Upp sǫgðu lǫg — lagðisk
líf skjótt firum — hlífa
gnóg til gumna feigðar
gǫlkn við randar bǫlku.
Gǫlkn hlífa sǫgðu upp lǫg, gnóg til feigðar gumna, við bǫlku randar; líf lagðisk skjótt firum.
Monsters of shields [AXES] proclaimed the laws, enough for the doom of warriors, at the walls of the rim [SHIELDS]; life was quickly laid aside for men.
[1] sǫgðu upp lǫg ‘proclaimed the laws’: The usual phrase in the sagas for the formal recitation of the laws at the Alþingi (Íslendingabók, ÍF 1, 16). The personification of weapons (here, axes proclaiming the law) is rare, though cf. ÞGísl Búdr 6/3, 11/4, and Note to Hókr Eirfl 4/6.