Skeið, frák, valt at verði
Vagn með sína þegna;
ǫll váru þá þeira
þunn skip hroðin ǫnnur.
Upp náðu þar eigi
ǫðlings menn at ganga;
ofan réðu þeir ǫfga
Eireks vini keyra.
Frák, at Vagn verði skeið valt með þegna sína; ǫll ǫnnur þunn skip þeira váru þá hroðin. Menn ǫðlings náðu eigi at ganga upp þar; þeir réðu keyra ǫfga vini Eireks ofan.
I have heard that Vagn defended the warship continuously with his men; all their other narrow ships were then cleared. The prince’s [Eiríkr jarl’s] men could not board there; they [the Jómsvíkingar] managed to drive back the friends of Eiríkr from above.
[1] valt: víst all others
[1] valt ‘continuously’: (a) The R reading valt is an adv. with the same sense as ávalt: ‘continually, always’: see LP: valt and 4. valr, where derivation from the adj. valr ‘round, in a circle’ is suggested, though see also AEW: ávalt for alternative derivations of ávalt. Fms 12, 246 glosses valt here as ágætliga ‘splendidly’ and Skj B as stadig ‘continuously, steadily’. (b) The ÓT reading víst ‘for certain, certainly’ modifies frák ‘I have heard’ or verði ‘defended’.