Hvarf ek frá hvítri
Turned I from the pale
hlaðs beðgunni
laced bed-warrior
á Agnafit
at Agnafit
utanverðri;
outward bound
saga mun sannask,
a tale too true
sú er hon sagði mér,
as she said to me
at aptr koma
that I would come after
eigi mundak.
Never again
Drag þú mér af hendi
Pull - you from my hand
hring inn rauða,
this red-gold ring
foerðu inni ungu
bring it to that young
Ingibjörgu;
Ingibjorg
sá mun henni
hugfastr tregi,
er ek eigi kem
til Uppsala.
That grief will remain fast in her mind
I shall not come to Uppsala (got stuck there)
Hvarf ek frá fögrum
I turned from bneauty
fljóða söngvi
of women's song
ótrauðr gamans
feared to play
austr við Sóta;
Eastwards with Soti
för skundaðak
ok fórk í lið
hinzta sinni
frá hollvinum.
I went to war for the last time
Away from my best friends
Hrafn flýgr austan
af hám meiði,
flýgr honum eptir
örn í sinni;
þeim gef ek erni
efstum bráðir,
sá mun á blóði
bergja mínu."
this proved well nigh impossible
The Raven flies from the East for to do harm
An eagle in turn flies with him
I give my new-killed body to them and the eagle
He will drink my blood
I feel so sure that this is undoubtedly
the bloodiest bit of a Saga that I have ever read
Kveðja
Patricia