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Poetic Edda

24.[1] Soon off Stafnsnes  stood the ships,Fair they glided  and gay with gold;Then Helgi spake  to Hjorleif asking:"Hast thou counted  the gallant host?"
25.[2] The young king answered  the other then:"Long were it to tell  from TronueyrThe long-stemmed ships  with warriors ladenThat come from without  into Orvasund.
26.[3] .............."There are hundreds twelve  of trusty men, But in Hotun lies  the host of the king. Greater by half;  I have hope of battle."
27.[4] The ship's-tents soon  the chieftain struck,And waked the throng  of warriors all;
  1. ↑ Stafsnes ("Steersman's Cape"): an unidentifiable promontory. Fair: a guess, as the adjective in the manuscript is obscure. Hjorleif does not appear elsewhere, and seems to be simply one of Helgi's lieutenants.
  2. ↑ Tronueyr: "Crane-Strand." Long-stemmed: literally "long-headed," as the high, curving stem of a Norse ship was often carved to represent a head and neck. Orvasund: almost certainly the Danish Öresund, off Seeland. Such bits of geography as this followed Helgi persistently.
  3. ↑ No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hotun: cf. stanza 8 and note.
  4. ↑ Line 3 seems to have been interpolated from line 4 of Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 42. Ship's-tents: the awnings spread over the deck to shelter the crews from sun and rain when the ships were at anchor. Varinsfjord: cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 22 and note.

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