CAN SOMEONE HELP ME WITH THIS OLD ENGLISH MEANING?

I would say grinning red would symbolize bleeding, afterall the line before mentions "stinging in blood." "He tasted his grin and it tasted good." I would imagine he was tasting the blood on his "grin" and he felt happy over that, happy as in like if he just won a fight with the person he just left to die in a fire, and took their head...