Alls engi sá ek yðvarn,
þar er upp lokinn fundum
Heilavá*g fyrir hvítum
hesti máva rastar.
Ok við lási lúðra
fyrir landi vér undum
hallar ríkri möllu
hrafns fyrir rauðum stafni.
Ek sá alls engi yðvarn, þar er fundum Heilavá*g upp lokinn fyrir hvítum hesti rastar máva. Ok við lási lúðra undum vér fyrir landi ríkri möllu hallar hrafns fyrir rauðum stafni.
I saw none of you at all where we found Heilavágr opened up before the white horse of the path of seagulls [SEA > SHIP]. And with our ships at anchor we took pleasure, offshore, in the mighty enclosure of the hall of the raven [CRAG > SEA] before the red prow.
[8] fyrir rauðum stafni ‘before the red prow’: The C11th skald Valgarðr á Velli speaks of a ship belonging to Haraldr harðráði which bar skolpt inn rauða ‘carried its red skull’ (Valg Har 10/5II), i.e. had the carved head of a dragon, painted red, attached to its fore-stem as a prow-ornament, see Jesch (2001a, 145-7); cf Ragn 36/8, below.