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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Innsteinskviða — Hálfr InnkvVIII (Hálf)

Hálfr Hjǫrleifsson

Hálfr Hjǫrleifsson, Innsteinskviða — Vol. 8 — Hubert Seelow

Hubert Seelow (forthcoming), ‘ Hálfr Hjǫrleifsson, Innsteinskviða’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3130> (accessed 29 March 2024)

 

Vér skulum, hálfir         herjar þessa,
sáttir sækja         frá sjó neðan.
Ásmundr hefir         oss um boðna
hringa rauða,         sem hafa viljum.
 
‘We, half of this host, shall go on good terms up from the sea. Ásmundr has offered us red rings, which we want to have.
Ásmundr hefir         oss um unnit
margar trygðir,         sem menn vitu.
Mun ekki góðr konungr         ganga á sáttir,
né gramr annan         í griðum véla.
 
‘Ásmundr has made many pledges to us, as people know. A good king will not violate agreements, nor [will] a prince betray another [prince] in a time of truce.
Æ lystir þik         æðru at mæla;
mun ekki sá konungr         sáttir rjúfa.
Gull eigum þar         ok gersimar,
hringa rauða         frá hans búum.
 
‘You always wish to utter words of fear; this king will not break [our] agreement. There we are entitled to gold and jewels, red rings from his estates.
Hrynja um herðar,         þeim er hamalt fylkja
grams verðungu,         gyldnar brynjur.
Þat mun á öxlum         öðlings vinum
ljóst at líta,         sem logi brenni.
 
‘Gilded byrnies fall around the shoulders of those who draw up the prince’s retinue in a wedge-shaped phalanx. A brightness will be clearly seen on the shoulders of the prince’s friends, as if a flame were burning.
Gefa mun ek hverjum         hjálm ok brynju
frækna drengja,         er fylgja mér.
Þat mun at líta,         sem logi brenni
skjöldungs liði         um skarar fjöllum.
 
‘I shall give to each of the brave warriors who follow me a helmet and a byrnie. That will look as if a flame were burning around the mountains of hair [HEADS] of the prince’s host.
Fulllangt er sjá         fíflskapr talaðr;
vera kveð ek ekki         undir slíku.
Seg þú öngva,         svá at heyri,
drauma þína         í degi síðan.
 
‘This foolish talk has been going on for too long; I say there is nothing in such talk. Do not tell any of your dreams in an audible manner later this day.
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