FriðÞ Lv 30VIII (Frið 36)/1 — Friðþjófr ‘Friðþjófr (‘Peace-thief’)’
Þá hét ek Friðþjófr, er ek fór með víkingum,
en Herþjófr, er ek ekkjur grætta,
Geirþjófr, er ek gaflökum fleygða,
Gunnþjófr, er ek gekk at fylki,
Eyþjófr, er ek útsker rænta,
Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn*,
Valþjófr, þá ek var æðri mönnum.
Nú hef ek sveimat síðan með saltkörlum,
hjálpar þurfandi, áðr en hingat kom.
Ek hét Friðþjófr, þá er ek fór með víkingum, en Herþjófr, er ek grætta ekkjur, Geirþjófr, er ek fleygða gaflökum, Gunnþjófr, er ek gekk at fylki, Eyþjófr, er ek rænta útsker, Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn*, Valþjófr, þá ek var æðri mönnum. Nú hef ek sveimat síðan með saltkörlum, þurfandi hjálpar, áðr en kom hingat.
I was called Friðþjófr (‘Peace-thief’), when I travelled with vikings, and Herþjófr (‘Army-thief’), when I made widows weep, Geirþjófr (‘Spear-thief’), when I let fly throwing spears, Gunnþjófr (‘Battle-thief’), when I went towards the host, Eyþjófr (‘Island-thief’), when I plundered outlying skerries, Helþjófr (‘Hel-thief’), when I seized little children, Valþjófr (‘Slain men-thief’), when I was higher than [other] men. Now I have since roamed around with salt burners, needing help, before I came here.
notes
[1] Friðþjófr ‘(“Peace-thief”)’: Some eds (so Skj B) emend the text here to Valþjófr (taking this name from l. 13), on the ground that Friðþjófr would not state his actual name in such a stanza, designed to keep King Hringr guessing about his identity. Later in the saga prose, however, Hringr is made to say that he knew who Friðþjófr was as soon as he saw him (Frið 1901, 47; Frið 1914, 31), so it may be unwise to apply modern-day rationality to the use of conventional motifs in saga literature.