Opt með œrnri giptu
ǫðlings himins rǫðla
Jóta gramr inn ítri
Englandi rauð branda.
Inn ítri gramr Jóta rauð branda opt Englandi með œrnri giptu ǫðlings rǫðla himins.
The splendid ruler of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Sveinn] reddened blades often in England with ample luck of the Lord of the discs of the sky [HEAVENLY BODIES > = God].
[1] giptu ‘luck’: As the ‘luck’ here is God’s, the sense is presumably Christian: grace or blessing from God, which brings Sveinn victory. This has been compared with crusader literature (Ejerfeldt 1971, 142; see also Lange 1958a, 50-3). Sveinn was almost certainly a Christian (Sawyer and Sawyer 2003, 151), but judging by his þáttr Þorleifr had no opportunity to come into contact with the new faith, other than this visit to Denmark.