Óskepna varð uppi
endr, þás mǫrgum kenndi
hôligt róg at hníga,
hǫrð, þars jarlar bǫrðusk.
Nær réðusk ástmenn órir,
eldhríð es varð síðan
— ǫld fekk mein in milda
mǫrg — fyr Rauðabjǫrgum.
Endr varð hǫrð óskepna uppi, þás hôligt róg kenndi mǫrgum at hníga, þars jarlar bǫrðusk. Ástmenn órir réðusk nær, es eldhríð varð síðan fyr Rauðabjǫrgum; in milda ǫld fekk mǫrg mein.
At that time a harsh, monstrous thing came to pass, as mighty strife taught many to fall where jarls fought. Our [my] dear friends almost destroyed each other, as the sword-blizzard [BATTLE] came about then off Rauðabjǫrg; the gracious men received many injuries.
[6] eldhríð ‘sword-blizzard [BATTLE]’: Eldr, like logi, usually means ‘fire’, but is also a heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 8/2III; cf. runnr elda ‘tree of swords [WARRIOR]’ in Anon Óldr 11I (C12th). It would be a strange coincidence if, as Finnur Jónsson assumes in Skj B, an original oddr ‘point’ had been corrupted to eldr both in Óldr 11 and in st. 20 (where emendation to odd- was originally proposed by Gudbrand Vigfusson, Orkn 1887, 59 n. 4).