[All]: This stanza probably alludes to the story of Starkaðr’s killing of Víkarr by hanging him from a tree and piercing him with a reed-stalk in lieu of a spear. The hanging was presented to Starkaðr by Hrosshárs-Grani as a symbolic act, but it became a real sacrifice when the reed inexplicably became a spear and the noose of animal guts became a strong band. The story is told with some variation both in Gautr (Gautr 1900, 28-31) and in Saxo’s Gesta Danorum (Saxo 2015, I, vi. 5. 6-7, pp. 380-3). It is likely that the kernel of the narrative is old, though how old is not possible to determine. Other aspects of the story, such as the hero’s patronage by both Þórr and Óðinn, and the gifts that each god bestows on him, are also well established in Old Norse literature; for a review, see Turville-Petre (1964, 205-11).