Máttit enskrar ættar
ǫld, þars tókt við gjǫldum,
vísi, vægðarlausum,
víðfrægr, við þér bægja.
Guldut gumnar sjaldan
goll dǫglingi hollum;
stundum frák til strandar
stór þing ofan fóru.
Víðfrægr vísi, ǫld enskrar ættar máttit bægja við þér vægðarlausum, þars tókt við gjǫldum. Gumnar guldut sjaldan hollum dǫglingi goll; frák stundum stór þing fóru ofan til strandar.
Widely-famous ruler, the people of English race could not stand against you, merciless, when you received tribute. Men not seldom paid gold to the gracious king; I heard that at times great goods went down to the shore.
[6] hollum: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, hollust Kˣ, hollast Holm2, 75c, Bb, þollar 68, 61, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm
[6] hollum ‘to the gracious’: The mss show a variety of forms. The two leading mss (Kˣ and Holm2) read hollust/hollast, which would make little sense in context, unless hollast is an adverbial usage, ‘most graciously’, perhaps ironic. It therefore seems best to adopt (with ÍF 27) the positive form hollum, found in some A-class mss. Skj B adopts þollar from certain B- and C-class mss and gunnar from 61, 325VII in l. 5 to create a warrior-kenning þollar gunnar ‘fir-trees of battle [WARRIORS]’, replacing gumnar as the subject of the sentence. Skald follows Skj, but prefers þollar Gunnar ‘fir-trees of Gunnr <valkyrie> [WARRIORS]’.