†Samr† vas ôrr of ævi
oddbragðs, hinns þat sagði,
at lofða gramr lifði,
læstyggs burar Tryggva.
Vesa kveðr ǫld ór éli
Ôleif kominn stála;
menn geta máli sǫnnu
— mjǫks verr an svá — ferri.
Ôrr oddbragðs, hinns sagði þat, at gramr lofða lifði, vas †samr† of ævi læstyggs burar Tryggva. Ǫld kveðr Ôleif vesa kominn ór éli stála; menn geta ferri sǫnnu máli; mjǫks verr an svá.
The envoy of the point-thrust [BATTLE > WARRIOR], who said that the ruler of warriors [= Óláfr] was alive was … about the life of the deceit-shunning son of Tryggvi [= Óláfr]. People say Óláfr escaped the blizzard of steel weapons [BATTLE]; men guess [things] further from the true story; it is much worse than that.
[2] ‑bragðs: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, ‘‑flaghs’ FskAˣ, ‑brags Kˣ, 22ˣmarg, ‑braks F, ‑flagðs 61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb
[1-2] ôrr oddbragðs ‘the envoy of the point-thrust [BATTLE > WARRIOR]’: The base-word ôrr is particularly appropriate here because of its associations with verbal communication, in what is clearly a warrior-kenning with a kenning for ‘battle’ or a weapon as a determinant. No ms. has oddbragðs, but its constituent elements are represented in the paradosis, and HSt Rst 18/1 has the very similar kenning ærir ǫrbragðs ‘envoys of arrow-thrust’ alongside other echoes from ErfÓl, suggesting that Hallar-Steinn knew a version of this stanza which contained oddbragðs. It is the only acceptable kenning which gives aðalhending (ÓT’s ôrr oddflagðs ‘envoy of the point-trollwife [AXE > WARRIOR]’ lacks close parallels), and bragðs (attested in J1ˣ, J2ˣ) is a plausible starting-point for the readings brags, -flagðs and -braks.
case: gen.