Hart ríðr hildar birti
hjalmrunnr í folkgunni
Jóans ættstuðill einart
allfróðr í styr þjóða.
Hjalmrunnr ríðr birti hildar hart í folkgunni, allfróðr ættstuðill Jóans, einart í styr þjóða.
The helmet-tree [WARRIOR] swings the brightness of battle [SWORD] hard in the pitched battle, the all-wise kin-pillar of Jón [= Víðkunnr], steadily, in the war of nations.
[1] ríðr: ‘ride’ 518ˣ
[1] ríðr (3rd pers. sg. pres. indic.) ‘swings’: Previous eds emend ‘ride’ to rýðr ‘reddens’. That reading makes less sense in view of the adv. hart ‘hard’. For the phrase ríða sverð ‘swing the sword’, see Fritzner: ríða 1. Ríða can also mean ‘ride’, but ‘swing’ is the primary meaning (see AEW: ríða 1).