Hvats í heimi betra
— hyggr skald af þrô sjaldan —
— mjǫks langr, sás dvelr drengi,
dagr — an víf in fǫgru?
Þungan berk af þingi
þann harm, es skalk svanna
— skreytask menn á móti —
minn aldrigi finna.
Hvats betra í heimi an in fǫgru víf? Skald hyggr sjaldan af þrô; dagr, sás dvelr drengi, [e]s mjǫk langr. Berk þann þungan harm af þingi, es skalk aldrigi finna svanna minn; menn skreytask á móti.
What’s better in this world than fair women? The poet seldom forgets his yearning; the day which delays men is very long. I carry that heavy care from the assembly, that I shall never meet my woman; men dress up at the meeting.
[4] in fǫgru víf ‘fair women’: Lit. ‘the fair women’.