Valfreyjudrápa [English translation]

Owner of the fallen slain1and the Brísingamen2

Freyja of the slain3tracks down Hyndla the wild4

She tracks her sharp-toothed wolf

She carves on the shield the runes of victory5

She carves on the back the bloody runes of defeat

She carves on a billet of wood the fate of mankind

Let the fear of the warrior be undone or let him escape

Grown bigger by a hawk skin,6fly and join the battle

Freyja of the slain, she kisses half of the slain

Owner of the fallen slain and the Brísingamen

Freyja of the slain tracks down Hyndla the wild

She tracks her sharp-toothed wolf

She carves on the shield the runes of victory

She carves on the back the bloody runes of defeat

She carves on a billet of wood the fate of mankind

Freyja of the slain, Freyja of the slain...

1. The fate of half of the soldiers fallen in battle was to be chosen by Odin to be taken to Valhalla, while the other half went to Freyja's Fólkvangr.2. A necklace, one of the fundamental traits that characterize Freyja.3. Valfreyja is one of the names used to address the goddess.4. A völva Frejya seeks and awakens to follow her, riding one the boar Hildisvíni, the other a wolf, to Valhalla, where they will ask Odin about Óttarr's ancestors.5. The word used, "skjödum", actually means "bag", but I think it might be a mistranscription of the word "skjöldum" instead.6. Loki once asked Freyja to lend him a falcon's skin so to turn into one. It was common practice for warriors to wear skins of animals like bears, wolves or reindeers during the battle.