Sǫng saltara, meðan Sigurð pínðu
jǫfurs óvinir, ýta dróttinn.
Bað fyr brǫgnum bǫðfrœkn jǫfurr,
þeims vellskata veittu píslir.
Dróttinn ýta sǫng saltara, meðan óvinir jǫfurs pínðu Sigurð. Bǫðfrœkn jǫfurr bað fyr brǫgnum, þeims veittu vellskata píslir.
The lord of men [KING = Sigurðr] sang the psalter while the prince’s enemies tortured Sigurðr. The battle-brave prince prayed for the men who inflicted torments upon the generous chieftain.
[1] sǫng saltara ‘sang the psalter’: This must mean that he sang from the psalter, not that he sang the entire psalter. Cf. also Saxo (2005, II, 14, 29, 4, p. 316): quasi in ocio psalterium relegens ‘as if he leisurely reread the psalter’.