Ræsir glæsir
Rǫkkva stǫkkva
hvítum rítum
hreina reina.
Skreytir hreytir
skafna stafna
hringa stinga
hjǫrtum svǫrtum.
Ræsir glæsir stǫkkva hreina reina Rǫkkva hvítum rítum. Hreytir hringa skreytir skafna stafna svǫrtum hjǫrtum stinga.
The ruler adorns the swift reindeer of Rǫkkvi’s <sea-king’s> land-strips [SEA > SHIPS] with white shields. The scatterer of rings [GENEROUS MAN] decorates the smoothed bows of the black deer of rods [SHIPS].
[7] stinga (m. gen. pl.) ‘of rods’: The meaning of this word is unclear, but it must refer to a part of a ship (see Note to Ólhv Hryn 8/6II). Finnur Jónsson (LP: stingr = brandr) offers a possible ofljóst construction stingr ‘stinger’ = brandr ‘sword’ = brandr ‘prow’. Following Falk (1912, 37), Faulkes (SnE 2007, 151) suggests that the word may refer to spikes fitted onto the prow of a ship to prevent the enemy from boarding, and that interpretation has been adopted in the present edn.