9.[°] Die on straw. To 'die on straw' is the regular idiom in Faroese and Icelandic for to 'die in one's bed,' of old age or sickness, as opposed to death by the sword.
10.[°] Isan's Grove. Hammershaimb suggests that by Isan's Land here and in vv. 20 and 21 below the Faroese mean Samsø. On the other hand there was a forest in Holstein in ancient times called Isarnho, and some such name may possibly be preserved here. There was a King Isung mentioned in the Danish Ballad De vare syv og syvsindstyve, as an opponent of King Didrik; but it is improbable that his land is here indicated.
13.[°] She drew a shirt from out the chest, etc.—a common ballad motif. A verse almost identical with this is to be found in the Kvæði of Regin the Smith, v. 47.
14.[°] Up then rose Hervik, etc. vv. 14, 15, 16 and 20 are identical with vv. 12-16 (inclusive) of Olufu Kvæði, the only change being that 'Hugin the King' takes the place of 'Hervik the Earl's daughter.' They are practically identical too with the Kvæði of the Jómsvíkingar, vv. 6-8 (inclusive). Cf. also Sjurðar Kvæði (iii Högna Táttur, vv. 46-49), and Ragnarlikkja, vv. 40-48.
20.[°] Striped gold on a scarlet ground. The text has Gull við reyðan brand, which is probably a mishearing of the line Gull við reyðan rand ('with a gold stripe on a red ground'). Verse 39 of Brúsajökils Kvæði (which is otherwise identical with the above) gives in the second line Gull við ráum brann ('gold blazed on the yardarms'). In Hammershaimb's version of our ballad, vv. 10, 72, the line is Gulli vovin við rand ('woven with gold in stripes'), as also in v. 22 of the Kvæði of Ormar Torolvsson. The line also occurs in the form Gull við vágum rann ('the margin of the ship was gold down to where it touched the waves'). This is no doubt corrupt, but it is difficult to conjecture as to which of all the variants was the original form of the line.