Þér munuð ekki oss um kúga,
æðrufullir eyjarskeggjar!
Heldr mun ek ganga en griða biðja
einn til ógnar við yðr tíu.
Þér munuð ekki um kúga oss, æðrufullir eyjarskeggjar! Ek mun heldr ganga einn til ógnar við yðr tíu en biðja griða.
You will not tyrannise over us, fearful island-beards! I will rather go alone to battle against you ten than sue for peace.
[4] eyjarskeggjar ‘island-beards’: A pejorative term, found also in Heiðr 19/4 and Ǫrv 106/6, in the latter case also about men from Orkney, apparently reflecting a mainland Scandinavian view that island-dwellers were rough and hairy. A political faction in Norway c. 1093 that rebelled against King Sverrir was called Eyjarskeggjar. This group came from Orkney and the Hebrides and attempted to install Sigurðr, the young alleged son of Magnús Erlingsson, on the throne of Norway (see Sv chs 119-20, ÍF 30, 180-6).