ÞjóðA Magnfl 12II/5 — þverrði ‘reduced’
Vǫrðr gekk meir at morði
Magnús kjalar vagna
— þat vas frægt — í fagran
framstafn varar Hrafni.
Gerðum þar, svát þverrði,
þengill, en óx fengi,
— skeiðr nam herr at hrjóða —
húskarla lið jarli.
Vǫrðr vagna kjalar, Magnús, gekk meir at morði í fagran framstafn Hrafni varar; þat vas frægt. Gerðum þar, þengill, svát lið húskarla þverrði jarli, en fengi óx; herr nam at hrjóða skeiðr.
The guardian of waggons of the keel [SHIPS > SEAFARER], Magnús, went further into the slaughter in the beautiful forestem of the Hrafn <horse> of the landing-stage [SHIP]; that was renowned. We brought it about there, prince, that the jarl’s troop of housecarls reduced, and booty increased; the army started to clear the warships.
readings
[5] þverrði: so E, þurði Kˣ, papp18ˣ, F, þyrði 39, sverði J2ˣ, þorði Hr
notes
[5] þverrði ‘reduced’: Given the dissent among the mss here there is a difficult choice between this and þurði ‘rushed on’. (a) Adopting þverrði ‘reduced’ has the advantage of following gerðum/gerði ‘we brought it about / it came about’ with more of an achievement: the reduction of the enemy army, rather than merely advancing (þurði ‘rushed’), and þverrði ‘reduced’ contrasts neatly with óx ‘increased’. In the interpretation above þverrði is impersonal, but one could alternatively read þengill þverrði lið húskarla jarli, en fengi óx; herr nam at hrjóða skeiðr ‘the prince reduced the jarl’s troop of housecarls, and booty increased; the army started to clear the warships’. The reading þverrði is adopted by most modern eds, except that Hkr 1991 reads þurði but with a similar sense to þverrði: jarli þurði (þraut) húskarla lið ‘the jarl’s (Sveinn’s) troop of housecarls rushed (gave out)’. (b) The variant þurði ‘rushed on’ would yield: Gerðum þar, svát þengill þurði ‘We brought it about there that the prince rushed on’, but a statement implying that the king needed his troops to urge him on is very unlikely in a skaldic encomium.