Gestumbl Heiðr 26VIII (Heiðr 73)/2 — fé ‘flocks’
Hvat er þat dýra, er drepr fé manna,
ok er jarni kringt útan?
Horn hefir átta, en höfuð ekki,
ok fylgja því margir mjök.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hvat dýra er þat, er drepr fé manna, ok er kringt útan jarni? Hefir átta horn, en ekki höfuð, ok mjök margir fylgja því. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
What is the creature who slays men’s flocks and is surrounded outside with iron? It has eight horns, but no head, and a great many follow it. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle.
notes
[2] fé ‘flocks’: The animal imagery suggests that ‘flocks’ is the surface meaning, but plays also on the meaning ‘money, property’, suggesting that the game could be played for monetary stakes. This meaning is brought to the fore by the solution in the U redaction, which includes (Heiðr 1924, 135): hun … rænir margann fie, þann er fie legur vid tafl ‘the húnn … plunders money from many a one who lays down money on tafl’. A clause in Grágás (K §233) forbids the playing of board games for money or other property.