Note to SnSt Ht 61^III

[3] frost Mistar ‘the frost of Mist <valkyrie> [SWORD]’: Taken as a kenning for ‘sword’ here (see Note to st. 60/7 above). Again Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) treats this as a kenning for ‘battle’, as does Finnur Jónsson in LP: frost (so also Meissner 182). In Skj B, Finnur gives the translation kampfrosten ‘the battle-frost’ and it is not clear whether he takes this in a literal or figurative meaning. Faulkes (SnE 2007, 111: frost) opts for ‘sword’, but leaves open the possibility that this could be a battle-kenning. In the Old Norse poetic corpus, frost occurs once as a base-word in an apparent kenning for ‘battle’ (Sigv Nesv 3/3^I frost odda ‘the frost of points [BATTLE]’), and according to LP: frost (with reference to Sveinn Norðrdr 1/3) the word can also denote fjældstorme ‘storms in the mountain’. Hence, by extension, it would fit Meissner’s category Unwetter ‘storm, rough weather’ as base-words in battle-kennings (Meissner 178-82). That meaning of frost is not attested in prose, however (see Fritzner: frost), and in the stanza (Sveinn Norðrdr 1/3) adduced in LP as evidence for frost ‘storms in the mountains’, the poet simply describes waves that were ‘nourished by frost’ (of alnar við frost) with no clear indication as to whether we are dealing with a static or dynamic phenomenon.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Nesjavísur 3’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 561.
10. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Sveinn, Norðrsetudrápa 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 399.