Eigi myndi undan
allvaldr Dana halda
— oss dugir satt of snotran
sælinga kon mæla —,
ef menn fyr sæ sunnan,
— sverð reiddusk at ferðir —
þeirs herskildi heldu,
hrafnfœði vel tœði.
Allvaldr Dana myndi eigi halda undan—dugir oss mæla satt of snotran kon sælinga—, ef menn fyr sunnan sæ, þeirs heldu herskildi, tœði hrafnfœði vel; ferðir reiddusk sverð at.
The mighty ruler of the Danes [= Sveinn] would not have fled—it is fitting for us [me] to speak the truth about the wise descendant of wealthy people—, if men south of the sea, who held the war-shield, had supported the raven-feeder [WARRIOR] well; troops swung swords at [each other].
[5] menn fyr sunnan sæ ‘men south of the sea’: This refers to the Danes who fought on Sveinn’s side during the battle of the Nissan. According to Saxo (2005, II, 11, 5, pp. 12-17), Sveinn lost the battle because the Dan. troops from Skåne (Scania) deserted him. Skj B takes the prepositional phrase fyr sunnan sæ ‘south of the sea’ with the rel. cl. (þeirs heldu herskildi ‘who held the war-shield’ (l. 7)), and ÍF 35 construes it with the last cl. (ferðir reiddusk sverð at ‘troops swung swords at [each other]’ (l. 6)).