ǪrvOdd Ævdr 31VIII (Ǫrv 101)/4 — sem ‘like’
Höfðu jarls liðar útnes hroðit,
rógþings vanir sem refar hundum.
Unnum vit Hjálmarr, er hinig fórum,
eldi ok usla eytt langskipum.
Liðar jarls, vanir rógþings sem refar hundum, höfðu hroðit útnes. Vit Hjálmarr unnum eytt langskipum eldi ok usla, er fórum hinig.
The jarl’s troops accustomed to the strife-assembly [BATTLE] like foxes to dogs, had cleared the outlying headland. Hjálmarr and I destroyed the longships with fire and embers when we got there.
notes
[4] sem refar hundum ‘like foxes to dogs’: The simile here suggests that the unidentified jarl’s troops are used to being attacked by more aggressive warriors, among whom Oddr doubtless includes himself and his men. It is not clear from the prose text who ‘the jarl’s troops’ are, as the episode concerns a group of berserks.