Ólsv Hákdr 2III/1 — Hrein ‘of the pure’
Hreinstólpa átt hjálpar,
herrekkir, brag þekkja;
hátt sitið hans í réttu,
hvarmætr skǫrungr, sæti.
Herrekkir, átt þekkja brag hreinstólpa hjálpar; sitið, skǫrungr, hvarmætr, hátt í réttu sæti hans.
War-promoter [WARRIOR], you ought to recognise the praise of the pure pillar of help [= S. Óláfr]; sit, leader, excellent in all respects, tall in his proper seat.
notes
[1] hreinstólpa hjálpar ‘of the pure pillar of help [= S. Óláfr]’: This would appear to refer to King Óláfr inn helgi Haraldsson (S. Óláfr), the patron saint of Norway, who occupied the Norwegian throne in the early C11th (r. 1015-1030; see his Biography in SkP I). A number of other poetic uses of stólpi ‘pillar’ occur in religious poetry, particularly with reference to the Virgin Mary, see e.g. Anon Pét 5/7VII and Note there.
kennings
- hreinstólpa hjálpar; — of the pure pillar of help; [= S. Óláfr]