Hart (fló hvast of snertu)
hregg magnaðisk, bragna
(bókar sól) þars búkar,
benvargs, hnigu margir.
Hart hregg benvargs magnaðisk, þars margir búkar bragna hnigu; sól bókar fló hvast of snertu.
The strong storm of the wound-wolf [SWORD > BATTLE] increased, where many bodies of men sank down; the sun of the book [COLOUR (steinn ‘stone’)] flew sharply in battle.
[2] bragna ‘of men’: This noun could technically be accommodated in any of the helmingr’s three clauses. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) connects it with búkar ‘bodies’ (l. 3), which is adopted in the present edn. Kock (NN §1189) takes it with snertu ‘battle’ (l. 1) and cites a few parallels for the syntagm ‘battle of men’, none of which are fully equivalent.