Norðr lykr gramr, sás gerðir
grund, frá Eyrarsundi
— hrafngœlir sparn hæli
hǫfn — langskipa stǫfnum.
Rísta golli glæstir
gjalfr, en hlýður skjalfa,
hvasst und her fyr vestan
Hallandi framm brandar.
Gramr, sás gerðir grund, lykr stǫfnum langskipa norðr frá Eyrarsundi; hrafngœlir sparn hǫfn hæli. Brandar, glæstir golli, rísta gjalfr hvasst framm und her fyr vestan Hallandi, en hlýður skjalfa.
The king, who surrounds his territory, locks up [the land] with the stems of the longships north of Øresund; the raven-gladdener [WARRIOR] kicked against the harbour with his keel. The stems, encrusted with gold, cut the ocean-surge keenly forwards under the army to the west of Halland, and the wash-strakes tremble.
[1, 4] lykr stǫfnum langskipa ‘locks up [the land] with the stems of the longships’: The verb is most probably from lykja ‘lock up (a gap), seal, join, weld’ (cf. CVC: lykja; Fritzner: lykja), though it could possibly instead be interpreted as lýkr 3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. of lúka ‘lock’ (so Skald). The verb recurs with the same possible meanings in st. 2/8. Haraldr appears to be the subject of this st.