Hvat er, þat er baugs ór björgum
brjótr heyri ek nú þjóta,
at myni Mundils máli
mars †svandr† ófni* hafna?
Þó skal ek þeira ráða,
þorn-Bil, ef goð vilja,
æ*gir* alnar leygjar
ókvíðandi bíða.
Hvat er, þat er ek, brjótr baugs, heyri nú þjóta ór björgum, at máli Mundils myni hafna †svandr† ófni* mars? Þó skal ek, æ*gir* leygjar alnar, ókvíðandi bíða þeira ráða, ef goð vilja, þorn-Bil.
What is that which I, the breaker of a ring [GENEROUS MAN], now hear howl from the cliffs, that the close companion of Mundill <sea-king> [SEAFARER] is likely to reject … a snake of the sea [SHIP]? Nevertheless, I, the terrifier of the fire of the forearm [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN], shall without fear bring those plans to fruition if the gods wish it, clasp-Bil <goddess> [WOMAN = Áslaug-Randalín].
[6] þorn‑Bil: þann bil 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147
[6] þorn-Bil ‘clasp-Bil <goddess> [WOMAN = Áslaug-Randalín]’: The emendation of 1824b’s þann to þorn ‘clasp’ here is adopted by all eds save those of CPB, FSN, Ragn 1891 and Ragn 1985, all of whose retention of 1824b’s þann bil makes interpretation difficult. Bil is mentioned in SnE 2005, 30 (cf. SnE 1998, I, 114) and in þulur (Þul Ásynja 1/8III, Þul Kvenna II 3/6III) as the name of a goddess, and is well attested as the base-word in woman kennings in which the determinant is a characteristic woman’s appurtenance, see LP: 1. Bil and Turville-Petre (1976, xlix).