Auðunn Lv 2I/4 — hvé ‘how’
Stóðu vér und víðum
vindar tjǫlgu linda,
herkir hyrjar serkja;
hvé of vélti þat belti?
Þat hykk hrammfjǫturs hvǫttu
Hlǫkk; fannkat mey rakka
í barrskelfis bjalfa
bjúgs þá raman smjúga.
Stóðu vér und víðum linda tjǫlgu vindar, herkir hyrjar serkja; hvé of vélti belti þat? Hykk Hlǫkk hrammfjǫturs hvǫttu þat; fannkat rakka mey þá smjúga í raman bjalfa bjúgs barrskelfis.
We [I] stood beneath the broad girdle of the branch of the wind, giant of the fire of mail-shirts [SWORD > WARRIOR]; how did the ‘belt’ trick me? I think the Hlǫkk <valkyrie> of the arm-fetter [ARM-RING > WOMAN] encouraged that; I did not find the spirited woman creeping then into the strong hide of the bent pine needle shaker.
readings
[4] hvé of vélti: ‘hve of vi[…]’ Hb, hvorir alt í 67aˣ, 67bˣ, 307ˣ, ‘hvorr veællt í’ HbFms n. p., hverr vélti HbSnE, hvé of vélti HbFJ
notes
[4] hvé of vélti belti þat ‘how did the “belt” trick me’: By placing ‘belt’ in inverted commas, the intention is to suggest that it is used metaphorically (as with lindi ‘belt, girdle’ in l. 2) to refer to the paling fence. Belti ‘belt’ forms a striking clause with vélti ‘tricked’, since véla normally takes an animate subject, but cf. Ǫlv Lv 1/3-4, where the same fence has control over poets’ conversation. The object is n. acc. sg. þat, apparently implying skald n., hence ‘me, the poet’. It is to be noted that there is an inexact aðalhending between vélti : belti, but this may be indicative of the stanza’s early date.