Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, from Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw: The Viking Poems of Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, Earl of Orkney

Fifteen-year-old Earl-in-waiting on his first trading trip

Vér hǫfum vaðnar leirur
vikur fimm megingrimmar;
saurs vasa vant, es vârum,
viðr, í Grímsbœ miðjum.
Nús, þats mâs of mýrar
meginkátliga lâtum
branda elg á bylgjur
Bjǫrgynjar til dynja.

Fifteen-year-old Earl-in-waiting on his first trading trip

Muck, slime, mud. We waded
for five mired weeks, reeking,
silt-fouled bilge-boards souring
in Grimsby bay. Nimbly
now, our proud-prowed Bergen-
bound Sea-Elk pounds over
wave-paved auk-moors – locks horns
with foam-crests, bows booming.

Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson translated by Ian Crockatt

Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw: The Viking Poems of Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, Earl of Orkney

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