Olli ofrausn stillis,
ormalátrs þats máttit,
stáls í strǫngu éli
stríðir elli bíða,
sás aldrigi, aldins
ótams lituðr hramma
viggs, í vápna glyggvi
Varðrúnar, sik sparði.
Ofrausn stillis olli í strǫngu éli stáls, þats stríðir ormalátrs máttit bíða elli, lituðr hramma aldins, ótams viggs Varðrúnar, sás aldrigi sparði sik í glyggvi vápna.
The excess of heroism in the ruler caused [this] in the stern blizzard of steel [BATTLE], that the foe of the reptiles’ lair [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN = Haraldr] could not live to see old age, the stainer of the claws of the old, untamed steed of Varðrún <troll-woman> [WOLF > WARRIOR] who never spared himself in the wind-storm of weapons [BATTLE].
[2] þats (‘þat er’): er Flat, þar er Hr
[2] þats ‘that’: (a) The Mork, H reading þat has been emended by previous eds (beginning with Sveinbjörn Egilsson, SHI 6, 387 n.) to dat. sg. því, since dat. would normally be required by olli, 3rd pers. sg. pret. of valda ‘cause’ (l. 1). However, if því were the object of olli, it would be stressed, not cliticized with es and in an unstressed position. (b) Þats is therefore retained in the present edn, and taken as a conj. functioning like at ‘that’ (a usage found elsewhere, e.g. Ill Har 1/1); the Flat reading er would have a similar function. Olli ‘caused’ is assumed to have a suppressed object ‘this’. Alternatively, the þats-cl. could be taken as its object, albeit acc. rather than dat., or olli could be read as intransitive, with the sense ‘prevailed, determined the outcome’ (see LP: valda for examples).