Anon Óldr 24I/4 — jǫtuns ‘of the giant’s’
Slóð drap svangt til grœðis
— sá vargr rekinn margan
hǫggvinn mann ór hrǫnnum —
hlaupstóð jǫtuns móður.
Fœtr bar fôlu Sóti
(fjǫrrán) í val grána
(áðr beið hirð fyr hauðri)
hungrtrauðr, en frá rauða.
Svangt hlaupstóð móður jǫtuns drap slóð til grœðis; vargr sá margan hǫggvinn mann rekinn ór hrǫnnum. Hungrtrauðr Sóti fôlu bar grána fœtr í val, en rauða frá; áðr beið hirð fjǫrrán fyr hauðri.
The starved loping stud-horses of the giant’s mother [GIANTESS > WOLVES] beat a path to the ocean; the wolf saw many a slain man cast up from the waves. The hunger-shunning Sóti <horse> of the troll-woman [WOLF] bore grey feet to the slain, but red away; earlier the retinue underwent life-robbing off the coast.
readings
[4] jǫtuns: ‘j tvns’ Bb
notes
[4] jǫtuns ‘the giant’s’: It is difficult to make sense of the ms. reading (prep. í ‘in’ + gen. sg. of tún n. ‘field’), and word-division errors are frequent in Bb. Emendation to jǫtuns yields a giantess-kenning which lacks exact parallels but conforms to the pattern of giant-heiti + kinship term (see Meissner 398-9).
kennings
- móður jǫtuns — of the giant’s mother [GIANTESS]
- Svangt hlaupstóð móður jǫtuns — The starved loping stud-horses of the giant’s mother [WOLVES]