Snorri's Edda (also known as the Prose Edda)

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Poets: Adam Zagajewski. Billy Collins. Billy Collins exercise.
Snorri's Edda. Carl Dennis. Corey Marks. Franz Wright. Gary Young. The Gawain Poet.
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Laureate Poets: Britain; USA.
Len Anderson. Li-Young Lee. Linda Pastan. Nordic Skalds. Pulitzer Poetry Prize (U.S.A).
Richard Hugo. Robert Bly. Sara Teasdale. Snorri's Edda. Stephen Dunn. Ted Kooser. W.S. Merwin.

Snorri's Edda (the Prose Edda).
by J. Zimmerman

Who was Snorri Sturluson?
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology selected and translated by Jean I. Young.
Gylfaginning: The Deluding of Gylfi.
Who's Who and Relationships.
Selections from 'Poetic Diction'.
Links. Books.

Who was Snorri Sturluson?

Snorri Sturluson (b. ~1178 in West Iceland) was a Nordic Skaldic poet and a remote descendent of the great Egil Skallagrímsson, whom Hollander considers "the most original and also the most versatile of skalds. His was the genius which may have composed some of the great poems the Poetic Edda."

Snorri wrote:

History of the Norwegian Kings, "undoubtedly the best history written in the Middle Ages, a large book without a dull page, packed full of thrilling incidents and shrewd characterizations." [Hollander].
Snorri's Edda (the Prose Edda). Its three parts are:
1. Various myths, "stories that were a very treasure-house for later poets, as they had formed the basis of innumerable kennings of the earlier skalds." [Hollander].
2. How Odin gained the Mead of Poetry and then describes (prosily) poetic speech. as they had formed the basis of innumerable kennings of the earlier skalds." [Hollander].
3. Various meters of Skaldic and Eddic verse; written ostensibly in praise of King Híkon Híkonarson and the regent of Norway, Earl Skuli.

While Snorri Sturluson appears to have been a nasty man, "His fame rests on his literary genius, all in all the greatest of ancient Scandinavia." [Hollander].

The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology selected and translated by Jean I. Young.

The Uppsala Codex (parchment of about 1320) names Snorri's book as Edda. Its three parts are:

About the Æsir and Ymir: the Prologue and Gylfaginning: The Deluding of Gylfi.
Selections from 'Poetic Diction'.
Account of meters.

The prologue is a jumble of Christian myths and tales of the origins of the Æsir in ancient Troy, leading to their migration to northwest Europe where these tales are set.

Gylfaginning: The Deluding of Gylfi.

First is the tale of King Gylfi of Sweden, and how he lost land that became Zealand to a beggar-woman, a disguised woman of the Æsir. Wanting to obtain some of the powers of the Æsir, Gylfi set out for Asgard, and asked the three enthroned men he met to tell him about their gods. At the end of the story, Gylfi is suddenly on an empty plain, so he is doubly deluded: once by the beggar-woman who obtained his lands by a trick; and once by the enthroned men who may or may not have existed.

However, these are the stories that the enthroned men told:

Who is their foremost god: All-father, who has many names. This is Oðin.
What was the origin of things: the Sibyl's Vision is quoted to tell the creation story.
How the frost ogres came from the frost giant Ymir.
How Oðin (the ruler of heaven and earth) came from Bor and Brestla, and Bor came from Buri, and Buri was licked from an ice block by the cow Amðhumla (made of the thawed frost and from whom flowed four rivers of milk).
How Oðin and his brothers (Vili and Vé) became powerful: they slew Ymir and made the earth from his body.
How Oðin, Vili, and Vé created man from Ask (the ash tree) and woman from Embla (the elm).
How Asgard began.
How the sun and the moon are guided and are pursued by two wolves: Skoll pursues the sun and will catch her in the end; Hati Hróðvitn runs before the sun and will devour catch and devour the moon in the end.
How Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge, links heaven and earth.
How Glaðsheim (radiant home) was built for the gods and the beautiful sanctury Vingólf was built for the goddesses, and then the hearth of a forge was laid and tools were made of gold in the Golden Age.
How the dwarves were named, including Ganndálf [Sorcerer Elf], Thorin [Bold One}, and Dvalin [One who lies in a trance].
How the chief sanctury of the gods is by the ash tree Yggdrasil, whose branches hold up heaven and whose roots feed and drink in the three worlds.
How All-father came to the spring of Mímir (which waters a root of Yggdrasil) and asked for drink to give him wisdom; and how he had to give one of his eyes in exchange for that wisdom.
How the three maidens of fate, Urð [past], Verðandi [present], and Skuld [future], are three of the many Norns that shape men's lives; and how they water and feed one of Yggdrasil's roots.
The twelve divine gods.
The twelve divine goddesses.
The many names of Allföð, the All-Father.
How the foremost of the other gods is Oðin's son, Ása-Thór [Thór the charioteer], who drives a chariot pulled by goats; he has the hammer Mjöllnir [Crusher], a belt of strength, and iron gauntlets.
How beautiful is Baldr, a son of Oðin.
How Njörd controls wind, sea, and fire; he is from the older race of gods, the Vanir and accepted as a counter-hostage with the Æsir, in exchange for their sending Hoenir to the Vanir. His wife is Skaðir.
The children of Njörd are the beautiful Frey [Lord], who decides when the sun shall shine and the rain shall fall and is invoked for peace and plenty, and Freyja [Lady], the most renowned of the goddesses, who owns a chariot pulled by cats because cats are silent.
How Tÿr is the boldest and most courageous of the gods.
How Bragi is famous for eloquence and poetry; husband of Iðun is the boldest and most courageous of the gods.
The god Hoð.
The god Viðar.
The god Váli.
The god Loki.
Why the gods did not kill Loki's son, the wolf Fenrir: they would not pollute their sanctuary with blood.
The goddess Frigg.
The goddess Gefjon.
The goddess Fulla.
The goddess Freyja.
Several other goddesses.
The Valkyries.
The desire of Frey for the beautiful Gerð, a daughter of giants.
It is claimed here that who have died in battle since the beginning of time are with Oðin. But other stories of the gods say that half are with the goddess Freyja, who has the first choice.
What Oðin eats: wine is his food and drink.
What Valhalla looks like and how the warriors there battle all day and carouse at night.
Loki's deal in trading the goddess Freyja for the building of a great wall of defense; and how Loki wriggled the gods out of the deal in the end by changing into a mare and gaining enough time for Thór to return and kill the wall builder.
Thór and the giant Skrýmir, whose glove is as big as a hall.
Thór went fishing with the giant Hymir.
How Baldr the good was killed by Loki through a dart of mistletoe that he persuaded the blind Hoð to throw,
How Loki prevented Baldr's escape from Hel.
The funeral ship of Baldr.
How the gods finally lose patience with Loki; they bind him to three stones. Skaði places above him a poisonous snake whose venom drops on his face. Sigyn; holds a basin above Loki's face to protect him, but when she has to go away to empty the basin, the poison hits his face and he makes the earth shake.

The time of great wars, as in The Sibyl's Vision is foretold:

Brothers will fight and kill each other, ... an axe-age, a sword age, shields will be cloven, a wind-age, a wolf-age, before the world's ruin.

Then there will be the battle to the death of the Gods, for they do not live for ever. The wolf Fenrir will swallow and kill Oðin. Fenrir will then be killed by Víðar. Thór will slay Jörmungand (the Miðgarð serpent), but will almost immediately die from its poison. Loki; will escape for this battle, in which he will kill and be killed by Heimdall. Surt will fling fire over the whole world and burn it up.
Then there will eventually be a rejuvenation with the surviving gods Viðar and Váli. The gods Baldr and Hoð will return from Hel. Two new humans will be created. And thus we begin again.

Who's Who and Relationships.

Atli Buðlason: brother of Brunhild; brother-in-law to Sigmund and Guðrún. husband of Guðrún after the death of Sigmund.
Amðhumla, the cow who licked Buri from an ice block at the beginning.
Angrboða (bringer of anguish): giantess in Jotunheim; wife of Loki; mother of the wolf Fenrir, Jörmungand (the Miðgarð Serpent), and Hel.
Baldr (lord): the most beautiful god. Husband of the great goddesses Nanna.
Bifrost: the quivering roadway; the rainbow bridge between earth and heaven.
Bor: son of Buri; husband of Brestla; father of Oðin, Vili, and Vé.
Bragi: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir; husband of Iðun.
Brestla: wife of Bor; mother of Oðin, Vili, and Vé.
Brunhild: sister of Atli Buðlason; wife of Gunnar; sister-in-law to Sigmund and Guðrún.
Buri: father of Bor; licked from an ice block by the cow Amðhumla
Fenrir or Fenris (from the swamp): the wolf; child of Loki and Angrboða.
Forseti: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir.
Frey (the foremost): one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir.
Freyja (lady, mistress): one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir. She is as distinguished as the goddess Frigg. She is the wife of Oð and the mother of Hnoss. She owns the necklace of the Brísings.
Frigg (lady, mistress): wife of Oðin; one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir.
Frodi:
Fulla: one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir. She is a virgin, like the goddess Gefjon. She carries the little box of the goddess Frigg.
Ganndálf (Sorcerer elf). This is one of a list of 36 names that the sibyl gives for the dwarves made in the earth to resemble men, and living in the earth.
Gefjon: one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir. She is a virgin, like the goddess Fulla. Women who die unmarried serve her.
Gerð: one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir.
Guðrún: sister of Gunnar; wife to Sigmund;n sister-in-law to Brunhild.
Gullveig (power of gold): goddess or witch from Vanaheim; came to Asgard asking for gold; this visit led to the war between the Aesir and the Vanir.
Gunnar: brother of Guðrún; husband of Brunhild; brother-in-law to Sigmund and Guðrún; also to Atli Buðlason.
Heimdall: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. He sits at the end of heaven to guard the Bifört bridge against the cliff giants.
Hel (concealer): child of Loki.
Hnoss: daughter of the goddesses Freyja and of Oð.
Hoð (war): blind; immensely strong.
Hœnir: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir.
Iðun ('ee-doon; rejuvenation): one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir; wife of Bragi. She harvests the Apples of Youth and gives them to the gods. Without the apples of Iðun, the gods age and die.
Jörmungand, the Miðgarð serpent; child of Loki.
Jotun (devourer): A giant or frost giant.
Loki (fire): one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. The 'father-of-lies' and 'disgrace-of-gods-and-men'. Son of the giant Fárbauti; his mother is Laufey or Nál. Handsome but of changeable mood and evil disposition. Cunning and cheats. Blood brother of Oðin. Bigamist husband of Sigyn (in Asgard) and the giantess Angrboða (in Jotunheim), with whom he fathered the wolf Fenrir, Jörmungand (the Miðgarð Serpent), and Hel.
Nanna: one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir. Wife of Baldr the Beautiful and Good.
Njörd: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. Originally one of the Vanir fertility gods; oversaw the wind and wild fires. Father of Frey and Freyja.
Norns (pronouncers): the three fates (Skuld, Urd, and Verdande) or spirits of destiny. Spin a thread of life for each person. Live at the foot of Yggdrasil, the world tree, which they tend and water daily.
Oð: the husband of Freyja and the mother of Hnoss.
Oðin (spirit or ecstacy): son of Bor and Brestla; eldest brother of Vili and Vé. "The earth was his daughter and his wife; by her he had his first son, Ása-Thór. The ravens Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory) sit on his shoulders; they fly out at dawn and bring him information about the whole world by breakfast-time.
Rind.
Sif (kinship): wife of Thor.
Sigmund: 'the most famous of all warrior kings' (p.112); husband to Guðrún; brother-in-law to Brunhild and Gunnar.
Sigurd: son of Sigmund and Guðrún; nephew of Brunhild.
Sigyn or Siguun (giver of victory): one of the greatest goddesses of the Æsir; wife of Loki.
Skaði: the daughter of the giant Thjazi; marries the god Njörd.
Skuld (future, duty): one of the (Norns.
Thór (thunder): one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir.
Týr or Tÿr (shining): one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. Son of Oðin. He sacrificed his hand by placing it in the mouth of the wolf Fenrir, who bit it off when the gods would not release Fenrir from the fetter Gleipnir.
Thorin: Bold one. Like Ganndálf, one of the 36 named by the sibyl as dwarves made in the earth to resemble men, and living in the earth.
Ull (The shaggy one): one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. Son of Sif; step-son of Thór. The god of skiers; once an ancient, pwerful god.
Urd (fate): one of the (Norns.
Váli: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. Son of Oðin and Rind. Bold in battle. A good shot.
Valkyries: they serve in Valhalla, carrying round the drink and looking after the needs of the feasters. Oðin sends the Valkyries into battle, where they choose who will die and which side will be victorious.
Verdande (what is to come): one of the (Norns.
Vé: son of Bor and Brestla; youngest brother of Oðin and Vili.
Vili: son of Bor and Brestla; middle brother of Oðin and Vé.
Víðar: one of the twelve high gods of the Æsir. The silent god. Almost as strong as Thór.
Ygg ('eeg'; terrible one): Odin as the god of storm and war.
Yggdrasil (Odin's steed): The world tree, a huge ash tree sacred to Odin.

Selections from 'Poetic Diction'.

This section gives the travel tales of a man called Ægir, who traveled to Æsgard, and met in the evening with Oðin and the twelve high gods of the Æsir:
Bragi, Frey, Forseti, Heimdall, Hœnir, Loki, Njörd, Thór, Týr, Ull, Váli, Víðar;
and with these greatest goddesses of the Æsir:
Frigg, Freyja, Fulla, Gefjon, Gerð, Iðun, Nanna, Sigyn.

Ægir sat next to Bragi, who told him these stories:

Oðin, Loki, and Heimdall, were travelling in the mountains and they stole an ox which they tried to cook. An eagle (the giant Thjazi in the shape of an eagle) tricked Loki into his power, and refused to release him unless Loki promised to deliver the goddess Iðun together with her store of apples of youth. Loki delivered the goddess Iðun, but then all the gods and goddesses of the Æsir were furious with Loki because they grew old. They made him get Iðun back and in the process Loki killed her captor, the giant Thjazi.
Skaði, the daughter of the giant Thjazi, dresses for war and arrives at Æsgard to obtain revenge for her father. The Æsir offer compensation: a husband from among them whom she is to choose from seeeing only his feet. She wants Baldr, but she wins Njörd. A second condition was that the Æsir make her laugh, and Loki does so.
Whence comes 'the accomplishment known as poetry'.
How the Æsir captured the mead of poetry.
Oðin, the giant Hrugnir, and Thór.
Why Loki brought Thór unarmed to the trolls and why the rowan is Thór's salvation.
Why gold is called Sif's hair.
Why gold is called otter's ransom and how Loki declared that a ring and its gold hoard will destroy whoever owns them.
The arguments and deaths among the ring holders and their kin, including Sigmund, Sigurd, Brunhild, and Guðrún.
Why gold is called Frodi's flour.

Links

Forms of skaldic verse.
The Nordic Skalds and their Poetry.
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology selected and translated by Jean I. Young.
Laureate: the Poets Laureate of Britain
Laureate: the Poets Laureate of the U.S.A.
Best Poems by the Best Poets - Some Lists of Winners.

Books

Other Books of Poetry Form.

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