‘Einn sitr nýtastr Néústríe
Englandi at auðar skelfir.
Þó ’ro siklingar sunnan komnir
fimm eða fleiri foldu at ráða.
‘Einn nýtastr skelfir auðar Néústríe sitr at Englandi. Þó ’ro fimm eða fleiri siklingar komnir sunnan at ráða foldu.
‘The one worthiest shaker of riches [GENEROUS MAN] of Neustria will preside over England. Yet five kings or more have come from the south to rule the land.
[1] einn nýtastr ‘the one worthiest’: That is to say, ‘worthiest of all’. On this idiom see NN §3143A. The idea seems to be that the current ruler (Henry II) surpasses the previous kings of the Norman dynasty, a sentiment no doubt reflecting the political position of Gunnlaugr’s source, in the light of Henry’s conduct subsequent to the death of Thomas Becket in 1170. Some of the commentaries take the same view of Henry, e.g. (Hammer 1940, 419): sed in aetate sua stabilis et perfectus erit per clara merita, fama praeconante de eo ‘but in his old age he will be stable and perfect through his manifest merits, with fame proclaiming about him’.