By some sinister synchronicity I came across this spell too just the
other day. Here's what I (think I) understand of it; how well is
another matter. In particular I'm unsure about the second line.
Hopefully someone better qualified can lend a hand...
Þykkt blóð, þreytast rekkar.
Þjóð mörg vos öld bjóða,
grand heitt, gummar andast,
glatast auður, firrast snauðir.
Hætt grand hræðast dróttir
hríð mörg, vesöld kvíða,
angur vænt, ærnar skærur.
Illur sveimur nú er í heimi.
Thick blood, men tire (i.e. become exhausted).
? many people/nations............................?
Hot destruction, men (=gumar?) die,
wealth is lost, the poor are removed.
Perilous destruction folk dread
many storms, fear misery,
grief expected, plenty of skirmishes,
a bad tumult is now in the world.
Is bjóða infinitive, or 3rd person plural (in which case who is the
subject?). 'vos öld' seems to parallel 'vesöld' "misery". Could it
be a compound too? Something like "foul weather" or "fatigue caused
by damp, cold weather"? Or even an "age of cold"? Or is this 'öld'
the singular of 'aldir', another poetic word for "people"--is it
that the people are being offered hardship from cold weather? I
still don't quite get the grammar of this line.