Stólþengils lét stinga
— styrjǫld vas þá byrjuð —
eyðir augu bæði
út heiðingja sútar.
Lagði allvaldr Egða
austr á bragning hraustan
gráligt mark, en Girkja
gǫtu illa fór stillir.
Eyðir sútar heiðingja lét stinga út bæði augu stólþengils; þá vas styrjǫld byrjuð. Allvaldr Egða lagði gráligt mark á hraustan bragning austr, en stillir Girkja fór illa gǫtu.
The destroyer of the care [GLADDENER] of the wolf [lit. heath-goer] [WARRIOR] had both eyes of the emperor stabbed out; war was under way then. The overlord of the Egðir [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr] placed a hostile mark on the daring prince in the east, and the ruler of the Greeks [= Michael] travelled a dire road.
[3, 4] eyðir sútar heiðingja ‘the destroyer of the care [GLADDENER] of the wolf [lit. heath-goer] [WARRIOR]’: The kenning expresses in condensed form the same idea as that in st. 4: the warrior ends the wolf’s sorrow or hunger (i.e. cheers or feeds it) by making his enemy into carrion. As a weak gen., heiðingja (nom. sg. heiðingi) could be either sg. or pl. It is compounded from heiðr f. ‘heath, moor’ and gangja, cf. ganga ‘go’ (AEW: heiðingi). For kennings of this type, see Note to Arn Hryn 7/1, 2.