Snorra Edda

Abstract

Snorra Edda is sometimes also referred to as the Prose Edda or the Younger Edda in order to distinguish it from the Poetic Edda. It was composed by the chieftain, lawyer, and poet Snorri Sturluson (b. 1179–d. 1241). The work, a main source of information about Norse mythology, is a treatise on skaldic poetry. It consists of four parts. The Prologue provides an account of the origin of pagan religions and a euhemeristic explanation of the origin of the Norse gods in Asia. The second part, Gylfaginning (“The delusion of Gylvi”), is a dialogue between three of the newly migrated gods from Troy and the Swedish King Gylfi. The gods’ answers to Gylfi’s questions comprise a full account of Norse mythology, and this part was likely included because many skaldic kennings require a knowledge of pagan mythology. The first section of the third part, Skáldskaparmal (“The language of poetry”), is also a dialogue, here between Bragi, god of poetry, and Ægir, a personification of the sea. It is followed by a discussion of the language of poetry. The discussion includes some narratives in order to account for the origins of kennings, both mythological and heroic. It is at the beginning of this part that Snorri describes the purpose of the work: to instruct young poets in the traditional techniques of skaldic verse. The final part is Háttatal (“List of verse forms”), which consists of a series of three poems composed by Snorri himself along with a prose commentary that explains the meters and devices used. Snorri’s Edda is preserved in a large number of manuscripts. Seven manuscripts and manuscript fragments have independent textual value. Most editions are based on the Codex Regius from the latter half of the fourteenth century.