Poetry

The Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda

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  • Create Date：2021-07-06 09:54:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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Summary

"She sees， coming up a second time，
earth from the ocean， eternally green;
the waterfalls plunge， an eagle soars above them，
over the mountain hunting fish。"

After the terrible conflagration of Ragnarok， the earth rises serenely again from the ocean， and life is renewed。 The Poetic Edda begins with The Seeress's Prophecy which recounts the creation of the world， and looks forward to its destruction and rebirth。 In this great collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry， the exploits of gods and humans are related。 The one-eyed Odin， red-bearded Thor， Loki the trickster， the lovely goddesses， and the giants who are their enemies walk beside the heroic Helgi， Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer， Brynhild the shield-maiden， and the implacable Gudrun。 This translation also features the quest-poem The Lay of Svipdag and The Waking of Angantyr， in which a girl faces down her dead father to retrieve his sword。

Comic， tragic， instructive， grandiose， witty， and profound， the poems of the Edda have influenced artists from Wagner to Tolkien and speak to us as freely as when they were first written down seven hundred and fifty years ago。

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Reviews

Indigo Crow ，

Something like this is hard to review because it was written long ago by unknown authors。 I still say all heathens need to read this， and those that aren't heathens but like European folklore will likely enjoy it too。I do like Crawford's translations of these works。 I find I prefer his translations to others for Norse folklore texts。 It's very easy to read。 Other than that， because of the nature of a book like this， I don't have much else to say。 Something like this is hard to review because it was written long ago by unknown authors。 I still say all heathens need to read this， and those that aren't heathens but like European folklore will likely enjoy it too。I do like Crawford's translations of these works。 I find I prefer his translations to others for Norse folklore texts。 It's very easy to read。 Other than that， because of the nature of a book like this， I don't have much else to say。 。。。more

მინდია არაბული ，

Jackson Crawford ის თარგმანში მოვისმინე აუდიოწიგნად თავად კითხულობს და რაც მისი იუთუბის არხიდან （გირჩევთ） დავასკვენი， ენდობა ადამიანი კონტექსტისა და მნიშვნელობების გადმოცემის მხრივ。 აქამდე გეიმანიზირებული norse mythology წავიკითხე და იქაური წაშაქარლამებული ამბების მერე რაღაც კარგი დამიწება იყო。

Kirstin ，

I liked this。 I liked how each poem had an explanation beforehand so you could understand what was actually going on。 In complete transparency， I didn't read every single poem， so I'm letting the pages I didn't read reflect the books I dropped/read partially， but didn't finish throughout this past couple of months。 I liked this。 I liked how each poem had an explanation beforehand so you could understand what was actually going on。 In complete transparency， I didn't read every single poem， so I'm letting the pages I didn't read reflect the books I dropped/read partially， but didn't finish throughout this past couple of months。 。。。more

Renee Knowles ，

This is for the actual version shown here， which is translated by Carolyne Larrington。 I’ve read the Jackson Crawford version and I would highly recommend you read that before attempting Larrington’s。 If you don’t have any familiarity with the subject matter， it will be difficult to understand what’s going on。 This translation is much more poetic in nature， which makes for a more artistic read but even with some familiarity I found myself consulting Crawford’s translation in order to understand This is for the actual version shown here， which is translated by Carolyne Larrington。 I’ve read the Jackson Crawford version and I would highly recommend you read that before attempting Larrington’s。 If you don’t have any familiarity with the subject matter， it will be difficult to understand what’s going on。 This translation is much more poetic in nature， which makes for a more artistic read but even with some familiarity I found myself consulting Crawford’s translation in order to understand some of what she referenced。 Her introductions and summaries， however， are superb。 Concise but full of imagery， they made me really want to read some of her other books because she clearly has insight and is a talented writer。 I would give this five stars if the translation weren’t so dense and somewhat inaccessible to beginners。 。。。more

Amanda Carlucci ，

4。5 rounded to 5。 I'm a self proclaimed "Nordic nerd" （I made that up）， so it's hard for me not to like this stuff。 But this translation is one of the best I've read。 It's not like the simplified， modernized， and condensed version by Gaiman （though I loved that one too！）。 The poems here are English translation of the originals with explanations and references prior to each poem。 I appreciate that。 I'd like to see Jackson Crawford do one for the Prose Edda as well。Recommended！ 4。5 rounded to 5。 I'm a self proclaimed "Nordic nerd" （I made that up）， so it's hard for me not to like this stuff。 But this translation is one of the best I've read。 It's not like the simplified， modernized， and condensed version by Gaiman （though I loved that one too！）。 The poems here are English translation of the originals with explanations and references prior to each poem。 I appreciate that。 I'd like to see Jackson Crawford do one for the Prose Edda as well。Recommended！ 。。。more

Andy ，

This was definitely a fun and interesting read， especially if you like Mythology。 The first half of this book shows the poems about the Gods and Elves， while the second half tells poems about Vikings and Heroes。 I did enjoy reading the first half more due to already reading the second half before （unknowingly）。 The overall book is basically a Norse version of Ovid's Metamorphoses which is a Greek Mythology masterpiece of poetry。 The poems about the God's was quite powerful and contained some sel This was definitely a fun and interesting read， especially if you like Mythology。 The first half of this book shows the poems about the Gods and Elves， while the second half tells poems about Vikings and Heroes。 I did enjoy reading the first half more due to already reading the second half before （unknowingly）。 The overall book is basically a Norse version of Ovid's Metamorphoses which is a Greek Mythology masterpiece of poetry。 The poems about the God's was quite powerful and contained some self-help philosophy。Would highly recommend to anyone who wants to start reading into Norse Mythology， or for those already familiar。 。。。more

Mason Strong ，

Solid as ever from Crawford

Courtney Doss ，

Oh man。 This was just decidedly not for me。 It was dense and hard to get into， which is not a problem if there was some actual substance to it， but more often than not I found the poems themselves to be repetitive and not entirely worth the effort it took to get into them。 I read from two separate translations， and one of the translations I used was good with meter while the other was good with accessibility of translation。 Neither version seemed to blend the two elements together very well， mak Oh man。 This was just decidedly not for me。 It was dense and hard to get into， which is not a problem if there was some actual substance to it， but more often than not I found the poems themselves to be repetitive and not entirely worth the effort it took to get into them。 I read from two separate translations， and one of the translations I used was good with meter while the other was good with accessibility of translation。 Neither version seemed to blend the two elements together very well， making this whole thing one hell of a slog。 Maybe I'll try it again with fresh eyes at some point， but for now I am incredibly disinterested in ever reading any more of this kind of poetry。 。。。more

David Kelly ，

I slowly worked my way through the historic Norse poems here， finishing my little adventure into this ancient culture （after reading The Prose Edda earlier in the year）。 It was such an interesting insight into the culture of the time， the storytelling traditions it established， and the many， many modern works it has inspired/provided materials for/been copied by （especially Lord of the Rings and the Ring cycle）。I think I generally preferred the Prose Edda more， as it told longer and more detaile I slowly worked my way through the historic Norse poems here， finishing my little adventure into this ancient culture （after reading The Prose Edda earlier in the year）。 It was such an interesting insight into the culture of the time， the storytelling traditions it established， and the many， many modern works it has inspired/provided materials for/been copied by （especially Lord of the Rings and the Ring cycle）。I think I generally preferred the Prose Edda more， as it told longer and more detailed tales。 I felt like I got more information and perspective on the world， compared to these shorter tales。 The Prose Edda I read also showed more of the "kennings"， word-play titles that require unpacking metaphors and historical/literary references。 I really enjoyed hearing about the layers of references that built these， but the translation of the Poetic Edda I read （by Jackson Crawford） gave only the final product。 This made reading the poems easier and gave the meanings clearly， but did remove some of the linguistic and literary fun I had with the Prose Edda。But overall， I loved reading these！ Another review here mentioned how often people look up references to classic texts via other summaries or analysis， when the original text is more direct and interesting。 Especially when these translations are so clear， and the stories so interesting still。 It makes me want to return to these in the future when those situations arise， journeying back into the past to rediscover these epic tales。 。。。more

Ian ，

Public domain time！ The full audiobook is around 7 hours and every second is worth it！ When we read old myths and ancient religious texts， we will inevitably stumble upon something that seems a little strange to our modern aesthetics and sensibilities。 Some really odd stuff goes down in the Old Testament。 Even more unusual stuff happens in Greek mythology。 Then there is the glory of Norse mythology。 Prepare yourself for a founding myth where an ice giant and his cow are the first beings in the u Public domain time！ The full audiobook is around 7 hours and every second is worth it！ When we read old myths and ancient religious texts， we will inevitably stumble upon something that seems a little strange to our modern aesthetics and sensibilities。 Some really odd stuff goes down in the Old Testament。 Even more unusual stuff happens in Greek mythology。 Then there is the glory of Norse mythology。 Prepare yourself for a founding myth where an ice giant and his cow are the first beings in the universe and he is nourished on an endless stream of milk。 Then the Gods spring out of the hair in his armpits， murder his ass， and turn his body into a tree， which is the universe。 This is going to get weird。 As in flying ships made entirely out of human toenails weird。Did I mention Norse Mythology has objectively the best afterlife ever？ The Hebrews created 10 commandments， but that's kind of restrictive。 How about 1 commandment？ Be a badass and die in battle。 That's it。 If you do that one thing， you get to enter the highest level of heaven。 So what's that heaven like？ It's a giant pub where you drink beer blasted out of a giant goat's tit！ Then you eat bear steak prepared from the flesh of an infinitely regenerating bear。 Let me repeat that again。 Bear steak！ That is the manliest shit ever！ Oh and in the morning before breakfast there's a giant bar fight every day。 Otherwise it wouldn't be manly enough！ While the Prose Edda is attributed to a single Icelandic historian who gathered and edited the works， the Poetic Edda is a loose collection of poems that were first compiled sometime in the 13th century。 However， the poems themselves were written by at least a dozen authors between 850 and 1000 AD。 While most are Icelandic in origin， many of them contain elements imported from earlier Germanic mythology and even some Celtic mythology got in there。 While these poems don't all tie together perfectly and there wasn't collaboration between the authors， there are still some underlying themes that allow us to appreciate the culture and values of the Viking Age。 This makes the Poetic Edda essential reading for lovers of history as well as mythology。 。。。more

Nicolás Reyes Medina ，

EDDA MAYORLa Edda Mayor o Edda Poética es un conjunto de veintinueve cantos en nórdico antiguo contenidos en el manuscrito conocido como Codex Regius （GKS 2365 4º）。 Este manuscrito fue hallado y conservado por Brynjólfr Sveinsson， obispo de Skálaholt en Islandia， quien en 1663 se lo entregó， junto con otros textos， al rey Federico III de Dinamarca， quien tenía como propósito mandar escribir la historia antigua de su pueblo。Se cree que dicho manuscrito existe aproximadamente desde principios de l EDDA MAYORLa Edda Mayor o Edda Poética es un conjunto de veintinueve cantos en nórdico antiguo contenidos en el manuscrito conocido como Codex Regius （GKS 2365 4º）。 Este manuscrito fue hallado y conservado por Brynjólfr Sveinsson， obispo de Skálaholt en Islandia， quien en 1663 se lo entregó， junto con otros textos， al rey Federico III de Dinamarca， quien tenía como propósito mandar escribir la historia antigua de su pueblo。Se cree que dicho manuscrito existe aproximadamente desde principios de la segunda mitad del s。 XIII （1270？）， siendo una copia de un original de 1200， aunque con toda seguridad el contenido y la forma de los poemas recopilados allí tienen un origen anterior。En la presente versión de Luis Lerate， se añaden a los veintinueve cantos del Regius otros seis， como es común en las ediciones modernas de la Edda Mayor， que， por su estilo y contenido， bien merecen formar parte del cuerpo de poemas eddaicos， aunque provienen de fuentes dispersas。COMPOSICIÓNEl contenido de la Edda Mayor puede dividirse en dos conjuntos con temáticas diferentes: el primero， de carácter mitológico， comienza con La visión de la adivina （Völuspá）， un canto apropiado para iniciar la lectura del libro puesto que allí se narran las principales creencias religiosas de los pueblos nórdicos， desde el origen del mundo hasta el ocaso de los dioses。 Prosigue esta primera parte de la Edda con una variedad de cantos de carácter diverso， algunos con un tono eminentemente didáctico， otros más humorísticos， en donde se narran las aventuras de las principales divinidades nórdicas， en especial Odin， Loki y Tor。En la segunda parte del texto se hallan los poemas de temas épicos， principalmente en torno a los ciclos legendarios de los völsungos （la dinastía a la que pertenecía el héroe Sigurd hijo de Sigmund） y los niflungos （la dinastía a la que pertenecía Gudrun y sus hermanos， los hijos del rey Giuki）， cuyas grandes gestas y terribles tragedias se hallan narradas también en la Edda Menor de Snorri y en la fascinante Saga de los Völsungos （Völsungasaga）。COMENTARIOS SOBRE EL VERSO EDDAICO Y EL VERSO ESCÁLDICOVERSO EDDAICO: Es un estilo de antigua poesía que trasciende el ámbito escandinavo， siendo común a todos los pueblos germánicos por lo menos desde la época de las grandes migraciones en el s。 V d。 C。 El verso eddaico manifiesta un carácter tradicional y popular， y deriva sus temas del trasfondo precristiano de la mitología y la épica germánicas， como ya se explicó anteriormente。 Su forma de expresión es más directa y sencilla que la del arte escáldico。 La Edda Mayor es el principal exponente de este estilo de poesía。VERSO ESCÁLDICO: Estilo cortesano de poesía desarrollado principalmente， sino exclusivamente en la Islandia medieval， presenta un uso sofisticado del lenguaje， con elaborados recursos retóricos donde las aliteraciones cumplen un rol fundamental en el modo de expresión， tomando la sustancia de su contenido del mismo conjunto de mitos y leyendas nórdicas que subyace a la Edda Mayor， materia que da sentido al vocabulario peculiar propio de este estilo de poesía。 Es Snorri hijo de Sturla quien en la Edda Menor nos brinda una explicación de la materia y la forma de la poesía escáldica valiéndose de copiosos ejemplos de reconocidos escaldas。DATO TOLKIANOEl profesor J。R。R。 Tolkien， aclamado padre de la Tierra Media， creó en su juventud dos poemas escritos en inglés al estilo de la antigua estrofa nórdica de ocho versos （fornyrðislag）， los que se basan en los textos de la Edda Poética， a saber， La nueva balada de los völsungos （Völsungakviða en nýja） y La nueva balada de Gudrún （Guðrúnarkviða en nýja）。 Ambos poemas fueron editados y publicados en Minotauro Ediciones bajo el título “La Leyenda de Sigurd y Gudrún” por Christopher Tolkien， tercer hijo del profesor y quien fue en vida su albacea literario， a quien debemos gratitud por poner a nuestra disposición este y tantos otros textos que forman parte de la obra póstuma de su querido padre。SOBRE LA SEGUNDA FOTOEn la segunda foto se puede contemplar el manuscrito desde el cual hemos recibido la Edda Mayor， según lo mencionado anteriormente en la reseña。 Este consta actualmente de cuarenta y cinco páginas， y se estima que faltan otras ocho， las cuales se ubicarían aproximadamente en la mitad del libro y corresponderían a cierta parte de la historia del héroe Sigurd。 El manuscrito se encuentra hoy en día en el instituto Árni Magnússon para los Estudios Islandeses en Reikiavik， Islandia。#EddaMayor #EddaPoética #MitologíaNórdica #LiteraturaMedieval #Literatura #Libros 。。。more

Loki ，

What can I say， it's an ancient text。 Some of it I found a little hard to follow， but most of it I enjoyed greatly。 What can I say， it's an ancient text。 Some of it I found a little hard to follow， but most of it I enjoyed greatly。 。。。more

Keith Davis ，

The Poetic Edda is a collection of old Icelandic poetry that is one of our only sources for everything we know about Norse Mythology。 It is extremely interesting to look at the source of most of the stories of Odin and Loki， but this by no means an easy read。 The Edda is a jumble of poems with no narrative flow。 Some poems retell stories of the Norse Gods， but others are just collections of Old Dad advice like "don't drink too much at parties" and "don't stay too long at other people's houses。" The Poetic Edda is a collection of old Icelandic poetry that is one of our only sources for everything we know about Norse Mythology。 It is extremely interesting to look at the source of most of the stories of Odin and Loki， but this by no means an easy read。 The Edda is a jumble of poems with no narrative flow。 Some poems retell stories of the Norse Gods， but others are just collections of Old Dad advice like "don't drink too much at parties" and "don't stay too long at other people's houses。" Some poems seem like catalogs of trivia presented as contests of knowledge。 My favorite example of this is from the poem Alvissmal in which Thor asks a dwarf named All-Wise what they call the sky in every world。 "All-Wise said: Humans call it Heaven， the Aesir call it Wind-land， the Vanir call it Wind-maker， giants call it Up-world， elves say 'the High Roof'， dwarves say 'the Drip-House。'" I laughed out loud at the last bit， now I'm looking for an excuse to call the sky the drip-house。Jackson Crawford's translation of the Poetic Edda is the most readable available。 Crawford repeatedly chooses clarity of meaning over maintaining an archaic tone。 For example， in the poem Vafthruthnismal a conversation takes place between two characters whom Crawford names Good Advisor and Riddle-Weaver。 In Lee M。 Hollander's translation the names are rendered literally as Gagnrath and Vafthruthnir， with footnotes explaining the meaning of the names。 While keeping the Old Norse names intact may convey some of the feel of the untranslated poem， its original Icelandic audience would have recognized the names for what they meant。Another example of choosing clarity over literal faithfulness can be found in Voluspa。 The poem recounts a prophesy of Ragnarok given to Odin by a witch。 The witch repeatedly uses a particular phrase to taunt Odin's desire for knowledge of the doom of the Gods。 Crawford translates the phrase as "Have you learned enough yet， Allfather？" Hollander translated the phrase as "know ye further， or how？" which is probably an accurate translation， but the meaning is not clear while Crawford makes the undertone of mockery very clear。 If you are very interested in Norse Mythology I would recommend reading the Poetic Edda， and the Crawford translation in particular， although you might want to pick out the most relevant bits。 If you are a fan of Tolkien I would also recommend it as a work that greatly influenced his fiction。 If you are looking for a light read in the style of a Thor movie or a contemporary Fantasy novel， I would stick with Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology。 。。。more

Kerianne Noel ，

As a kid I always preferred the D‘Aulaires Norse myths to the Greek ones， and this year I finally resolved to read more old Scandinavian literature。 The Poetic Edda did not disappoint。 I listened to the Crawford translation （free on Audible at the moment） and he does a great job of introducing the individual poems。 A surprising discovery for me， were the Norse proverbs， which might just be my new favorite thing。 I’ll end with a few that stood out to me:„An unwise man thinks he’ll live forever if As a kid I always preferred the D‘Aulaires Norse myths to the Greek ones， and this year I finally resolved to read more old Scandinavian literature。 The Poetic Edda did not disappoint。 I listened to the Crawford translation （free on Audible at the moment） and he does a great job of introducing the individual poems。 A surprising discovery for me， were the Norse proverbs， which might just be my new favorite thing。 I’ll end with a few that stood out to me:„An unwise man thinks he’ll live forever if only he can avoid a fight， but old age will give him no peace， even if weapons do。” „Even cows know when they should go home and leave behind the fields， but an unwise man does not know the measure of his own appetite。”“You should be only a little wise， never too wise。 A wise man’s heart is seldom glad if he’s truly wise。” 。。。more

Jesse Rose ，

I was aware that Tolkien took inspiration from Norse mythology and stories， but I didn't realize how deep that inspiration went。 Basically， name any middle-earth dwarf you can think of and his hairy ass is in these stories。I listened to this on audio and unfortunately， I cannot recommend it in that format。 The translator Jackson Crawford has an exemplary handle on the pronunciations of course， but he reads these supposedly exciting tales and legends like he's being forced to by a teacher。 There' I was aware that Tolkien took inspiration from Norse mythology and stories， but I didn't realize how deep that inspiration went。 Basically， name any middle-earth dwarf you can think of and his hairy ass is in these stories。I listened to this on audio and unfortunately， I cannot recommend it in that format。 The translator Jackson Crawford has an exemplary handle on the pronunciations of course， but he reads these supposedly exciting tales and legends like he's being forced to by a teacher。 There's hardly any emotion or excitement or character of any kind given to any of these poems， up until the end when he does a charmingly accented western-style rehash of the Havamal rules。 Other than that， I say pick this up if you've never read these because they're worth reading and this translation is very accessible。 。。。more

Larry ，

An absolutely wonderful translation of the Poetic Edda， which is one of the only two major primary sources from which we get all of our understanding of Norse mythology。 This translation is well written with crisp easy to understand notes that put things in context。 The original source material is very engaging， showing the culture， myths， and legends from so long ago-much of which is either still relevant （I。e。Havamal） or entertaining （ie Lokasenna-which by the way， would still run fine and sho An absolutely wonderful translation of the Poetic Edda， which is one of the only two major primary sources from which we get all of our understanding of Norse mythology。 This translation is well written with crisp easy to understand notes that put things in context。 The original source material is very engaging， showing the culture， myths， and legends from so long ago-much of which is either still relevant （I。e。Havamal） or entertaining （ie Lokasenna-which by the way， would still run fine and shocking in a modern R rated movie in my opinion）。 For those that like poetry， history， mythology， and the Nordic/proto-Germanic culture herein depicted， I recommend this book。 。。。more

April ，

See translations: Larrington & Crawford

Cornerofmadness ，

I've heard/read bits of this over the years， especially when I was working on the Norse myths but I had never sat down to read them。 （this was not the edition I read， just the first that came up。 I downloaded mine from Gutenberg）。 My translation was rough to read because it still has very archaic English （lots of thees and thous） and to be honest this was bordering on dull。It was interesting in context however。 These were the stories of a people and I'm sure in an oral tradition they would have I've heard/read bits of this over the years， especially when I was working on the Norse myths but I had never sat down to read them。 （this was not the edition I read， just the first that came up。 I downloaded mine from Gutenberg）。 My translation was rough to read because it still has very archaic English （lots of thees and thous） and to be honest this was bordering on dull。It was interesting in context however。 These were the stories of a people and I'm sure in an oral tradition they would have been more rousing。 （in fact I know they are。 I have listened to them in the original language which no， I don't speak but was fascinated by the cadence） Much of it was one territorial battle after the other。 The one that did stick with me was of a king and his children。 He was defeated in battle and his son was left for dead in the wilderness。 His sister nursed him back to health and then slept with him because she wanted a son that was related to her king father on BOTH sides so he'd be a super warrior for their line and it worked。 Thanks for that Poetic Edda。 Shudders。If you're interested in Norse heritage， it would be a good read for you （especially for authors trying to capture the flavor of these people） but they can be slow if you're not into battle scenes。 。。。more

Jenn ，

So much content about so many characters。 Definitely one to reread。 I had no idea that these legends would contain stories about Attila and the Hun。

Emanuela Biolan ，

A good book。 I really enjoyed it with some cups of coffee ☕️ on a cloudy/rainy day。 😁

Morgoth ，

Marvelous Amazing translation of a so hard text， I am a non native english speaker， but this translation it is so good and easy to understand， it has a delicious tone， a memorable reading that I am going to remember always。

Mark Matzeder ，

"The Poetic Edda" is a fresh translation of the medieval Icelandic songs that drew from Viking myths and legends 。 Norse mythology always got short shrift in school， the bias being toward Greek & Roman Classics。 Dr。 Crawford goes a long way toward rectifying that deficit with these homey stories revealing the antics of the Aesir。 Portions are racy。 Portions are earthy。 The gods are in their cups and talking shit about each other most of the time。 These were a deeply fatalistic people for whom a "The Poetic Edda" is a fresh translation of the medieval Icelandic songs that drew from Viking myths and legends 。 Norse mythology always got short shrift in school， the bias being toward Greek & Roman Classics。 Dr。 Crawford goes a long way toward rectifying that deficit with these homey stories revealing the antics of the Aesir。 Portions are racy。 Portions are earthy。 The gods are in their cups and talking shit about each other most of the time。 These were a deeply fatalistic people for whom a good death was their best aspiration。 And a Bard， singing an Edda， might hope for a laugh from the crowd。 。。。more

Joe Bruno ，

These stories of Norse Icelandic origin are interesting and bawdy。 Collected here they are a touch unfocused and probably better for study than for pleasure reading。 One thing that is quite interesting is that all the Dwarves names from Lord of the Rings are collected here in several stories。 Tolkien lifted them directly from here and dumped them in the books。I found this at the Goodwill for a buck。 There is probably a better collection better annotated somewhere， this is really for academics an These stories of Norse Icelandic origin are interesting and bawdy。 Collected here they are a touch unfocused and probably better for study than for pleasure reading。 One thing that is quite interesting is that all the Dwarves names from Lord of the Rings are collected here in several stories。 Tolkien lifted them directly from here and dumped them in the books。I found this at the Goodwill for a buck。 There is probably a better collection better annotated somewhere， this is really for academics and it is over 20 years old。 。。。more

George ，

This translation of the Poetic Edda by Jackson Crawford is wonderful。 I added this to my list after finishing Neil Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology” last year。 I was inspired to read the original works and I think that this is a great little introduction。I know nearly nothing about Old Norse so I can’t comment on accuracy but I have been following Professor Crawford on YouTube for some time and he seems to really know his stuff。 The important thing is that the prose is readable and understandable in mo This translation of the Poetic Edda by Jackson Crawford is wonderful。 I added this to my list after finishing Neil Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology” last year。 I was inspired to read the original works and I think that this is a great little introduction。I know nearly nothing about Old Norse so I can’t comment on accuracy but I have been following Professor Crawford on YouTube for some time and he seems to really know his stuff。 The important thing is that the prose is readable and understandable in modern English。 I appreciated his introduction to each story in order to set the scene and give a very brief summary of the story and the scholarship surrounding it。 From the stories themselves it was nice hearing the original stories in their original tellings。 I think I was most surprised by the stories near the ends involving the Huns。 It’s an interesting link between two cultures that I didn’t expect。 If you like mythology or Vikings this is worth checking out。 If nothing else I would check out Crawford’s YouTube channel， he’s one of the few academics who seems to be down to earth。I also liked his “Western” translation dedicated to his grandfather at the end。 It was a nice touch。 。。。more

Bones Green ，

Суворо， епічно й правдиво-магічно。

Michelle ，

A great read containing Norse mythology prose and poetry。 Jackson Crawford did a wonderful job with the translation， while still maintaining the Old Norse feel to the poetry meter and stories。 His introduction is very helpful to any readers that may want a refresher on the common Gods and heroes discussed in these writings。 Very enjoyable！

WilleZurMacht ，

This verse translation retains some vocabulary from the original， and prefers words of Germanic origin in all cases。 It also attempts to retain the flow， and in many cases the syntax， rhythm and word order of the original。 It is by far more poetic than other translations of this work that I know， and is itself a work of artistic merit on those grounds; however some may find it stilted or at times unclear， as there are unfamiliar terms， archaic forms of usage， etc。 I appreciate the footnotes on e This verse translation retains some vocabulary from the original， and prefers words of Germanic origin in all cases。 It also attempts to retain the flow， and in many cases the syntax， rhythm and word order of the original。 It is by far more poetic than other translations of this work that I know， and is itself a work of artistic merit on those grounds; however some may find it stilted or at times unclear， as there are unfamiliar terms， archaic forms of usage， etc。 I appreciate the footnotes on each page which are generally essential for understanding the very direct translation。 My own preference over time has shifted toward more modern English translations， but the aesthetic project of Hollander is to be commended， and I have read every poem in this volume many times。The Edda itself needs no reviewing; mysterious， brutal， spiritual， comedic， tragic， and heart-rending tales from ill-remembered Germanic and Norse prehistory。 If I were just reviewing the Edda， it would receive 5 stars。 。。。more

Φίλ ，

The two 'Havamal' poems aside， this was awesomely awesome！ It was back in 1986， 13 years old， when I first read about Fafnir， the cursed gold， Valkyrie， the ring of fire and Sigurth and these stories have always stayed with me。 Finally - finally！ - I read the original （surviving） stories and it did not disappoint。 Crawford adds a few poems and takes some liberties but it is all explained and delightfully done。It starts with 'Volupsa' with its awe-inspiring "Have you learned enough yet， Allfather The two 'Havamal' poems aside， this was awesomely awesome！ It was back in 1986， 13 years old， when I first read about Fafnir， the cursed gold， Valkyrie， the ring of fire and Sigurth and these stories have always stayed with me。 Finally - finally！ - I read the original （surviving） stories and it did not disappoint。 Crawford adds a few poems and takes some liberties but it is all explained and delightfully done。It starts with 'Volupsa' with its awe-inspiring "Have you learned enough yet， Allfather？" and it does not let up till the very end。 Some highlights include; Odin and Thor sniping at each other; Odin and Riddle-Weaver in a contest of knowledge; dwarfs tricked into staying too long; Thor dressed as a bride; Loki at his best when annoying the Hel out of everyone present; greedy Fafnir; and unhappy Guthrun。 Great characters， great moments， great stories， what's not to love？This is so magnificent， Attila the Hun - Attila。 The。 Hun。 - is barely a blip in it。 。。。more

Daniel Tate ，

If you have any interest in Norse Mythology this would be required reading。 I became a little fatigued trying to finish this book。

Jonathan Chester ，

The translator was fine and very helpful for those not well versed in Norse culture。 The poems themselves are boring。 For me I didn't start enjoying the work till 3/4s of the way through。 The translator was fine and very helpful for those not well versed in Norse culture。 The poems themselves are boring。 For me I didn't start enjoying the work till 3/4s of the way through。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Poetic Edda

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Poetic Edda&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Poetic Edda&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0