SnSt Ht 61III/3 — Mistar ‘of Mist’
Hræljóma fellr hrími; tími
hár vex of gram sára ára;
frost nemr of hlyn Hristar Mistar
herkaldan þrǫm skjaldar aldar.
Gullsendir brýtr grundar Hrundar
gunnveggs stǫfum leggi hreggi;
sóknvallar spyrk svelli elli
— svá skotnar þat — gotna þrotna.
Hrími hræljóma fellr; hár tími ára sára vex of gram; frost Mistar nemr herkaldan þrǫm skjaldar aldar of hlyn Hristar. Gullsendir brýtr leggi stǫfum gunnveggs hreggi grundar Hrundar; spyrk elli gotna þrotna svelli sóknvallar; svá skotnar þat.
The hostility of the corpse-gleam [SWORD > BATTLE] approaches; the opportune time of oars of wounds [SWORDS > BATTLE] increases around the ruler; the frost of Mist <valkyrie> [SWORD] hits the mightily cold rim of the shield of the men around the maple of Hrist <valkyrie> [WARRIOR]. The gold-dispenser [GENEROUS MAN] breaks the legs of staves of the battle-wall [SHIELD > WARRIORS] during the storm of the ground of Hrund <valkyrie> [SHIELD > BATTLE]; I hear that people’s old age is cut short by the ice-sheet of the attack-meadow [SHIELD > SWORD]; thus it turns out.
notes
[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 3/3I 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.
kennings
- frost Mistar — the frost of Mist <valkyrie> [SWORD]