SnSt Ht 54III/2 — skjaldagi ‘the shields do not’
Skýtr at Skǫglar veðri,
en skjaldagi haldask,
Hildar hlemmidrífu
of hvítum þrǫm rítar.
Enn í sœfis sveita
at sverðtogi ferðar
rýðr aldar vinr odda
— þats jarlmegin — snarla.
Skýtr hlemmidrífu Hildar of hvítum þrǫm rítar at veðri Skǫglar, en skjaldagi haldask. Enn vinr aldar rýðr odda snarla í sveita sœfis at sverðtogi ferðar; þats jarlmegin.
The rumbling blizzard of Hildr <valkyrie> [ARROWS] is shot over the white rim of the shield at the storm of Skǫgul <valkyrie> [BATTLE], and the shields do not endure. And the friend of the people [RULER] reddens spear-points quickly in the sweat of the sword [BLOOD] at the sword-drawing [BATTLE] of the company; that is the power of the jarl.
readings
[2] en skjaldagi haldask: ‘en skiolldv\n/gi halldiz’ U
notes
[2] skjaldagi ‘the shields do not’: This word is obscure, but scholars agree that the ending ‑gi represents the suffixed negation. Following Möbius (SnE 1879-81, I, 113) and Konráð Gíslason (1895-7), Finnur Jónsson (LP: gi (ki); skjǫldr) suggests an unattested m. nom. pl. form (skjaldar instead of skildir) with the suffixed negation ‑gi (skjaldar-gi > skjaldagi; see also ANG §396 Anm. 1). Kock (NN §2276) adopts the U variant skjǫldungi, which he takes as a dat. pl. (skjǫldum) with the negation ‑gi (skjǫldum-gi > skjǫldungi): skjǫldungi haldask ‘(they) are unable to protect themselves with the shields’.