Right, I´ve just had some expert assistance on this one, so here's a
revised interpretation in light of that:

LINES 1 & 2. The people thought Gautrek good, [but] bad to gold
[that is, he destroyed/wasted/diminished gold by giving it away
generously].
LINES 3 & 4. Odin's swan got full fast. The king was slow to fear.


--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "llama_nom" <600cell@...>
wrote:

> --- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, Haukur Þorgeirsson
> <haukurth@...> wrote:
>
> > "Golli Gautrekr þótti
> > góðr illr kyni þjóðar,
> > saddr varð svanr, en hræddisk
> > seint, skjótt, konungr, Þróttar."
>
> I was a bit unsure about which words go with which in the first

two

> lines. In particular I wondered about what is being

called 'illr'.

> But here's my guess:
>
> To kin of people [tautology for people?] Gautrek seemed good
> [generous] with gold. Odin's bad swan [raven] got full fast. The
> king was slow to fear [understatement for he wasn't scared at all].
>
> Theoretically I think it could mean the opposite: raven got full
> slowly; the king was quick to fear. But I'll bet on politeness--

in

> the words of Han Solo, "It's not wise to upset a wookie."
>
> Llama Nom