Ok fyr fornan
friðmenn liðu
haug Hjǫrnagla
hvasst griðfastir.
Þás stóð fyr Stað
stafnklifs drifu,
vasa eyðilig
ǫrbeiðis fǫr.
Ok griðfastir friðmenn liðu hvasst fyr fornan haug Hjǫrnagla. Þás stóð stafnklifs drifu fyr Stað, vasa fǫr ǫrbeiðis eyðilig.
And the protection-secure men of peace travelled keenly past the ancient mound of Tjernagel. When the stud-horses of the prow-cliff [SEA > SHIPS] sped past Stad, the journey of the arrow-demander [WARRIOR] was not wasted.
[7] eyðilig: ‘eyþiðig’ 325V, ‘æðeleg’ 325VII, œgilig FskAˣ
[7] eyðilig ‘wasted’: The adj. has the sense ‘empty, desolate’, and hence in this context could mean either ‘wasted, without purpose’ or ‘lacking in splendour’; cf. the related auðligr in Arn Hardr 13/2II (eigi varð) auðligr ‘(was not) unadorned’ and Note ad loc. for discussion of possible meanings. A further possibility here is that the journey was not ‘destructive’ (see Fritzner: eyðiligr 2), particularly if the sense of griðfastir (l. 4, see Note) is that the Danes bring protection.