Gsind Hákdr 2I/2 — sunnan ‘from the south’
Almdrósar fór eisu
élrunnr mǫrum sunnan
trjónu tingls á grœna
tveim einum selmeina,
þás ellifu allar
allreiðr Dana skeiðar
Valsendir hrauð vandar
víðfrægr at þat síðan.
Almdrósar eisu élrunnr fór sunnan einum tveim mǫrum tingls á grœna trjónu selmeina, þás allreiðr vandar Valsendir hrauð allar ellifu skeiðar Dana, víðfrægr at þat síðan.
The bush of the storm of the fire of the bow-woman [(lit. ‘storm-bush of the fire of the bow-woman’) VALKYRIE > SWORD > BATTLE > WARRIOR = Hákon] went from the south with only two steeds of the prow-board [SHIPS] on to the green snout of seal-wounds [Selund] when the utterly enraged sender of the Valr <horse> of the mast [(lit. ‘Valr-sender of the mast’) SHIP > SEAFARER = Hákon] cleared all eleven ships of the Danes, widely famed for that afterwards.
notes
[2] sunnan ‘from the south’: This is the most natural interpretation (cf. Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B). It would imply that Hákon had begun his voyage at a point south of Zealand, perhaps indicating incursion into the Danish sphere of influence in the southern Baltic. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 26; cf. Hkr 1991) instead tentatively proposed ‘south across the sea’; he cites Sturl Hryn 3/2II, but the sense of sunnan there is probably ‘from the south’.