Ǫld man hitt, at hœldusk
(hvatir guldu þess skatnar)
fyrr (ór flokki þeira)
foraðstungur Kuflunga.
Nú kná bergs í bjǫrgum
— búk reiðir lô sjúkan —
— mettr vas hrafn í Hrotti —
hóts annan veg þjóta.
Ǫld man hitt, at foraðstungur Kuflunga hœldusk fyrr; hvatir skatnar ór flokki þeira guldu þess. Nú kná þjóta hóts annan veg í bjǫrgum bergs; lô reiðir sjúkan búk; hrafn vas mettr í Hrotti.
People remember this, that the terrifying tongues of the Kuflungar boasted earlier; bold warriors from their band paid for that. Now it howls quite differently in the stones of the mountain; the sea tosses the wounded torso; the raven was sated in Rott.
[5, 8] nú kná þjóta hóts annan veg í bjǫrgum bergs ‘now it howls quite differently in the stones of the mountain’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) speculates that í bjǫrgum bergs ‘in the stones of the mountain’ could allude to the mountain Slottsfjellet (Bergit ‘the Mountain’) in Tønsberg. However, the expression nú kná þjóta hóts annan veg í hǫmrum ‘now it howls quite differently in the cliffs’ is a proverb that means ‘now they are dancing to a different tune’ (see Heggstad, Hødnebø and Simensen 1990: þjóta). It is not clear therefore whether bergs ‘of the mountain’ here refers to Slottsfjellet, or whether í bjǫrgum bergs ‘in the stones of the mountain’ refers to mountain cliffs.