[1-2]: Most mss read strǫng varð stôlin sungu | sterklig jǫfurs merki, with the exceptions shown in the Readings above. Merki ‘standard’, as a n. noun, could be sg. or pl., but varð ‘became’ can only be sg. while the adj. strǫng ‘severe, strong’ can only be pl. Strǫng varð is therefore not viable grammatically, and it is necessary to adopt the minority readings stǫng reið and merkis, hence ‘the pole of the standard rode high’. This interpretation essentially agrees with that of Konráð Gíslason (1895-7), Skj B and Skald.