Leysti lögrastar
landa stýrandi
— heldu of haf aldir
húfum — bládúfur.
Lýstiz hrein hæstum
höfn af skipstöfnum
eldi álfoldar
auðar glóðrauðum.
Stýrandi landa leysti bládúfur lögrastar; aldir heldu húfum of haf. Hrein höfn lýstiz eldi álfoldar af hæstum skipstöfnum, glóðrauðum auðar.
The controller of lands [RULER] launched the dark doves of the water-way [SEA > SHIPS]; men steered the hulls across the sea. The safe harbour was illuminated by the fire of the eel-ground [SEA > GOLD] from the loftiest ship-prows, red-glowing with wealth.
[1, 4] leysti bládúfur lögrastar ‘launched the dark doves of the water-way [SEA > SHIPS]’: Skj B (and Skald?) takes bládúfur ‘dark doves’ in the meaning ‘dark waves’ (dúfa can mean both ‘dove’ and ‘wave’) and translates leysti bládúfur lögrastar as furede havets blå bølger ‘furrowed the blue waves of the ocean’. This requires an unattested meaning of the verb leysa lit. ‘loosen’ (see Fritzner: leysa, especially leysa 9-10; LP: leysa, especially leysa 3). See also st. 15/5 below. Dúfa ‘dove’ (‘bird’) can be the base-word in a kenning for ‘ship’ (see Meissner 216). Both lögröst (gen. sg. lögrastar) ‘water-way’ (l. 1) and bládúfa ‘dark dove’ (l. 4) are hap. leg.