Þhorn Gldr 2I/8 — nǫkkva ‘ships’
Gerðisk glamma ferðar
gný-Þróttr jǫru dróttar
helkannandi hlenna
hlymrœks of trǫð glymja,
áðr út á mar mœtir
mannskœðr lagar tanna
ræsinaðr ok rausnar
rak vébrautar nǫkkva.
Gný-Þróttr jǫru, helkannandi dróttar hlenna hlymrœks, gerðisk glymja of trǫð ferðar glamma, áðr mannskœðr mœtir vébrautar rak nǫkkva tanna lagar ok ræsinaðr rausnar út á mar.
The din-Þróttr <= Óðinn> of battle [WARRIOR = Haraldr], condemning the band of thieves of the battle-cultivator to death, made clangour on the path of the pack of wolves [HEATH], before the man-harming attender of the standard-road [BATTLEFIELD > WARRIOR] drove [his] ships of the teeth of the sea [STONES (steinar ‘colours’)] and the excellent adder of the forecastle [SHIP] out to sea.
notes
[6, 8] nǫkkva tanna lagar ‘ships of the teeth of the sea [STONES (steinar ‘colours’)]’: I.e. painted ships. The kenning ‘teeth of the sea’ is interpreted as an ofljóst here; the interpretations given in ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991 are similar though sceptical. Steinn means not only ‘stone’ but also ‘colour (mineral paint)’. Ships may have been painted, as suggested by references to colour, also using the word steinn, in Þfagr Sveinn 3/5, 6-7II glæsidýr lauks … fagrdrifin steini ‘the splendid beasts of the mast [SHIPS] … beautifully covered with colour’ and Refr Ferðv 3/1, 3-4III runnit rauðum steini ‘covered with red paint’, in reference to a ship’s bow; while in Hallm Hallkv 9/5V steinnǫkkva must be not a ‘stone ship’ but a ‘painted ship’. While in the first two examples steini is a dat. with a p. p. (fagrdrifin, runnit, both ‘covered’), the use of stein- in the cpd steinnǫkkva can be regarded as a parallel to the use of tanna lagar as a gen. with adjectival function (cf. NS §135). The use of the pl. tanna ‘teeth’ in the present case may be explained as necessary to fulfil metrical requirements.