Dregz þú nú, Dragvendill, við krás arnar;
mætir þú meingöldrum; máttir þú eigi bíta.
Mik þess eigi varði, at hrøkkva mundi
eggjar eitrherðar, þótt Óðinn deyfði.
Þú dregz nú, Dragvendill, við krás arnar; þú mætir meingöldrum; þú máttir eigi bíta. Mik varði þess eigi, at eitrherðar eggjar mundi hrøkkva, þótt Óðinn deyfði.
You are drawn now, Dragvendill <sword>, for the delicacies of the eagle [CORPSES]; you meet harmful spells; you are unable to bite. It did not occur to me that poison-hardened edges would give way, although Óðinn blunted [them].
[1] Dragvendill: According to Ket ch. 3, Ketill hœngr acquired the sword Dragvendill, along with three arrows, after he had killed the Saami leader Gusi (FSGJ 2, 164). This name appears as the name of a sword in a lausavísa attributed to Egill Skallagrímsson (Egill Lv 35/2V (Eg 64)). According to Eg (ch. 61, ÍF 2, 195), Egill’s friend Arinbjǫrn gave him the sword, and in the M (Möðruvallabók) version of the saga its provenance is named: Þórólfr Skallagrímsson gave it to Arinbjǫrn, and was himself given it by his father Skallagrímr, who in turn received it from his own brother Þórólfr. Þórólfr got it from Grímr loðinkinni, Ketill hœngr’s son, and it is stated that Ketill had used it in single combats. It is further stated that Dragvendill was the sharpest of all swords. Ironically, the first half-stanza of the lausavísa attributed to Egill resembles this stanza in that there as well Dragvendill is said not to ‘bite’ as it should, because Atli the Short had dulled its blades by magic (ch. 65, ÍF 2, 209-10). This sword name is recorded in two variants, dragvendill, as here and in some mss of Eg, and dragvandill, as in the M-text of Eg and Þul Sverða 1/4III. On the etymology of the name, see Note to Þul Sverða 1/4III.