Tolf frák tekna elfar
tálaust viðu bála;
olli Ôleifr falli
eirsamr konungr þeira.
Svía tyggja leitk seggi
sóknstríðs (firum) ríða
(bǫl vas brátt) til Heljar
(búit mest) Sigars hesti.
Frák tálaust tolf viðu bála elfar tekna; Ôleifr, eirsamr konungr, olli falli þeira. Leitk seggi sóknstríðs tyggja Svía ríða hesti Sigars til Heljar; mest bǫl vas brátt búit firum.
I heard without equivocation that twelve trees of the pyres of the river [GOLD > MEN] were captured; Óláfr, the merciful king, caused their death. I saw the men of the battle-hard king of the Swedes [= Óláfr sœnski] ride the horse of Sigarr <legendary king> [GALLOWS] to Hel; the greatest harm was quickly prepared for the men.
[6] firum: fyr um Peringskiöld 1697 I
[6] firum ‘for the men’: Kock (NN §656) suggests reading this with sóknstríðs, giving ‘hard in battle against men’, but this construction seems awkward, and what Kock calls Finnur Jónsson’s paranteskonglomerat ‘conglomeration of parentheses’ is preferable in a helmingr where there is interlacing of clauses under any interpretation.