I vote for Hjálmarskviða.

I have been working on setting this one to music, and have done a bit
of research. I would be interested in seeing what sort of
translation(s) folks come up with, to compare with the one I found in
Hollander. I even found a dandy painting by Winge...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjalmar

I have made a recording; shall I post it up in the Files section?

Lavrans

--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "llama_nom" <600cell@...> wrote:
>
>
> We've been thinking about something else to translate while we're
> waiting to resume Njáls saga. My suggestion is that we have a go at
> one of the shorter Eddic poems. The language of these is often not so
> contorted and riddling as that of the skaldic occasional verses we
> usually meet embedded in the sagas. Here are some possibilities that
> occur to me. Any preferences?
>
> Gróttasöngr, 24 strophes. A song sung by two giantesses as they work
> a magic mill.
>
> Hjálmarskviða, 8 strophes. Death-song of a warrior mortally wounded
> in a duel. From the legendary Hervarar saga.
>
> Þrymskviða, 32 strophes. Fairly simple and self-contained, humorous
> narrative poem from the Elder Edda about the theft of Thor's hammer.
> (One of the reading pieces in Gordon's An Introduction to Old Norse).
>
> Hervararkviða, 30 strophes. Hervör, currently captain of a band of
> vikings, lands on the haunted island of Sámsey (Denmark) to reclaim a
> cursed sword belonging to her (un)dead father. From Hervarar saga.
>
> Völundarkviða, 41 strophes. A tale of love and revenge, told in
> powerfully simple language. One of the fiercest and best.
>