Mart varð él, áðr, Ála,
austr lǫnd at mun banda
randar lauks af ríki,
rœkilundr of tœki.
Mart él Ála varð, áðr rœkilundr lauks randar of tœki lǫnd austr af ríki at mun banda.
Many a storm of Áli <sea-king> [BATTLE] came about before the tending-tree of the leek of the shield [SWORD > WARRIOR] took the lands in the east by force at the will of the gods.
[2] at mun banda ‘at the will of the gods’: Here the skald represents the conquering of Norway as in line with the will of the gods (n. pl. bǫnd). Other instances in skaldic poetry (see Marold 1992, 705-7) indicate that these gods protect the land from evil or entrust it to rulers of whom they approve, cf. Tindr Hákdr 8/5-8, where the gods want Hákon to surpass all other rulers. It may be that the bǫnd are especially linked to the jarls of Hlaðir (Lade), cf. also st. 14/4 below and the stef ‘refrain’ of Bandadrápa, composed for Hákon jarl’s son Eiríkr, which confirms that Eiríkr rules the land at mun banda (Edáð Banddr 9/1).