Kjóstu þann þræl af þengils liði,
er gefr svínum soð.
Mun þér ei maðr duga * af mildings hirð,
ef þér glapvígr geriz.
Kjóstu þann þræl af liði þengils, er gefr svínum soð. Maðr af hirð mildings mun ei duga* þér, ef geriz þér glapvígr.
Choose that slave from the followers of the prince who gives swill to the swine. A man of the prince’s court will not be of use to you if he reveals himself to you as prone to accidental killing.
[6] glapvígr ‘prone to accidental killing’: An uncommon adj., instanced in poetry only here and in Þorm Lv1/6V (Fbr 8), in both cases describing a bad or disaster-prone fighter. It is related to the uncommon noun glapvíg ‘accidental manslaughter’ (ONP: glapvíg, only found in two versions of one statement in Ldn and the verb glapna ‘grow dim, be spoiled, harmed’ (cf. Fritzner: glapna) and various other compounds, such as glappaskot ‘chance shot, mishap, inadvertent shot’ and ModIcel. glapp ‘misfortune’, glappaskot ‘mistake’. Skj B translates l. 6 as hvis han viser sig for dig at svigte i kamp ‘if he shows himself before you to fail in battle’.