Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Heldr var ek ungr, þá er skífðum
austr í Eyrasundi
undurn frekum vargi,
ok fótgulum fugli
fengu vér, þar er sungu
við háseymða hjálma
hörð járn, mikils verðar.
Allr var ægir sollinn;
óð rafn í valblóði.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Ek var heldr ungr, þá er skífðum frekum vargi undurn austr í Eyrasundi ok fengu vér fótgulum fugli mikils verðar, þar er hörð járn sungu við háseymða hjálma. Allr ægir var sollinn; rafn óð í valblóði.
We hewed with the sword. I was very young when we chopped up a breakfast for the greedy wolf east in the Øresund, and we provided a massive meal for the yellow-footed bird where tough swords sang on rivet-studded helmets. All the sea was troubled; the raven waded in corpse-blood.
[5, 6] fótgulum fugli fengu vér þar er sungu: corrected from ‘főtgulum fengu ver þar er svngu’ R702ˣ
[5] fótgulum fugli ‘for the yellow-footed bird’: Probably the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). — [5-6, 8] fengu vér … fugli mikils verðar ‘we provided a massive meal for the … bird’: Fugli ‘the bird’ is here the dat. indirect object of fengum, 1st pers. pl. pret. of fá in the sense of ‘provide, supply’, with its direct object mikils verðar ‘a massive meal’ in the gen., a construction by no means infrequent in Old Norse poetry (see LP: 2. fáa 2, and cf. Note to st. 26/9-10 below).