Sýstuð suðr, þars æstu,
snjallr gramr, Danir allir
— enn sér eigi minni
efni — mæltrar stefnu.
Sveinn tekr norðr at nenna
nær til landamæris
— varð fyr víðri jǫrðu
vinnsamt — Harald finna.
Sýstuð suðr, snjallr gramr, þars allir Danir æstu mæltrar stefnu; enn sér eigi minni efni. Sveinn tekr at nenna norðr nær til landamæris finna Harald; varð vinnsamt fyr víðri jǫrðu.
You set out southwards, brave king, where all the Danes requested an appointed meeting; once again one sees no lesser cause. Sveinn starts to venture north near to the border to meet Haraldr; it became toilsome off the wide land.
[1] sýstuð ‘you set out’: The poet here uses 2nd-pers. pl. address, in alternation with 3rd-pers. narrative. The verbal tenses in the st. vary, so that pres. (tekr ‘starts’ (l. 5)) contrasts with pret. (sýstuð ‘set out’ < sýsla (l. 1) and varð ‘became’ (l. 7)) (see Poole, 1991, 78). The verb sýsla recurs with God as its subject in st. 6.