Vas rǫnd roðin; riðu skelkingar;
fellu fyrðar í flogi vápna.
Ôtu ernir af jǫfurs dolgum;
hreyfðusk hrafnar of hrækesti.
Rǫnd vas roðin; skelkingar riðu; fyrðar fellu í flogi vápna. Ernir ôtu af dolgum jǫfurs; hrafnar hreyfðusk of hrækesti.
The shield-rim was reddened; swords swung; men fell in the flight of weapons. Eagles ate from the prince’s enemies; ravens gloated above the carrion-pile.
[2] skelkingar ‘swords’: Both mss read ‘scælkingar’, i.e. skelkingar, and the word occurs as a heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 7/1 with the variant forms skelkvingr and skelkingr. Skj B reads skǫlkingar (most likely because Finnur Jónsson misread <æ> in R683ˣ as <ꜹ>). In Skald, Kock gives skølkvingar (SnE 1848, 242 has ‘skolkíngar’). For skelkingr, which may mean ‘fearsome one’, see Hl 1941 and Note to Arn Þorfdr 5/2II.