Glúmr Gráf 3I/4 — þjóðir ‘troops’
Dolgeisu rak dísar
— drótt kom mǫrg á flótta —
gumna vinr at gamni
gjóðum írsk*ar þjóðir.
Foldar rauð, ok felldi,
Freyr í manna dreyra
sverð, — vas sigr of orðinn —
seggi, mækis eggjar.
Vinr gumna rak írsk*ar þjóðir at gamni gjóðum dísar dolgeisu; mǫrg drótt kom á flótta. Freyr foldar eggjar mækis rauð sverð í dreyra manna ok felldi seggi; sigr vas of orðinn.
The friend of men [RULER = Haraldr] pursued Irish troops to the enjoyment of ospreys of the goddess of the battle-fire [SWORD > VALKYRIE > RAVENS/EAGLES]; many a war-band took to flight. The Freyr <god> of the land of the blade of the sword [SHIELD > WARRIOR] reddened the sword in the blood of men and killed warriors; victory came about.
readings
[4] þjóðir: þjóðar all
notes
[4] írsk*ar þjóðir ‘Irish troops’: The gen. sg. form írskrar þjóðar in the mss can be taken with drótt, hence ‘troop of Irish people’, but this produces a more complex word order and entails difficulty with the kennings (see Note to ll. 1-4). The phrase is therefore emended here (as in Skj B and Skald) to form the acc. pl. object of rak ‘pursued’. The reference to Irish opponents produced by either interpretation supports the account in Hkr (see Context to st. 2 above) of raids undertaken by Haraldr and his brothers í vestrvíking ‘on expeditions to the West’, i.e. the British Isles.