ESk Geisl 29VII/1 — litan ‘coloured one’
Lét jarplitan ôtu
(arnar jóðs) inn góði
(munn rauð malmþings kennir)
Magnús Hugins fagna.
Hrætt varð folk á flótta
— frôn beit egg — at leggja;
sorg biðu víf, en vargar,
vinðversk, of hræ ginðu.
Magnús inn góði lét jarplitan fagna ôtu Hugins; kennir malmþings rauð munn arnar jóðs. Hrætt folk varð at leggja á flótta; frôn egg beit; vinðversk víf biðu sorg, en vargar ginðu of hræ.
Magnús the Good made the brown-coloured one rejoice with the food of Huginn <raven> [CORPSES]; the tester of the weapon-meeting [BATTLE > WARRIOR] reddened the mouth of the eagle’s offspring. The frightened army had to take to flight; the sharp blade bit; Wendish women experienced sorrow, and wolves gaped over carrion.
readings
[1] ‑litan: so Bb, ‘‑lidr’ Flat, ‘leitan’ Hr
notes
[1] jarplitan ‘brown-coloured’: The adj. does not occur elsewhere, but is a cpd of jarpr ‘brown’ and litr ‘coloured.’ The skalds often used the characteristic epithets ‘black’ and ‘dark-coloured’ in reference to the raven (see Meissner, 117), and Einarr sustains the metaphor by using tu Hugins ‘food of Huginn’ as a kenning for the slain. St. 29 thus contains references to the three traditional beasts of battle: the raven, the eagle, and the wolf. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) understands the references to the birds of battle rather differently in ll. 1-4, construing Magnús enn góði lét hugin fagna tu; malmþings kennir rauð munn jarplitaðs arnar jóðs ‘Magnús the Good let the raven enjoy food; the warrior [tester of the weapon-meeting] reddened the beak of the brown-coloured eagle [offspring of the eagle]’. Here he adopts an emendation, jarplitaðs (l. 1), originally suggested in Nj 1875-8, II, 293-5.