[8] gyggvir ‘quail’: This uncommon verb (cf. LP: gyggva) is often used in an impersonal construction with the agent of the action in the dat. to mean ‘be frightened, startled’; cf. Anon Mhkv 22/6III and Note there, where the proverbial hykk, at gyggvi sjaldan vǫrum ‘I think the wary man is seldom startled’ probably expresses the underlying idea here too. The agent has been omitted here, but it is reasonable to assume that the person who is at risk of quailing is one and the same as the speaker of the stanza, who is concerned about the outcome should his nerve fail him.