HYMISKVIÐA 17

17. Véurr kvaz vilja 
á vág róa, 
ef ballr jötunn 
beitur gæfi. 
"Hverfðu til hjarðar, 
ef þú hug trúir, 
brjótr berg-Dana, 
beitur sækja! 

Véurr said he wanted to row out to sea, if the fierce giant would provide him with bait. [Hymir:] "Go to the herd, if you dare, you smasher of cliff-Danes, and fetch us some bait!

1. Véurr "Þórr" - see stanza 11.

2. á vág róa "row out to sea" - possibly meant to recall Élivágar, see stanza 5.

7. brjótr berg-Dana "smasher of cliff-Danes" - a Þórr-kenning obviously borrowed from Haustlöng 18. "Cliff-Danes" is a typical kenning for giants, but spoken by a giant, as here, it is surely meant to be humourous!

Translation notes: Bellows and Larrington seem to miss the point of the phrase ef þú á hug trúir: "if thou hast it in mind" (Bellows), "if you've a mind to it" (Larrington). None of the six translates "cliff-Danes" literally; this is typical of a general tendency to gloss over kennings, and explain them rather than simply show them as they are.