RvHbreiðm Hl 68III/3 — hǫggs ‘of the sword-blow’
Hjaldrkyndill beit hildar
— harðr brandr es þat — garða;
ljós varð hǫggs í hausum
— hjǫr kallak svá — gjalla.
Hart skar hildar kerti
— hjalms grand es þat — randir,
þvít benlogi brynju
beit; nefnik svá hneiti.
Hjaldrkyndill – þat es harðr brandr – beit garða hildar; ljós hǫggs – svá kallak hjǫr – varð gjalla í hausum. Hart kerti hildar – þat es grand hjalms – skar randir, þvít benlogi – svá nefnik hneiti – beit brynju.
The battle-candle [SWORD] – that is a hard sword – bit farm-yards of battle [SHIELDS]; the light of the sword-blow [SWORD] – thus I call the sword – had to resound against skulls. The hard taper of battle [SWORD] – that is the harm of the helmet [SWORD] – cut shields, because the wound-flame [SWORD] – thus I name the sword – bit the byrnie.
readings
[3] hǫggs: ‘hogs’ papp25ˣ, haugs R683ˣ
notes
[3] hǫggs (n. gen. sg.) ‘of the sword-blow’: Skj B emends hǫggs ‘of the sword-blow’ (papp25ˣ ‘hogs’; R683ˣ ‘haugs’) to hjaldrs (m. gen. sg.) ‘battle’ (ljós hjaldrs ‘the light of battle’). For the spelling <g> for <gg>, see Hl 1941, 107. Kock (NN §491) retains the reading of R683ˣ and suggests ljós haugs ‘the light of the grave-mound’ referring to swords buried with their owners. However, papp25ˣ has hǫggs (‘hogs’, possibly corrected from ‘gogs’), and ‘the light of the sword-blow’ is in keeping with the imagery of the stanza.
kennings
- ljós hǫggs – — the light of the sword-blow – [SWORD]