[All]: This and the following stanzas relate to an armed conflict between the German Emperor Otto II and the Danish king Haraldr blátǫnn. The year following the death of Otto I (973), Haraldr advanced into Holstein, whereupon Otto II conquered the Danevirke and defeated him. Various legends developed in Scandinavia surrounding this event, all of which report that Hákon jarl fought alongside Haraldr (on the legends’ development see Ussing 1928; on the portrayal of the event in Old Icelandic literature see Marold 2001a, 85-92).