Illa leikr þú, Ölvir, eigi ertu hæfr vífum;
má eigi fang festa á fylki velbornum.
Eggjar eru eitrblandnar, æfr er döglingr,
oddar alblóðgir; ei munu vér sigraz.
Þú leikr illa, Ölvir, ertu eigi hæfr vífum; má eigi festa fang á velbornum fylki. Eggjar eru eitrblandnar, döglingr er æfr, oddar alblóðgir; munu vér ei sigraz.
You play foul, Ǫlvir, you are not fit for women; one cannot get a hold on the well-born prince. Sword-edges are poisoned, the ruler is violent, points [are] all bloody; we will not gain victory.
[6] döglingr er æfr ‘the ruler is violent’: Both Skj B and Skald emend this line to make it pl., viz. æfir eru dǫglingar ‘the rulers are violent’, but there is no ms. justification for this change. In fact, the sg. number here parallels the sg. number in the following stanza, HjǪ 21/7, which refers to Hjálmþér as a stafnbúi ‘forecastle-man’; the döglingr ‘ruler’ mentioned here is presumably Ǫlvir.