Bjarki átti hugarkorn hart;
herlið feldi Stǫrkuðr mart;
ekki var hann í hvíldum hœgr;
Hrómundr þótti garpr ok slœgr.
Ókat þeim né einn á bug;
Eljárnir var trúr at hug;
fílinn gat hann í fylking sótt;
fullstrǫng hefr sú mannraun þótt.
Bjarki átti hart hugarkorn; Stǫrkuðr feldi mart herlið; hann var ekki hœgr í hvíldum; Hrómundr þótti garpr ok slœgr. Né einn ókat þeim á bug; Eljárnir var trúr at hug; hann gat fílinn sótt í fylking; sú mannraun hefr þótt fullstrǫng.
Bjarki had a firm kernel of courage [HEART]; Starkaðr felled a great troop; he was not gentle in repose; Hrómundr seemed bold and cunning. No one made him give way; Eljárnir was loyal at heart; he conquered the elephant in the phalanx; that test of manhood seemed very tough.
[1] hart hugarkorn ‘a firm kernel of courage [HEART]’: Heroic hearts are both small and hard; cf. HHund I 53/11-12 (NK 138): sá hafði hilmir | hart móðacarn ‘the prince had a firm courage-acorn [HEART]’. C12th kennings depicting the heart as the little ‘hard’ thing in the breast include akarn aldrklifs ‘acorn of the life-cliff [BREAST > HEART]’ and hvǫssu grjóti hugarsess ‘a sharp stone of the mind-seat [BREAST > HEART]’ (RvHbreiðm Hl 30/1-2, 5, 8) (also von See 1978; Meissner 138).