Eigi sér til Alda
— erum út á brim komnir
frægir fylkis drengir —
fyr gerningaveðri.
Ok standa nú allir
— eru Sólundir horfnar —
átján menn í austri,
er Elliða verja.
Sér eigi til Alda fyr gerningaveðri; erum komnir út á brim, frægir drengir fylkis. Ok allir átján menn, er verja Elliða, standa nú í austri; Sólundir eru horfnar.
Alden cannot be seen because of a sorcery-induced storm; we have come out on a rough sea, renowned warriors of a king. And all eighteen men, who defend Elliði, are now engaged in baling out; the Sula islands are out of sight.
[1] Alda ‘Alden’: Aldi (ModNorw. Alden) is the name of an island in Sunnfjord, Sogn og Fjordane, west of Atløy; cf. Þul Eyja 2/8III and Note. This interpretation of all mss’ ‘allda’ follows Skj B and Skald; previous eds (Falk 1890; Frið 1901) have understood the word as gen. pl. of ǫld, pl. aldir ‘men, people’, giving a sense ‘One could not see people because of a sorcery-induced storm’. However, this interpretation is at odds with the sense of the second helmingr of this stanza.