Né sigbjarka serkir
sómmiðjungum rómu
Hôars við Hǫgna skúrir
hléðut fast of séðir.
Né hléðut fast of séðir serkir sigbjarka sómmiðjungum við skúrir Hǫgna rómu Hôars.
Nor did the firmly sewn shirts of the battle-birches [WARRIORS > ARMOUR] protect the bow-miðjungar [WARRIORS] against the showers of Hǫgni <legendary hero> [ARROWS] in the noise of Hárr <= Óðinn> [BATTLE].
[2] rómu: ‘[…]o’ U
[2-3] rómu Hôars ‘in the noise of Hárr <= Óðinn> [BATTLE]’: (a) This is taken here as a battle-kenning used adverbially to mean ‘in battle’ (so Faulkes, SnE 1998, I, 194). (b) As with st. 10/8 drífu Hôars ‘snow-storm of Hárr’, a temporal acc. is also possible (see Note). (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B; LP: róma 2) takes Hars as the base-word and the phrase as a warrior-kenning Hôars rómu ‘of the Hárr <= Óðinn> of battle’, a reference to the enemy and source of the showers of arrows. In this he is presumably following Konráð Gíslason (Nj 1875-8, II, 276 n. 243), who rejects rómu Hars as a battle-kenning because rómu itself can already signify ‘battle’. However, their view is contradicted by SnE, which cites this stanza to illustrate battle-kennings with base-words such as veðr ‘weather’ or gnýr ‘din’. Kock conjoins this kenning to sómmiðjungr (see Note to l. 2).
case: dat.