Skrjúpt es líf lýða barna
und hreggská heiðar tjaldi.
En lífs lau*n líða eigi
góð eða ill gumna mengis.
Skrjúpt es líf barna lýða und hreggská tjaldi heiðar. En lau*n lífs mengis gumna, góð eða ill, líða eigi.
Brittle is the life of the children of men [MANKIND] under the storm-worn awning of heaven [SKY/HEAVEN]. But the rewards, good or evil, of the life of the multitude of men [MANKIND] do not pass away.
[1] skrjúpt ‘brittle’: The adj. skrjúpr is attested in poetry only here and in Anon (FoGT) 13/2III, along with three prose attestations as a nickname (ONP: skrjúpr). The sense appears to be ‘brittle, weak, lacking resilience, incapable of enduring’ (CVC, LP: skrjúpr).