Ríks þreifsk reiddra øxa
rymr — knôttu spjǫr glymja —
— svartskyggð bitu seggi
sverð — þjóðkonungs ferðar,
þás hugfyldra hǫlða
(hlaut andskoti Gauta)
hôr vas sǫngr of svírum
(sigr) flugbeiddra vigra.
Rymr reiddra øxa ferðar ríks þjóðkonungs þreifsk; svartskyggð sverð bitu seggi; spjǫr knôttu glymja, þás sǫngr flugbeiddra vigra vas hôr of svírum hugfyldra hǫlða; andskoti Gauta hlaut sigr.
The roar of the swung axes of the mighty king’s army swelled; black-polished swords bit men; spears resounded when the song of flight-driven spears was loud over the necks of courageous men; the adversary of the Gautar [= Haraldr] gained victory.
[3, 4] svartskyggð sverð ‘black-polished swords’: As Holtsmark (1927, 42-3) assumes, svartskyggð may refer to the special technique of pattern welding, by which sword blades were forged out of two metals, one harder and one softer, which upon polishing yielded varied patterns and gave the sword additional strength and flexibility (see Ypey 1984; Pedersen 2004, 593). Such swords were extremely valuable and were sometimes acquired from abroad.