ÞKolb Eirdr 10I/1 — All ‘the mighty’
Allvalds nutu aldir;
una líkar vel slíku;
skyldr lézk hendi at halda
hann of Nóregs mǫnnum.
En Sveinn konungr sunnan
sagðr es dauðr, en auðir
— fátt bilar flestra ýta
fár — hans býir vôru.
Aldir nutu allvalds; vel líkar una slíku; hann lézk skyldr at halda hendi of mǫnnum Nóregs. En Sveinn konungr es sagðr dauðr sunnan, en býir hans vôru auðir; fár flestra ýta bilar fátt.
Men benefited from the mighty ruler; it is most pleasing to be content with such a situation; he declared himself obliged to hold a hand over the people of Norway. But King Sveinn is reported from the south to be dead, and his dwellings to have been desolate; misfortune scarcely spares most men.
readings
[1] Allvalds: allvaldr J1ˣ, J2ˣ, ‘Alldr valldr’ Bb
notes
[1] allvalds ‘the mighty ruler’: Probably King Sveinn tjúguskegg ‘Fork-beard’ (d. 1014), who held part of Norway after the battle of Svǫlðr (c. 1000; so also ÍF 26). This is suggested by the statement in ll. 3-4 of a perceived duty to defend Norway, by the fact that the second helmingr is concerned with King Sveinn, and perhaps by the use of the word allvaldr itself. However, this remains uncertain, especially since the sources differ as to which helmingar constitute the stanza. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) suggested a reference to Eiríkr jarl, on his departure from Norway.