[6] stríðandi kvíða ‘the fighter against anxiety’: Kock (NN §1743) rejects the contradictory interpretations given in Skj B (where stríðandi is taken as adj. and ll. 5-7 are construed: kummerfuld nærede han den höjeste angstens pine ‘grief-stricken he harboured fear of the greatest agony’) and LP: stríðandi (where bǫls stríðandi is listed as an agent-kenning, though neither Skj A nor B has the emended reading bǫls). Taking stríðandi kvíða as subject and hæst böl as object makes good sense without emendation. Kvíða (see Fritzner: kvíði wk. m. ‘dread, apprehension, anxiety’) may be taken as either gen. or dat. sg. object of stríðandi (see Note to 30/5-6), but since a periphrasis that characterises Peter as ‘an adversary of fear’ is slightly problematic in a st. focusing on his timorous behaviour, the phrase may instead mean ‘fighter against anxiety’ and refer here to Peter’s internal struggle against his own fear.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
- Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.