Far vel, dóttir, fljótt gæfa ek þér
tólf manna fjör, ef þú trúa mættir,
afl ok eljun, alt it góða,
þat er synir Arngríms at sik leifðu.
Far vel, dóttir, ek gæfa þér fljótt fjör tólf manna, ef þú mættir trúa, afl ok eljun, alt it góða, þat er synir Arngríms leifðu at sik.
Farewell, daughter, I would readily give you the life of twelve men, if you are able to believe it, strength and energy, all the good that the sons of Arngrímr left after them.
[3] fjör tólf manna ‘the life of twelve men’: The number twelve had a general significance since a duodecimal counting system was employed in medieval Scandinavia intermingled with a decimal system (Karker 1974), but this instance seems to refer specifically to the sons of Arngrímr.