Anon Krm 24VIII/4 — sköp ‘the decree’
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Hitt sýniz mér raunar,
at forlögum fylgjum;
fár gengr um sköp norna.
Eigi hugðak Ellu
at aldrlagi mínu,
þá er ek blóðvali brædda
ok borð á lög keyrðak.
Vítt fengum þá vargi
verð í Skotlandsfjörðum.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Hitt sýniz mér raunar, at fylgjum forlögum; fár gengr um sköp norna. Hugðak eigi Ellu at aldrlagi mínu, þá er ek brædda blóðvali ok keyrðak borð á lög. Þá fengum vargi verð vítt í Skotlandsfjörðum.
We hewed with the sword. It appears to me indeed that we must submit to fate; few escape the decree of the norns. I did not think Ælle <Northumbrian king> would be the cause of my death when I fed the blood-falcons [RAVENS/EAGLES] and drove ships out to sea. Then we provided a meal for the wolf far and wide in Scotland’s firths.
readings
[4] sköp norna: ‘(sk)[...](rna)’(?) 147
notes
[4] sköp norna ‘the decree of the norns’: The same expression occurs in Hfr 10/4V (Hallfr 13); cf. de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68). The norns are the supernatural female beings described in Gylf (SnE 2005, 18), where they are said to ‘shape men’s lives’ (skapa mǫnnum aldr). For a questioning of the extent to which the norns were believed to spin or weave the fates of men, like the three Fates of Greek mythology, see Bek-Pedersen (2007; 2011).