Mildingr rauð í móðu
— mót hart vas þar — spjóta
(Dǫnum vôru goð) geira,
(grǫm) en þat vas skǫmmu.
Setti niðr á sléttu
Serklandi gramr merki;
— stóð at stillis ráði
stǫng — en þat vas lǫngu.
Mildingr rauð geira í móðu spjóta; hart mót vas þar; en þat vas skǫmmu; goð vôru grǫm Dǫnum. Gramr setti merki niðr á sléttu Serklandi; stǫng stóð at ráði stillis; en þat vas lǫngu.
The gracious ruler reddened lances in the river of spears [BLOOD]; a harsh encounter took place there; and that was a short time ago; the gods were wrathful towards the Danes. The lord planted his banner on level Serkland; the standard stood [high] at the command of the ruler; but that was a long time ago.
[4] grǫm; skǫmmu ‘wrathful; a short time ago’: King Haraldr’s metrical point (Context above) is the counsel of perfection, but aðalhendingar with unequal consonant length are quite common (Gade 1995a, 6, 23 and 249, n. 20). — [4, 8] en þat vas skǫmmu; en þat vas lǫngu ‘and that was a short time ago; but that was a long time ago’: These echo ll. 4 and 8 in Þfisk Lv 1-3, Hharð Lv 10-11 and Anon (HSig) 3-4, linking Þjóðólfr’s st. to the others in the skaldic repartee (on which see Fidjestøl 1971, which includes comment on variants in the ‘refrain’, and on other links between the sts). There may also be a more distant echo of vas þat fyr lǫngu in Þjóð Haustl 6/2III (cf. Gade 1995a, 156, 261 n. 18). The H reading here may echo Haust and/ or the similar l. 8 of Þfisk Lv 1-2.