Ótt Hfl 1I/2 — myrk ‘of the dark’
Hlýð, manngǫfugr, minni
myrkblás, þvít kannk yrkja;
finnum yðr ok annan,
allvaldr, konung fallinn.
Þat telk, garms ok Gauta
glaðnistanda misstak,
dǫglings verk at dýrka,
dýrr þengill, mitt lengi.
Hlýð, manngǫfugr, minni myrkblás, þvít kannk yrkja; finnum yðr, allvaldr, ok annan fallinn konung. Þat telk mitt at dýrka verk dǫglings lengi, dýrr þengill, ok misstak glaðnistanda garms Gauta.
Listen, noble with your retinue, to the recollection of the dark black one [Óttarr], because I know how to compose; we [I] come to you, mighty ruler, and another worthy king. I reckon it my [task] to glorify the work of the prince for a long time, precious ruler, and I have lost the glad feeder of the hound of Gauti <= Óðinn> [WOLF > WARRIOR = Óláfr Eiríksson].
notes
[2] myrkblás ‘dark black one’: The emendation is justifiable on the basis of the reading of Sigv Lv 2/2, and because the only ms. witness is the often unreliable Tóm. Kock’s attractive suggestion (NN §721) is that Óttarr is here referring to himself, with myrkblár as an onomastic play on his nickname svarti ‘black’; he cites as parallels examples such as naðrstunga ‘adder-tongue’ for (Gunnlaugr) ormstunga ‘Serpent-tongue’ and húnn ‘cub’ for Bersi ‘bear’ (on onomastic play see further Frank 1970). Óttarr is dexterously adapting Sigvatr’s line even as he reproduces it: in Sigvatr’s stanza myrkblár qualifies part of a ship-kenning (see Note ad loc.).