Esat und jarðar hǫslu
— orðbrjótr Dǫnum forðar
moldreks — munka valdi
mæringr an þú nærri.
Esat mæringr und hǫslu jarðar nærri valdi munka an þú; moldreks orðbrjótr forðar Dǫnum.
There is not a prince under the hazel of the earth [= Yggdrasill] closer to the ruler of monks [= God] than you; the breaker of the speech of the soil-ruler [(lit. ‘speech-breaker of the soil-ruler’) GIANT > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] protects Danes.
[3] valdi: veldi C
[3] valdi munka ‘the ruler of monks [= God]’: Munkr is an ecclesiastical loanword in Old Norse, probably from OE munuc (ultimately from Lat. monachus) (Fischer 1909, 53). As Frank (1994b, 124 n. 60) notes, the use of munkr ‘monk’ as a determinant is very rare in skaldic verse, paralleled only by reynir munka ‘tester of monks’ in Anon Hafg 2/1IV and dróttinn munka ‘lord of monks’ in Skapti Frag 1/1, the attributed date (C10th and C11th respectively) of both of which may be doubted. The juxtaposition of pagan and Christian references (noted in the Introduction) is especially striking in this stanza.
case: dat.