Anon Krm 10VIII/9 — grét ‘wept’
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Hildr var sýnt í vexti,
áðr Freyr konungr felli
í Flæmingjaveldi.
Náði blár at bíta
blóði smeltr í gyltan
Högna kufl at hjaldri
harðr bengrefill forðum.
Mær grét morginskæru
mörg, þá er tafn fekkz vörgum.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Hildr var sýnt í vexti, áðr Freyr konungr felli í Flæmingjaveldi. Harðr, blár bengrefill, smeltr blóði, náði forðum at bíta í gyltan kufl Högna at hjaldri. Mörg mær grét morginskæru, þá er tafn fekkz vörgum.
We hewed with the sword. The battle was clearly well advanced before King Freyr fell in the realm of the Flemings. The tough, blue wound-digger [SWORD], dripping with blood, succeeded long ago in biting into the gilded cowl of Hǫgni <legendary hero> [ARMOUR] in the conflict. Many a maiden wept early that morning, when prey was obtained for wolves.
notes
[9] grét morginskæru ‘wept early that morning’: It is assumed here that grét ‘wept’ is intransitive and morginskæru ‘morning’ is an acc. sg. used adverbially (so Kock NN §2275; cf. Sigv Austv 11/1I Jór rinnr aptanskœru ‘[My] … steed runs … in the twilight’). The main alternative is to understand -skæru not as skæra f. ‘(light of) dawn (or evening)’ but as skœra f. ‘battle’ (see LP: skœra; cf. CVC: skæra, i.e. skœra, and skæra), and to take the cpd as object of grét, hence ‘wept over the morning-battle’ (so, e.g., Rafn 1826, 10, 11, 45, 115 and seemingly Wisén 1886-9, II, 102 and Finnur Jónsson 1893b). This avoids assuming an aðalhending (mær: skæru), which would be unusual in an odd line. Further options are to interpret grét as intransitive, with morginskæru as belonging adverbially with bíta ‘biting’ in l. 5 (so CPB) or to take grét as transitive, ‘bewailed, lamented’, with morginskæru as its object with the sense ‘dawn’ (so Skj B).