The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology
Written in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, ‘The Prose Edda’ is an Old Norse language Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier Skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Norse mythology. Its tales are peopled by giants, dwarves, elves, superhuman heroes, and indomitable warrior queens. Its gods live with the tragic knowledge of their own impending destruction in the cataclysmic battle of Ragnarok. Its time scale spans the eons from the world’s creation to its violent end. This robust new translation captures the magisterial sweep and startling psychological complexity of the Old Icelandic original. Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected law speaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in the Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history.
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About the Author
Snorri Sturluson (also spelled Snorre Sturlason) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda, which consists of Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a narrative of Norse mythology, the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language, and the Háttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga.