Hǫrðs, síz hermenn firrðu
— hlíf raufsk fyr gram — lífi,
auðn at Engla stríði
ómjúk, konung sjúkan.
Ǫr brá Ôleifs fjǫrvi
ǫld, þars herr klauf skjǫldu;
folks odda gekk fylkir
fund, en Dagr helt undan.
Hǫrð, ómjúk auðn [e]s at stríði Engla, síz hermenn firrðu sjúkan konung lífi; hlíf raufsk fyr gram. Ǫr ǫld brá fjǫrvi Ôleifs, þars herr klauf skjǫldu; fylkir folks gekk fund odda, en Dagr helt undan.
There is a hard, unyielding desolation after [the death of] the opponent of the English [= Óláfr], since warriors removed the wounded king from life; the shield was sundered in front of the ruler. The bold troop destroyed the life of Óláfr, where the army clove shields; the leader of the army advanced into the meeting of points [BATTLE], but Dagr headed away.
[3] auðn: ǫnd Holm2, J2ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, auð 321ˣ
[1, 3] firrðu; auðn ‘removed; desolation’: Although both readings are found only in Kˣ (and papp18ˣ) they are adopted here as in previous eds. The variants in the remaining mss, respectively gerðu ‘made’ and ǫnd ‘breath’, do not give good sense. — [3] auðn ‘desolation’: Lit. ‘wilderness, desert’. For the comparison of mood and landscape, cf. Sigv Lv 24. The desolation of the land on the death of a ruler is also mentioned in Eyv Hák 21, Hfr ErfÓl 28 and ÞKolb Eirdr 10. In each case a word etymologically related to auðn (adj. auðr ‘desolate(d)’ or eyðask ‘to be/become deserted’) is used.