Haraldr vissi sik hverjum
harðgeðr und Miðgarði
— dǫglingr réð til dauða
dýrð slíkri — gram ríkra.
Hefr afreka in* øfra
(ættstýrǫndum dýrri
hnígrat hilmir frægri)
heilǫg fold (til moldar).
Harðgeðr Haraldr vissi sik ríkra hverjum gram und Miðgarði; dǫglingr réð slíkri dýrð til dauða. Heilǫg fold in* øfra hefr afreka; frægri hilmir, dýrri ættstýrǫndum hnígrat til moldar.
Harsh-minded Haraldr knew himself mightier than any lord under Miðgarðr; the monarch commanded such glory till death. The holy land on high [lit. the holy, higher land] has the hero; no prince more renowned, more precious than that ruler of men, will sink to the soil.
[2] Miðgarði: Lit. ‘the middle enclosure’; in Norse cosmography, the home of men, which lies between Ásgarðr, the realm of the gods, and Niflheim, the dark abode of Hel or the dead. The juxtaposition of this phrase with a reference to heaven (see next Note) might suggest that some mythological resonance is active here (cf. Note to Arn Magndr 10/7 Hel). Otherwise, it could be taken simply as ‘on earth’; cf. Þfagr Sveinn 7/2 and Note.