CANTO XVI.
Stanza 4. holmgång, a duel, so called because originally fought on a small island (holme).
8. Hagbart, a Norse sea king, was secretly betrothed to Signe, daughter of Sigar, king of Seeland, who caused Hagbart to be captured and hanged. Signe then put fire to her chamber and perished in the flames. The tragic story formed a popular theme for Scandinavian bards.
8. rista blodörn, inscribe the blood eagle. This was a monstrous practice by which the Northmen sometimes wreaked vengeance upon their fallen enemies. The ribs were severed from the spinal column and bent outward in the form of wings and salt poured into the wounds, whereupon the entrails were torn out.