These amazing texts from a thcentury icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological, and literary importance, containing the lions share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre. The prose edda tales from norse mythology snorri sturluson. Snorri sturluson1 1179 23 september 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was the bestknown writer of the saga, author of the prose edda, which was written as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings, and heimskringla, a history of the kings of norway, the most important prose collection in old norse literature. The present selection includes the whole of gylfaginning the deluding of gylfi. Also known as the younger edda or snorris edda, the prose edda is a threepart work composed or at least compiled by thirteenthcentury icelandic scholar snorri sturluson. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 180 pages and is available in paperback format. Its tales are peopled by giants, dwarves, and elves, superhuman heroes and indomitable warrior queens. The prologue is the first section of four books of the edda, consisting of an. The first edition of this book was published by the clarendon press, oxford in hardback 1982. The work is often assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the icelandic scholar, lawspeaker, and historian snorri sturluson c. New york, americanscandinavian foundation, 1916 ocolc582643165. But the kings heart swells, bulging with courage in battle, where heroes sink down over a period of twenty years snorri sturluson, scholar, courtier and poet, compiled the prose edda as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. Jan 10, 2019 gylfaginning, or the tricking of gylfi, is the first part of snorri sturlusons prose edda.
Pdf the prose edda book by snorri sturluson free download. A big plus is the fact that the book contains both the original names of characters in old icelandic, and a translation in english. Norse mythology penguin classics sturluson, snorri, byock, jesse l. The prose edda written by icelands legendary and powerful leader snorri sturluson is widely considered to be one of the top norse mythology books of all time. The prose edda, ranking with the worlds great mythologies, contains the most extensive account of the norse universe, from.
A large part of what we know about nordic mythology stems from his edda. Prose edda project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Over a period of twenty years snorri sturluson, scholar, courtier and poet, compiled the prose edda as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. The assumption that snorri sturluson is responsible for writing the edda is largely. 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 skaldskaparmal, a book of poetic language, and the hattatal, a list of verse forms. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free.
Snorri, a descendant of the great poet and hero of the egils saga, egill skallagrimsson, was brought up at oddi from the age of three in the home of jon loptsson, the most influential. The prose edda of snorri sturlson translated by arthur gilchrist brodeur 1916 the prose edda is a text on old norse poetics, written about 1200 by the norwegian poet and politican snorri sturlson, who also wrote the heimskringla. Better known as the prose edda this text is an attempt to permanently record the intricacies of the orally transmitted skaldic literary tradition. The saga of the last viking warrior by andrea hopkins, snorri sturluson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Written by icelands most versatile literary genius, snorri sturlusons prose edda is a work without predecessor or parallel. Snorri sturlusons edda was later called the prose edda, due to his addition of prose explanations of the difficult alliterative verse and symbolism.
Snorri sturlson 11791241 was an icelandic descendant of the poet and hero from egils saga, egill skallgrimsson. He was elected twice as lawspeaker to the icelandic parliament, the althing. Its gods live with the tragic knowledge of their own impending destruction in the cataclysmic battle of ragnarok. The great poetic tradition of prechristian scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the prose edda, a collection of narrative literature, and its companion, the poetic edda.
Firstly, one must appreciate that this is snorri s edda the prose edda, and will appeal mostly to those who have an avid interest or appreciation of nordic mythology. Buy the prose edda by snorri sturluson from amazons fiction books store. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers of norse mythology. Snorri sturluson compiled it in the way that it is arranged here. The prose edda annotated audiobook by snorri sturluson. His work surveys the content, style and metres of traditional viking poetry and includes a poem of snorri s own, praising the king of norway. Along with the elder or poetic edda written by an unknown poet a halfcentury earlier, the prose edda is a major source of much older norse mythology as it had evolved. It was designed as a handbook for poets to compose in the style of the skalds of the viking ages. The prose edda contains a wide variety of lore which a skald poet of the time would need to know.
The prose edda snorri sturluson audiobook and ebook. Written in iceland a century after the close of the viking age, the prose edda is the source of most of what we know of norse mythology. Tales from norse mythology dover value editions 9780486451510. Free download or read online the prose edda pdf epub book. The work is often assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the icelandic scholar and. Norse sagas written in iceland around 1210 by snorri sturluson i couldnt possibly have made up that name. The assumption that snorri sturluson is responsible for writing the prose edda is largely based on the following paragraph from a portion of codex upsaliensis, an early 14thcentury manuscript containing the prose edda. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorri s edda or simply edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. The prose edda brodeur translation snorri sturleson 1178 1241, translated by arthur gilchrist brodeur 1888 1971 also known as the younger edda or snorris edda, the prose edda is a threepart work composed or at least compiled by thirteenthcentury icelandic scholar snorri sturluson. It was reissued in paperback by the viking society in.
The prose or younger edda commonly ascribed to snorri sturluson snorri sturluson the prose or younger edda. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorri s edda icelandic. Snorri s prose edda was written in response to these new trends as a handbook for those aspiring icelandic skalds poets who wanted to master the traditional forms of verse and the older stories essential to the imagery of old norse poetry xi. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing. Also called snorres edda, or the prose edda by snorri sturluson free ebook project gutenberg. It snorri sturluson ranks as the least known literary genius in western civilization. Its not as i good as i thought considering how much i love norse myths and legends overall i dont think its best its just a. Snorri was born in western iceland in 1179, the son of a great chieftain, and early in his career won a reputation at home and in norway for his poetic talents. Also known as the younger edda or snorri s edda, the prose edda is a threepart work composed or at least compiled by thirteenthcentury icelandic scholar snorri sturluson. Icelands most versatile literary genius, snorri sturluson 11791241 wrote about poetry, mythology, and the lives of norse kings.
The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorris edda or, historically, simply as edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. It appears that snorri designed the manuscript as a textbook on skaldic poetry. 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 skaldskaparmal, a book of poetic. Snorri sturluson feared that the traditional techniques of norse poetics, the pagan kennings, and the allusions to mythology would be forgotten with the introduction of new verse forms from europe. The gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the norse gods, and many other aspects of norse mythology. Snorris prose edda was written in response to these new trends as a handbook for those aspiring icelandic skalds poets who wanted to master the traditional forms of verse and the older stories essential to the imagery of old norse poetry xi. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
The prose edda brodeur translation snorri sturleson 1178 1241, translated by arthur gilchrist brodeur 1888 1971 also known as the younger edda or snorri s edda, the prose edda is a threepart work composed or at least compiled by thirteenthcentury icelandic scholar snorri sturluson. The prose edda by snorri sturluson paperback university. The prose edda by snorri sturluson paperback university of. The elder edda is poetry, while the younger edda is mainly prose. Snorri sturluson, born 1179, hvammur, icelanddied sept. It is essentially a collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and eddic poetry containing tales from norse mythology. Commonly ascribed to snorri sturluson by george webbe dasent, first published in 1842, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. The prose edda of snorri sturluson by snorri sturluson book resume. It is an exposition of the rule of poetic diction with many examples, applications, and retellings of myths and legends. Book from the collections of university of michigan language english volume 5. Written by icelands most versatile literary genius, snorri sturluson s prose edda is a work without predecessor or parallel. Together with the poetic edda, it comprises the major store of scandinavian mythology. The edda is divided into four parts the prologue, the gylfaginning, the. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorris edda icelandic.
Snorri sturluson books list of books by author snorri sturluson. The prose edda by snorri sturluson, paperback barnes. Apr 19, 2009 buy the prose edda by sturlson, snorri isbn. The second part of the prose edda is called the skaldskaparmal and the third hattatal. He was the author of the prose edda or younger edda, which consists of gylfaginning the fooling of gylfi, a narrative of norse. A similar combination of scholarly and imaginative talent is seen in the prose edda c. Over a period of twenty years, snorri sturluson, scholar, courtier and poet, compiled the prose edda as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. A book of viking lore penguin classics andy orchard. Prose eddagylfaginning wikisource, the free online library. Jul 31, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The prose eddas stories were based on the oral tradition from the viking golden age 800. The poems originated in iceland, norway, and greenland between the ninth and th centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the codex. The prose edda, or younger edda, is a classic collection of norse myths of the icelandic people.
The main characters of this classics, history story are. Jul 28, 2005 snorri sturlson 11791241 was an icelandic descendant of the poet and hero from egils saga, egill skallgrimsson. The geographical world of the edda the prose edda prologue gylfaginning the deluding of gylfi skaldskaparmal poetic. The prose edda is a text on old norse poetics, written about 1200 by the icelandic poet and politican snorri sturlson, who also wrote the heimskringla.
Snorra edda or, historically, simply as edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland during the early th century. He was elected twice as lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorri s edda or, historically, simply as edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. Also called snorres edda, or the prose edda by snorri sturluson. His work surveys the content, style and metres of traditional viking poetry and includes a lengthy poem of snorries own, honoring the king of norway. Gylfaginning, or the tricking of gylfi, is the first part of snorri sturlusons prose edda. Snorri sturluson was a master storyteller, and this translation in modern idiom of the inimitable tales of the gods and heroes of the scandinavian peoples brings them to life again. Tales from norse mythology by snorri sturluson and jesse l. His books include heimskringla saga, egils saga, and saint olafs saga. Snorri sturluson, icelandic poet, historian, and chieftain, author of the prose edda and the heimskringla. The work is often assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the icelandic scholar and historian snorri sturluson around the year 1220. Snorri sturluson was a master storyteller, and this translation in modern idiom of the. Snorri sturluson also spelled snorre sturlason was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. Prose edda is a work without predecessor or parallel.
Snorri sturluson books list of books by author snorri. Byock overview written in iceland a century after the close of the viking age, the prose edda is the source of most of what we know of norse mythology. Intended to be a handbook in skaldic poetry, it preserves invaluable mythological tales that were on the verge of being forgotten even in sturluson s time. 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 skaldskaparmal, a book of. Widely considered as compiled by icelandic scholar and historian snorri sturluson around the year 1220, the prose edda contains a euhemerized prologue followed by three tales. The younger edda, also known as snorres edda, or the prose edda, is a collection of old norse poems preserved by snorri sturluson 11791241. The younger edda may in one sense be regarded as the sequel or commentary of the elder edda. Tales from norse mythology by snorri sturluson at indigo. About the author icelands most versatile literary genius, snorri sturluson 11791241 wrote about poetry, mythology, and the lives of norse kings. The first edition of the novel was published in 1220, and was written by snorri sturluson.
Snorri sturluson edda prologue and gylfaginning edited by anthony faulkes second edition. This book has a lot of valuable information about norse mythology and some theories that seem very reasonable and make you think, however, i dont know if its. Pdf the prose edda download ebook full pdf download. For many, the prose edda is required reading for various courses and curriculums. The information in the introduction should be in the body of the book. Jan 31, 2006 snorri sturlson 11791241 was an icelandic descendant of the poet and hero from egils saga, egill skallgrimsson. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The prose edda, volume 5 volume 5 of scandinavian classics the prose edda, arthur gilchrist brodeur. Jan 01, 2002 the prose edda tales from norse mythology snorri sturluson. This is an excellent translation of snorri sturlusons prose edda. The prose edda of snorri sturlson, free ebook global grey. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders.
The prose edda forms the basis of what the world knows as norse mythology, and contains legends of the creation of the cosmos and the bestknown stories of odin, thor, and the other gods. The younger edda contains the systematized theogony and cosmogony of our forefathers, while the elder edda presents the odinic faith in a 28 series of lays or rhapsodies. Snorra edda or simply edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. His work surveys the content, style and metres of traditional viking poetry and includes a poem of snorris own, praising the king of. The poems of the poetic edda have waited a long time for a modern english translation that would do them justice. See all books authored by snorri sturluson, including edda, and egils saga. Norse mythology penguin classics by byock, jesse isbn. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorris edda or simply edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. The prose edda snorri sturluson audiobook and ebook all. The work is often assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the icelandic scholar and historian snorri sturluson. The prose edda s stories were based on the oral tradition from the viking golden age 800. Intended to be a handbook in skaldic poetry, it preserves invaluable mythological tales that were on the verge of being forgotten even in sturlusons time.