Gamlkan Has 13VII/3 — laxa ‘of the salmon’
Létk í ljós fyr gautum
láðs nǫkkurar dáðir
laxa fróns, en leyndak
lǫskum þôtt, sem máttak,
seggja kind at sýndisk,
(setrs) þokka mun betri,
(vísi hár) an værak
(vel kunnum því, sunnu).
Létk nǫkkurar dáðir í ljós fyr gautum fróns laxa láðs, en leyndak lǫskum þôtt sem máttak, at sýndisk seggja kind þokka mun betri an værak; vel kunnum því, hár vísi setrs sunnu.
I allowed certain deeds to come to light before the men of the land of the land of the salmon [SEA > GOLD > MEN], but I concealed my weaknesses as best I could, so that I should appear to the race of men [MANKIND] a great deal better than I was; we were [I was] well pleased with that, high king of the seat of the sun [SKY/HEAVEN > = God].
notes
[3] laxa fróns en leyndak: B’s reading produces an irregular skothending fróns : leynda. That fróns may be an interpolation is suggested by the context, since the gold-kenning frón laxa láðs ‘land of the salmon of the land’, is somewhat clumsy and repetitious. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 255) suggested emendation of fróns to brands gen. sg. of brandr ‘fire, flame’. This emendation gives a -nd : -nd rhyme and makes for a more conventional gold-kenning, gautar brands láðs laxa ‘men of the fire of the land of the salmon’.
kennings
- laxa láðs, — of the land of the salmon, [SEA]
- fróns laxa láðs, — of the land of the land of the salmon, [GOLD]
- gautum fróns laxa láðs, — the men of the land of the land of the salmon, [MEN]