Vestr lézt í haf, hristir,
harðviggs, sikulgjarðar,
umbands allra landa,
íss, framstafni vísat.
Hristir íss sikulgjarðar, lézt framstafni harðviggs umbands allra landa vísat vestr í haf.
Shaker of the ice of the sword-belt [SWORD > WARRIOR], you caused the fore-stem of the hard horse of the encircling band of all lands [SEA > SHIP] to be directed west across the sea.
[2] sikul‑: so Tˣ, A, ‘svikvl’ R, ‘suikvl’ C
[2] sikulgjarðar ‘of the sword-belt’: Elsewhere in skaldic poetry this cpd occurs only in Þul Skipa 5/6 (see Note there), where it may indicate some sort of sail-rope (Fritzner records no occurrences in prose). Here, though, it is a determinant combining with the base-word íss ‘ice’ (l. 4) to form a sword-kenning, and earlier eds agree that ‘sword-belt’ is the likely meaning (LP: sikulgjǫrð; Frank 1994b, 120; Jesch 2000, 246; Faulkes, SnE 1998, II, 386), though Falk (1914b, 37) suggests some sort of baldric. Spellings with initial <sv> in R and C may show uncertainty or confusion with ON svikall, ModIcel. svikull ‘treacherous’.