Keth Lv 3VIII (Ket 5)/3 — Hallbjarnar ‘of Hallbjǫrn’
Hængr ek heiti kominn ór Hrafnistu
hefnir Hallbjarnar; hví skríðr þú svá, inn armi?
Friðmálum mæla mun ek eigi við Finn ragan;
heldr mun ek boga benda þann er mér Brúni gaf.
Ek heiti Hængr, kominn ór Hrafnistu, hefnir Hallbjarnar; hví skríðr þú svá, inn armi? Ek mun eigi mæla friðmálum við ragan Finn; heldr ek mun benda boga, þann er Brúni gaf mér.
I am named Hœngr (‘Salmon’), come from Hrafnista, avenger of Hallbjǫrn [= Ketill]; why do you glide thus, wretch? I will not speak words of peace to a cowardly Saami; rather I will bend the bow, which Brúni gave me.
notes
[3] hefnir Hallbjarnar ‘avenger of Hallbjǫrn [= Ketill]’: It is unclear why Ketill refers to himself as the ‘avenger of Hallbjǫrn’, since Hallbjǫrn, Ketill’s father, is alive and well in Hrafnista, according to Ket. In any case this self-designation identifies Ketill as the son of Hallbjǫrn, since the duty of taking revenge for a father devolves upon a son. Several other mss give the reading arfi Hallbjarnar ‘heir of Hallbjǫrn’.
kennings
- hefnir Hallbjarnar; — avenger of Hallbjǫrn; [= Ketill]