Hvarfat aptr, áðr erfðan,
óðstafr, fǫður hafði,
(herforðuðr réð Hǫrða)
hjǫrveðrs (konungs fjǫrvi).
Varðat Freyr, sás fœri,
folkskíðs, né mun síðan,
— því bregðr ǫld við aðra —
jarls ríki framm slíku.
Óðstafr hjǫrveðrs hvarfat aptr, áðr hafði erfðan fǫður; herforðuðr réð fjǫrvi konungs Hǫrða. Varðat Freyr folkskíðs, né mun síðan, sás fœri framm slíku ríki jarls; því bregðr ǫld við aðra.
The furious stave of the sword-storm [BATTLE > WARRIOR] did not return before he had done honour to his father’s memory; the army-protector [RULER] had power over the life of the king of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr gráfeldr]. There has not been a Freyr <god> of the battle-ski [SWORD > WARRIOR], nor will there be afterwards, who proceeded with such power of a jarl; so say the people to one another.
[1, 2] hafði erfðan fǫður ‘he had done honour to his father’s memory’: Erfa means ‘to honour a deceased relative and take one’s leave of him’ (Fritzner: erfa), often through a memorial feast, but here the reference is clearly to Hákon honouring his father by avenging him; cf. the praise of Hákon’s revenge in st. 9. LP: erfa similarly interprets it as the equivalent of ‘to avenge’.