Gramr inn gjǫflasti gœddi hirð sína
Fenju forverki, Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri, Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis dýrsveita, dúni Grafvitnis.
Inn gjǫflasti gramr gœddi hirð sína forverki Fenju, miðgarði Fáfnis, glóbarri Glasis, fagrbyrði Grana, dýrsveita Draupnis, dúni Grafvitnis.
The most munificent prince enriched his retinue with Fenja’s <giantess’s> toil [GOLD], Fáfnir’s <dragon’s> land [GOLD], Glasir’s <grove’s> glowing foliage [GOLD], Grani’s <horse’s> fair burden [GOLD], Draupnir’s <mythical ring’s> precious sweat [GOLD], Grafvitnir’s <snake’s> feather-bed [GOLD].
[4] Fáfnis miðgarði: ‘fafnis miðgarþ[…]’ U, ‘[…]’ B, ‘fafniss miðgarde’ 744ˣ
[4] miðgarði Fáfnis ‘Fáfnir’s <dragon’s> land [GOLD]’: The reference is to Fáfnir, son of Hreiðmarr, who turned into a dragon and guarded a gold-hoard by lying upon it, hence gold can be called Fáfnir’s land (see Note to l. 6 below and cf. Meissner 239, SnE 1998, I, 45-7 and Þorm Lv 10/2I). In this kenning miðgarðr, normally the name for the world of humans in Old Norse myth, provides a base-word belonging to the semantic field ‘land’.