> Which I took to mean: "They considered me a child in years though I
> have heard ancient lore. Tales of kings I think I can tell [of
> events] long ago." (Or if it's an adjective describing the
> stories: "I think I can tell long ago tales of kings.") I just
> imagined it was a more emphatic way of saying 'fyrir löngu'.
> Otherwise, maybe take a leaf out of the "tree-man's" book and begin
> with:
>
> Þat var fyr löngu
> á leið vetrar
> langt ok langt heðan / í brott.

That's better :) I don't think "í brott" helps. And I'm a bit skeptical
about "á leið vetrar" though of course the grammar is fine. Eysteinn had
some suggestions which I assume he shared with you as well as me :)

"vas þat fyr löngu" - Haustlöng

As for the repetition with "ok" I'm sure that's fine. Certainly the phrase
"æ ok æ" is well documented.

"helldr til hins at þeir kveliz ok farizt æ ok æ" - Agnesar saga

"En þair annsuaraþu þa, et ny ok niþar vari e ok e" - Guta saga

Then there's this:

"Vaki ok æ vaki vina höfuð" - Bjarkamál

Kveðja,
Haukur