Rv Lv 1II/1 — Tafl ‘board games’
Tafl emk ǫrr at efla;
íþróttir kannk níu;
týnik trauðla rúnum;
tíðs mér bók ok smíðir.
Skríða kannk á skíðum;
skýtk ok rœk, svát nýtir;
hvártveggja kannk hyggja:
harpslôtt ok bragþôttu.
Emk ǫrr at efla tafl; kannk níu íþróttir; týnik rúnum trauðla; tíðs mér bók ok smíðir. Kannk skríða á skíðum; skýtk ok rœk, svát nýtir; kannk hyggja hvártveggja: harpslôtt ok bragþôttu.
I am quick at playing board games; I have nine skills; I forget runes slowly; the book is a preoccupation with me and also craftsmanship. I am able to glide on skis; I shoot and I row so that it makes a difference; I am able to understand both: harp-playing and poems.
notes
[1] tafl ‘board games’: Tafl may refer to the traditional game of hnefatafl, though it is equally possibly an early reference to chess (KLNM 2, 224). The Lewis chess pieces, probably made in Norway and destined for somewhere in Britain or Ireland when they were lost, are roughly contemporary with Rǫgnvaldr and their number and quality show both the popularity and the high status of this game at that time and in the same region (Robinson 2004). See also Note to st. 23/8.