Tormiðlaðr vas tívum
talhreinn meðal beina;
hvat kvað * hapta snytrir
hjalmfaldinn því valda.
Margspakr of nam mæla
môr valkastar bôru
— vasat Hœnis vinr hônum
hollr — af fornum þolli.
Talhreinn vas tívum tormiðlaðr meðal beina; hjalmfaldinn snytrir hapta kvað * hvat valda því. Margspakr môr bôru valkastar of nam mæla af fornum þolli; vinr Hœnis vasat hollr hônum.
The dung-reindeer [OX] was difficult for the gods to pierce between the shanks; the helmet-capped instructor of the divine powers [= Óðinn] said something was causing this. The deeply wise seagull of the wave of the corpse-heap [BLOOD > RAVEN/EAGLE = Þjazi] began to speak from an ancient tree; the friend of Hœnir <god> [= Loki] was not well-disposed to him.
[2] talhreinn: so R(36v), Tˣ(26r), Tˣ(38v), W, C, tálhrein R(25v), U, A
[2] talhreinn ‘the dung-reindeer [OX]’: The view of Holtsmark (1949, 16) and Marold (1983, 156) that this cpd is an ox-kenning has been adopted here. The first element of the cpd is cognate with ModNorw. talle ‘dung’; cf. ON tað ‘dung, manure’. The kenning doubtless refers to the use of oxen to pull carts laden with dung to the fields in order to fertilise them. Kock (Skald and NN §1015) emended talhreinn to tólhreinn ‘(farming-)tool-reindeer’ and also understood it as an ox-kenning.
case: nom.