Stǫng óð gylld, þars gengum
Gǫndlar serks und merkjum
gnýs, fyr gǫfgum ræsi,
greiðendr á skip reiðir.
Þági vas, sem þessum
þengils, á jó strengjar,
mjǫð, fyr malma kveðju,
mær heiðþegum bæri.
Gylld stǫng óð fyr gǫfgum ræsi, þars gengum, greiðendr gnýs serks Gǫndlar, reiðir á skip und merkjum. Vas þági á jó strengjar fyr kveðju malma, sem mær bæri þessum heiðþegum þengils mjǫð.
The gilded standard advanced before the noble king, where we, suppliers of the din of the shirt of Gǫndul <valkyrie> [MAIL-SHIRT > BATTLE > WARRIORS], went enraged onto the ships under the banners. It was not then on the horse of the rope [SHIP], before the greeting of metal weapons [BATTLE], as if a maiden were bringing these retainers of the prince mead.
[6] þengils: so Holm2, R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, R, W, ‘þen’ Kˣ, þengil papp18ˣ, 972ˣ, þengill Tˣ, U
[5, 6, 7, 8] sem mær bæri þessum heiðþegum þengils mjǫð ‘as if a maiden were bringing these retainers of the prince mead’: Contrasting the perils of battle with the comforts of the hall (here the woman welcoming victorious warriors) is a favourite skaldic theme. The metaphorical base-words of the battle-kennings in the helmingr may allude to the maiden’s greeting (kveðju, l. 7) to the warrior, who arrives on horseback (jó, l. 6). — [6] þengils ‘of the prince’: This gen. could qualify jó strengjar ‘horse of the rope [SHIP]’ (l. 6), mjǫð ‘mead’ (l. 7), heiðþegum ‘retainers’ (l. 8, as assumed here), or indeed all three of these (Jesch 2001a, 236).