Marm Lv 4VIII (Hálf 9)/4 — af ‘with’
Hefir sér á höfði hjálm upp spenntan,
herkuml harðligt Heðins af létta.
Skammt mun sveinum — sé þat, sem er —
hildar at bíða hér á ferli.
Hefir sér á höfði upp spenntan hjálm harðligt herkuml Heðins, af létta. Sveinum mun skammt at bíða hildar hér á ferli; sé þat, sem er.
On her head she has clasped with ease a helmet, the hard war token of Heðinn <legendary hero> [HELMET]. The lads will have to wait a short time for war to be on its way here. I see it as it is.
notes
[4] af létta ‘with ease’: Andrews (Hálf 1909, 84-5) suggests á fléttum ‘on (her) plaits’, which would be a nice parallel to á höfði in l. 1 and is very close to the ms. reading. Bugge (Hálf 1864, 10) and Wimmer (1875, 200) think that the reading of l. 4 must have been a version of a Hildr-kenning, like Heðins of leika ‘Heðinn’s playmate’, i.e. Hildr; so do Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Heusler and Ranisch (cf. Heðins of beðja ‘Heðinn’s bed-mate’ Edd. Min.). Patzig (1924) explains af létta by presupposing the existence of an otherwise unknown f. noun aflétta, meaning ‘obliging female companion’, derived from the adj. afléttr ‘willing (to give things away)’ (see Fritzner: afléttr).