Anon Krm 17VIII/3 — mæki ‘the sword’
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Hundmargan sá ek falla
morginstund fyrir mæki
mann í odda sennu.
Syni mínum hneit snimma
slíðra þorn við hjarta;
Egill lét Agnar ræntan
óblauðan hal lífi.
Glumði geirr við Hamðis
gránserk; bliku merki.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Ek sá hundmargan mann falla fyrir mæki morginstund í sennu odda. Þorn slíðra hneit snimma við hjarta syni mínum; Egill lét ræntan Agnar, óblauðan hal, lífi. Geirr glumði við gránserk Hamðis; merki bliku.
We hewed with the sword. I saw very many a man fall before the sword at morning-time in the quarrel of weapon-points [BATTLE]. The thorn of scabbards [SWORD] struck early at the heart of my son; Egill caused Agnarr, an uncowardly man, to be deprived of life. The spear resounded against the grey shirt of Hamðir <legendary hero> [MAIL-COAT]; banners gleamed.
readings
[3] mæki: so R702ˣ, ‘meidi’ 1824b, 6ˣ, ‘(m)eidi’(?) 147, ‘maeker’ LR, R693ˣ
notes
[3] mæki ‘the sword’: This must be assumed to be the dat. sg. of mækir m. ‘sword’, governed by the prep. fyrir in the phrase falla fyrir ‘to fall (in battle) before’ in ll. 2, 3; see LP: falla 4 and fyrir B2. The present ed. follows previous eds from Wisén (1886-9) onwards in adopting this reading rather than meiði, dat. sg. of meiðir ‘destroyer, harmer’, which was adopted by earlier eds. To judge from LP: meiðir, this word occurs exclusively as a base-word in kennings, and it would lack a determinant here.