Karl hefir búit ok kona ǫldruð
á andnesi einhverju.
Átti son við seima Bil
drengr ok dóttur drjúgskýrliga.
Karl ok ǫldruð kona hefir búit á einhverju andnesi. Drengr átti son ok drjúgskýrliga dóttur við Bil seima.
An old man and an aged woman used to live on a certain headland. The capable man had a son and a very sensible daughter with the Bil <goddess> of gold [WOMAN].
[1-2]: A sg. verb, here hefir (búit) ‘used (to live)’, is common with a coordinate subject in poetry (NS §70). — [1] karl ‘an old man’: All other household members likewise remain nameless: kona ‘woman’, sonr ‘son’ and dóttir ‘daughter’ in this stanza, ambátt ‘female servant, maid’ in st. 2/5, and þræll ‘male servant’ in st. 7/7. Only the household bitch has a (suggestive) proper name, Lærir; on its probable meaning see Note to st. 13/9.