb Mood

8.14 Commands and the Imperative Mood of Verbs

8.15 The Present Subjunctive of Verbs

8.16 Culture - Harald Hardradi, A Violent End

8.17 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 8. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 8.18 to 8.30

Lesson 9: Raiding in the W est

9.1 Reading - Onund Tree-Foot Raids in the West {Grettis saga Asmundarsonar)

9.2 Exercise - Reading Grettir's saga

9.3 Culture - Western Norway

9.4 More on the Definite Article

9.5 Strong Nouns - Type 3

9.6 Strong Nouns - Type 4

9.7 Demonstrative Pronouns Pess/' and S6

9.8 Clauses - Independent, Dependent, and Relative

9.9 Exercise - Main and Dependent Clauses

9.10 Verbs - The Past Subjunctive

9.11 Exercise - The Past Subjunctive of Verbs

9.12 Reading - Murder, Fosterage, and a Widow's Resourcefulness [Grettis saga

Asmundarsonar)

9.13 Culture - Vikings in the British Isles and Western Europe

9.14 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 9. The Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

Exercises 9.15 to 9.25

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Viking Language 1

Lesson 10: Beached W hales in Iceland

10.1 Culture - Competition for Resources

10.2 Reading - A Whale Washes Ashore {Grettis saga Asmundarsonar)

10.3 Exercise - Grettir's Saga

10.4 Strong Adjectives

10.5 Exercise - Nouns and Strong Adjectives

10.6 Strong Adjectives of Two Syllables

10.7 Strong Adjective Endings

10.8 Exercise - Strong Adjectives

10.9 Verbs - Past Participles Introduction

10.10 Past Participles of Strong Verbs

10.11 Present and Past Perfect of Verbs

10.12 Verbs - Passive Voice

10.13 Reading - The Whale Dispute Turns Deadly (Grettis saga)

10.14 Exercise - From Grettir's Saga

10.15 Culture - Resources and Subsistence in Iceland

10.16 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 10. The Most Frequent Words in the

Sagas

Exercises 10.17 to 10.25

Lesson 11: T he Endless Battle

11.1 Reading - The Battle of the Hjadnings (Skdldskaparmdl, from The Prose

Edda)

11.2 Exercise - Close Reading of The Battle of the Hjadnings

11.3 Weak Adjectives

11.4 Exercise - Nouns with the Definite Article and Weak Adjectives

11.5 Strong Verbs - Guidelines for Distinguishing Strong Verb Classes

11.6 Strong Verbs - Class I

11.7 Strong Verbs - Class II

11.8 Exercise - Strong Verbs, Class I and II

11.9 Verbs Taking Dative and Genitive Objects

11.10 Exercise - Verbs Taking Dative or Genitive Objects

11.11 Reading-The Battle of the Hjadnings Continues (Skdldskaparmdl, frorr

Prose Edda)

11.12 Possessive Pronouns

11.13 Verbs - Impersonal Constructions

11.14 The Indefinite Pronoun Engi

11.15 The Indefinite Pronoun Annarr

11.16 Direct and Indirect Speech

11.17 Grammar Toolbox. Adverbs

Viking Language 1
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11.18
Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 11. The Most Frequent Words in the

Sagas

Exercises 11.19 to 11.28

Lesson 12: Feud in Iceland's East Fjords

12.1 Reading - Helgi Earns his Nickname (Vdpnfirdinga saga)

12.2 Culture - Norse Farmsteads

12.3 The Indefinite Pronoun Nokkurr

12.4 Pronouns - Hverr and Hvdrr

12.5 The Indefinite Pronoun Einnhverr

12.6 The Pronoun Hvdrrtveggi

12.7 Strong Verbs-Class III

12.8 Verbs - Present Participles

12.9 Reading - The Outlaw Svart Steals Old Thorstein's Sheep (Vdpnfirdinga saga)

12.10 Culture - Icelandic Chieftains, Godar

12.11 Word Frequency Vocabulary - List 12. The Most Frequent Words in the

Sagas

Exercises 12.12 to 12.19

Lesson 13: S p ike-H elg i K ills a T h ie f in W e a p o n ' s Fjord

13.1 Reading - Spike-Helgi Hunts Down Svart (Vdpnfirdinga saga)

13.2 Culture - Assemblies and Courts in Iceland, Background to the Sagas

13.3 Strong Verbs - Classes IV and V

13.4 Preterite-Present Verbs

13.5 Preterite-Present Verbs - Modals With and Without at

13.6 Exercise - Preterite-Present Verbs

13.7 Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

13.8 Comparative Adjective Endings

13.9 Superlative Adjective Endings

13.10 Usage of Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

13.11 Exercise - Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

13.12 Comparative and Superlative Adverbs

13.13 Reading - Brodd-Helgi's Relationship to Geitir (Vdpnfirdinga saga)

Exercises 13.14 to 13.20

Lesson 14: Norse M ythology and T he W orld T ree Yggdrasil

14.1 Culture - The World Tree

14.2 Reading - Gangleri Asks About Yggdrasil (Gylfaginning, from The Prose Edda)

14.3 Reading - Norns, Well of Fate, and Baldr (Gylfaginning, from The Prose

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Viking Language 1

Edda)

14.4 Strong Verbs - Class VI

14.5 Verb Middle Voice - Introduction and Formation

14.6 Verb Middle Voice - Meaning and Use

14.7 Cardinal Numbers 1 to 20

14.8 The Past Subjunctive of Preterite-Present Verbs

14.9 Two-Syllable Nouns - Syncopated Stems

14.10 Exercise - Vowel Loss in Two-Syllable Nouns

Exercises 14.11 to 14.16

Lesson 15: T he Saga of King Hrolf Kraki

15.1 Reading - Bodvar Rescues Hott from the Bone Pile (Hrolfs saga kraka)

15.2 Culture - The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki and Beowulf

15.3 Enclitic Pronouns

15.4 Strong Verbs - Class VII

15.5 Verbs - Subjunctive Middle

15.6 Verbs - Subjunctive and Indirect Speech in Main and Dependent Clauses

15.7 Past Infinitives of the Verbs Mundu, Skyldu, and Vildu

15.8 Cardinal Numbers Above 20

15.9 Ordinal Numbers

15.10 Exercise - Ordinal Numbers

15.11 Reading - Bodvar Kills the Monster (Hrdlfs saga kraka)

15.12 Culture - Legendary Lejre (Hleifiargarflr)

15.13 Reading - Hrolf Gets The Nickname Kraki (Skatdskaparmat, from The Prose

Edda)

15.14 Culture - Berserkers

Exercises 15.15 to 15.22

A ppendix A: Q uick G uide to the O ld Norse G rammar

A ppendix B: T he M ost Frequent W ords in the Sagas

A. The 70 Most Frequent Words in the Sagas

B. The 246 Most Frequent Words in the Sagas (by part of speech)

C. T he 246 M o s t Fr e q u e n t W o r d s in t h e Sa g a s (in alphabetical order)

A ppendix C: Pronunciation of O ld Icelandic

V o c a b u l a r y

Viking Language 1
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Fig ur es

1. A Viking Age Head

2. Helmet Nose-Piece, Sweden

3. The Skivum Runestone from Denmark

4. Indo-European Languages Arriving at Proto Old Norse

5. Proto Old Norse (North Germanic) and Its Descendant Languages

6. Scandinavian Settlement in England

7. Norse Settlement in Normandy

8. Sailing Distances from Iceland

9. The World of the Vikings, West

10. The World of the Vikings, East

11. Beads Excavated by the Mosfell Archaeological Project (MAP) in Iceland

12. The Norse Cross the Atlantic

13. The Travels of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir

14. The Eastern Settlement (Eystribyggd) of Norse Greenland (Greenland)

15. Locations of Major Family and Sturlunga Sagas

16. The Runestone, front and back, of King Gorm the Old (Gormr inn gamli) at

Jelling, Denmark

17. Runic and Latin Equivalents

18. Viking Age Denmark (Danmork)

19. Eirik the Red's Family Tree

20. The Large Jelling Runestone, Denmark

21. Sides B and C of the Jelling Runestone

22. Dental Consonants

23. The Ramsund Runestone, Sweden

24. Viking Age Sweden (Svialand or Svi'bjdO)

25. The Swedes Kill Their King Domaldi

26. The Vowel Space Chart and the Vocal Tract

27. Pronunciation of the Vowel /, as in English 'see'

28. The Vowel /

29. Old Icelandic Vowel System

30. /-Umlaut of Old Icelandic Vowels

31. Snorri Sturluson

32. King Halfdan's Sleigh Falls Through the Ice

33. The Sea Battle at Hafrsfjord

34. The Negative Prefix 6

35. Viking Age Norway {Noregr)

35. Ships Riding at Anchor in a Fjord

37. The Route Probably Taken by Haraldr Hardr30i

38. The Ed (Boulder) Inscription from Uppland, Sweden