Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorkell Gíslason, Búadrápa 4’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 945.
Herr bar hôtt merki;
á Hamðis serki
grimmt kom él eggja;
at gekk lið seggja.
Meiddu fjǫr flotna
— flest varð hlíf brotna —
— glumðu gráir oddar —
grjót ok skotbroddar.
Herr bar merki hôtt; {grimmt él eggja} kom á {serki Hamðis}; lið seggja gekk at. Grjót ok skotbroddar meiddu fjǫr flotna; flest hlíf varð brotna; gráir oddar glumðu.
‘The army carried the standard high; the terrible storm of edges [BATTLE] hit the shirts of Hamðir <legendary hero> [MAIL-SHIRTS]; the troop of men attacked. Stones and missile-points injured the lives of seamen; most shields were shattered; grey points crashed. ’
Hákon jarl has learnt of the arrival of the Jómsvíkingar and of their harrying of the country. The two sides meet in Hjǫrungavágr (Liavågen) and draw up their fleets for battle, both sides setting up their standards. The fiercest battle begins, fought at first with rocks and arrows.
In quoting this stanza, all the mss name the poem, using the formula svá segir í Búadrápu ‘as it says in Búadrápa’.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Herr bar hôtt merki;
á Hamðis serki
grimmt kom él eggja;
at gekksk lið seggja.
Meiddu fjǫr flotna
— flest varð hlíf brotna —
— glumðu gráir oddar —
grjót ok skotbroddar.
Herr bar hôtt merki;
á †handis† serki
grjót kom él eggja;
†ac† gekksk lið seggja.
Meiddu fjǫr flotna
— flest varð hlíf brotna —
— glumðu gráir oddar —
grjót ok skotbroddar.
Herr bar hôtt merki;
á †handis† serki
gjǫrt kom él eggja;
á gekk lið seggja.
Meiddu fjǫr flotna
— flest varð hlíf brotna —
— glumðu gráir oddar —
grjót ok skotbroddar.
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