ÞjóðA Magnfl 6II/7 — gǫrva ‘being made’
Minn vá sigr fyr sunnan
snjallr Heiðabý spjalli;
nær frák skarpa skœru
Skotborgarô gotna.
Unði ótal Vinða
Ellu konr at fella;
hvar hafi gumnar gǫrva
geirhríð fregit meiri?
Snjallr spjalli minn vá sigr fyr sunnan Heiðabý; frák skarpa skœru gotna nær Skotborgarô. Konr Ellu unði at fella ótal Vinða; hvar hafi gumnar fregit gǫrva meiri geirhríð?
My valiant confidant won victory south of Hedeby (Heiðabýr); I learned of a bitter conflict of men near the Kongeå (Skotborgará). The descendant of Ella <legendary king> [= Magnús] relished cutting down countless Wends; where might men have heard of a greater spear-storm [BATTLE] being made?
notes
[7] gǫrva ‘made’: (a) This is construed as a p. p. of gørva ‘do, make’, f. acc. sg. agreeing with geirhríð, hence ‘spear-storm [BATTLE] (being) made’. The verb is common with terms for ‘battle’: see LP: gørva 1, including st. 8 below. (b) Kock, pointing out the frequency with which adv. gǫrva co-occurs with verbs of saying or hearing, took it instead as the adv., qualifying fregit ‘learned of’ with the sense ‘certainly, reliably’ (NN §3083).