Forað Lv 3VIII (Ket 21)/6 — segir ‘tell’
‘Eigi synja ek þess,’ segir in víðförla,
‘at þú líf hafir langt um aðra,
ef þú fund okkarn fyrðum segir;
sveinn alllítill, sé ek þinn hug skjálfa.’
‘Ek synja eigi þess,’ segir in víðförla, ‘at þú hafir líf langt um aðra, ef þú segir fyrðum fund okkarn; alllítill sveinn, ek sé hug þinn skjálfa.’
‘I will not refuse this,’ says the far-travelled one, ‘that you retain your life long beyond others, if you tell men about our meeting; puny youth, I see your courage waver.’
notes
[5-6]: In 471 and several other mss the latter part of this long-line reads fyrðum óblauðum ‘uncowardly men’, and the following l. 7 becomes segir, sveinn lítill. This wording is metrically and alliteratively regular and heightens the contrast between Ketill, whom Forað accuses of cowardice (ll. 7-8), and the dauntless men to whom he is to relate the tale of his inglorious encounter with her. The version of 471 has been preferred over that of 343a by Edd. Min. and Skj B, while Skald adopts a mixed text, blending 471 and 343a.