Hrindr af hróka landi
hregg af eikiveggjum
— sunnr leikr eldr of unninn
óðr — í lopt upp glóðum.
Bœr logar hǫlfu hæra
hjónum nær á Fjóni;
ræfr þola nauð ok næfrar;
Norðmenn sali brenna.
Hregg af landi hróka hrindr glóðum af eikiveggjum upp í lopt; óðr eldr leikr sunnr of unninn. Bœr logar hǫlfu hæra nær hjónum á Fjóni; ræfr ok næfrar þola nauð; Norðmenn brenna sali.
A storm from the land of cormorants [SEA] flings embers from oak walls up into the air; to the south raging fire sports, once kindled. The settlement blazes twice as high hard by the households on Fyn; roof and shingles endure distress; Norwegians burn down halls.
[5] hǫlfu hæra ‘twice as high’: The normal sense of hǫlfu, despite its literal sense ‘higher by half’. The comp. has nothing obvious to compare with, and may be simply an intensive, unless Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson’s theory about af hróka landi is correct (see Note to l. 1 above), or Finnur Jónsson’s suggestion that hǫlfu hæra means that the flame was twice the height of the burning building itself (Hkr 1893-1901, IV, 200).