Another of Gestumblindi's riddles asks, "What is that beast all girded with iron, which kills the flocks? He has eight horns but no head, and runs as he pleases."Quoted in Helmfrid 2005, p. 10. An alternative translation is here on the web. Here, it is the answer that is controversial, as the response has been variously translated as: "It is the húnn in hnefatafl. He has the name of a bear and runs when he is thrown"; or, "It is the húnn in hnefatafl. He has the name of a bear and escapes when he is attacked."Both translations offered in Helmfrid 2005, pp. 10–11. The first problem is in translating the word húnn, which may refer to a die (as suggested by the former translation), the "eight horns" referring to the eight corners of a six-sided die and "the flocks" that he kills referring to the stakes the players lose.Helmfrid 2005, p. 11. This is a close paraphrasing of Helmfrid's own words. Alternatively, húnn may refer to the king, his "eight horns" referring to the eight defenders, which is more consistent with the latter translation, "He has the name of a bear and escapes when he is attacked."Helmfrid 2005, p. 11. The idea that the húnn is the king is supported by Murray (p. 61). Ultimately, the literary references prove inconclusive on the use of dice in Hnefatafl.
