Sigv ErfÓl 3I/1 — Lyngs ‘of the heather’
Lyngs bar fiskr til fengjar
flugstyggs sonar Tryggva
gjǫlnar golli mǫlnu
— goð vildi svá — roðnar.
Annan lét á unnir
Ôleifr búinn hôla
(lǫgr þó drjúgt) inn digri
(dýrs horn) Visund sporna.
Fiskr lyngs flugstyggs sonar Tryggva bar gjǫlnar roðnar mǫlnu golli til fengjar; goð vildi svá. Ôleifr inn digri lét annan, búinn hôla, Visund, sporna á unnir; lǫgr þó drjúgt horn dýrs.
The fish of the heather [SNAKE (ormr = Ormr inn langi)] of the flight-shunning son of Tryggvi [= Óláfr Tryggvason] carried gills reddened with ground gold in pursuit of gain; God wished it so. Óláfr inn digri (‘the Stout’) caused a second [ship], splendidly equipped, Visundr (‘Bison’), to tread on the waves; the sea washed the animal’s horns persistently.
readings
[1] Lyngs: lungs 68
notes
[1] fiskr lyngs ‘the fish of the heather [SNAKE (ormr = Ormr inn langi]’: Óláfr’s magnificent Visundr ‘Bison’ is compared with Ormr inn langi ‘the Long Serpent’, the famous warship in which Óláfr Tryggvason fought his last battle at Svǫlðr; see Note to Hókr Eirfl 3/4. Ormr is frequently mentioned in skaldic poetry, often using word-play as here; see Hfr ErfÓl 10/1 and Note.
kennings
- Fiskr lyngs — The fish of the heather [SNAKE]