Vask með gram, þeims gumnum
goll bauð dróttinhollum
— nafn fekk hann — en hrǫfnum
hræ, þess konungs ævi.
Fullkerska sák falla
(fráneygjum sonr grônum
gaf margan val vargi)
verðung (konungs sverðum).
Vask með gram, þeims bauð dróttinhollum gumnum goll en hrǫfnum hræ, ævi þess konungs; hann fekk nafn. Sák fullkerska verðung falla; sonr konungs gaf grônum fráneygjum vargi margan val sverðum.
I was with the lord, who gave gold to his loyal men and carrion to the ravens, throughout the lifetime of that king; he gained fame. I saw the most valiant troop fall; the son of the king gave many a slain warrior to the grey, keen-eyed wolf by means of swords.
[5] fullkerska (f. acc. sg.) ‘most valiant’: Fullkerskum (m. or n. dat. sg. or dat. pl.) has been emended to f. acc. sg. to agree with verðung ‘troop’. Kock (NN §§1113A, 2463) retains the dat. and posits a meaning of the verb falla + dat. ‘be killed by sby’ (lit. ‘fall for sby’; so also Jón Skaptason 1983). Kock’s argument, based on a controversial passage in Beowulf (ll. 168-70), is not persuasive (see Beowulf 2008, 126-7 n. 168f).