The Prose Edda
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- Create Date：2021-09-04 09:53:14
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Snorri Sturluson
- ISBN：1781395179
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Summary
The Prose Edda， ranking with the world's great mythologies， contains the most extensive account of the Norse universe， from its creation to its destruction。 This unabridged edition includes introduction， notes and an extensive list of alternative names
Reviews
Bhawani Dwivedy
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Started off with Neil Gaiman's Norse mythology。 Prose Edda is the real shit。 Started off with Neil Gaiman's Norse mythology。 Prose Edda is the real shit。 。。。more
Lauren
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I personally enjoyed edda but to those not familiar with the text or historical aspects of it all the anthony faulkes translation I personally read may be a bit too archaic in its language。 An enjoyable and fascinating read nonetheless。
forsanolim
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The Prose Edda is a collection of Norse legends and writings compiled by Snorri Sturluson （and at least some definitely written by him） in the 1200s。 I don't know a ton about Norse mythology so did find this interesting - it was nice to finally "really" figure out how all of the pieces that I've heard about at various times， from Valhalla to Thor's hammer to Ragnarok to Yggdrasil， all fit together。 As one would expect from what is essentially a compilation of myths （also featuring all of the dif The Prose Edda is a collection of Norse legends and writings compiled by Snorri Sturluson （and at least some definitely written by him） in the 1200s。 I don't know a ton about Norse mythology so did find this interesting - it was nice to finally "really" figure out how all of the pieces that I've heard about at various times， from Valhalla to Thor's hammer to Ragnarok to Yggdrasil， all fit together。 As one would expect from what is essentially a compilation of myths （also featuring all of the different names of the different gods）， it's not the most compelling read， and I found it hard to keep track of which giant did what in which story， but I definitely came out of this knowing more about Norse myths than I did when I started it。It would have been useful for me to know in advance that the translation/edition that you pick to read may have huge repercussions for your enjoyment of the book， since there are some sections of the Prose Edda （the really dry ones on the composition of poetry） that aren't included in all editions。 I first tried to read a non-abridged edition and found it to be a total slog， but eventually I switched to the Penguin edition （the Jesse Byock translation） and found it much more enjoyable。 。。。more
Dylan Rock
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A fine translation of the medieval Norse myths that have had a profound influence on western culture and global culture。
Morgane
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i love norse mythology :）
Úrvinda Lesbía
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þessi líka góð skrifaði svakalega próf ritgerð um hana， snorri ef þú ert að lesa þetta， góð bók elska þig
Elsa
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Wonderful read。 I have so many things to say， but I'll try to limit myself。 To truly understand the work I found the introduction to my edition， by Giorgio Dolfini， essential。 The Prose Edda is a treatise written to educate the skalds， learned poets who used to live in Scandinavia and then in Iceland。 Initially it deals with the ancient mythical tradition， talking about the Norse gods and their exploits。 In the second half （the Skaldskaparmal） it provides the linguistic and rhetorical means nece Wonderful read。 I have so many things to say， but I'll try to limit myself。 To truly understand the work I found the introduction to my edition， by Giorgio Dolfini， essential。 The Prose Edda is a treatise written to educate the skalds， learned poets who used to live in Scandinavia and then in Iceland。 Initially it deals with the ancient mythical tradition， talking about the Norse gods and their exploits。 In the second half （the Skaldskaparmal） it provides the linguistic and rhetorical means necessary to devote oneself worthily to the art of poetry。 Lots of kennings can be found。 These are periphrasis for the gods， the weapons， the mead， or sayings whose origins are explained。 So Snorri， the author， tries to combine his educational intent with the narration of ancient myths， skilfully succeeding in his purpose。 My edition is divided into two parts。 The first tells of king Gylfi， whose aim is to establish who's the wisest of the gods。 The first two lines already contain fundamental aspects of the work。 The first is more closely related to the Norse tradition。 Gylfi introduces himself as Gangleri （one of Odin's many names） and he's an expert in magic， so he's clearly Odin in disguise。 He talks to the lords of the Asi， Har （Odin）， Iafnhar （Odin） and Thridhi （Odin）。 He talks to himself about himself， remembering the ancient deeds of the gods。 He remembers everything about the past， the present and the future; he also remembers how the gods died， when the world came to its last winters before being reborn; he knows what the gods left behind: their wisdom， the runes， which are the true name of things。 If he can talk about this and be dead at the same time， then we immediately understand how fundamental the concept of cyclicality is for Norse mythology。 One day life will be replaced by death and then it will once again be life。 The end of things is inevitable， a universal fate not to be feared: it is only part of an infinite cycle。 Yggdrasill represents all of this。 It is the cosmic tree， source of life but always wound， bitten， with a tendency to rot。 One day it will be destroyed but will be reborn， together with the whole world。 I find the conception of wisdom given by the book very charming。 The wise is he who knows the name of things （or names， since an object， a person， an animal or a god can have multiple denominations）。 In the past， as we can guess from some clues in the stories， it was thought that an object was first named and then created， that the object was created by means of some word that made it exist and put it in its right place in the world。 In modern times there are lots of fantasy and sci-fi novels in which words have a power similar to that and I think the idea derives from these ancient traditions。 In this book you'll find long lists of names， full of consonants and accents。 I smiled when I came across some of the names Tolkien chose for his dwarfs （and Gandalf）， but I knew what I was actually reading。 Those lists are a form of ancient wisdom， and if a man knew every name and the reasons why it had been given， well， he was as wise as the gods。Another aspect highlighted in the character of Gylfi is more personal and concerns the author Snorri。 In his time， Christianity， a monotheistic religion， was spreading in Iceland， a land with a politheistic tradition inhabited by Norwegian settlers。 The religious situation on the island， however， wasn't particularly tense。 In fact the Icelanders， and Snorri himself， were busy deciding which god to believe in。 Gylfi's interrogation is a way to decide which god is the best， the wisest， and that's why in the Gylfaginning we find a catalog of the gods。The attempt to unify different religious views is evident。 Sometimes there may be inconsistencies， but Snorri solves the problem by adopting a chronological point of view which， for lack of a better term （I know， I'm not exactly a native speaker）， I'd define cyclical。 For example， the creation of the world is mentioned。 Then we are told about the frost giants， who lived before it happened。 Creating the world from nothing is a Christian idea， and Snorri makes use of the concept in his treatesy。 The Norse tradition is more about cycles， and it provides him a perfect tool to solve the issue。 It's about points of view: adopting a linear one brings you infinite time， but the events can take place only once， since time can only go on， never back。 On the other hand， a cyclic one still provides you with an infinite amount of time， but things keep on happening again and again， and nobody says they can't change。 Well， they can't， but if you force the concept a little bit， you can have， for example， two cycles in which two different events happen but at the same moment， and since the moment is the same for all the cycles you'll end up with two events， very different from each other， happening at the same time。 Heavens， even I can't understand what I said。 That Snorri， he surely had a few tricks up his sleeve。 All the stories are great， some more than others。 The one I liked the most is about Loki and Thor's journey to the land of the giants， at the court of the king Utgardha-Loki。 Here a challenge takes place， and the gods perform incredible feats。 Loved the book， it really makes the imagination run wild。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Gerjan B
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Very weird and surprisingly funny， I like it。 Loki is an interesting character！
Andy
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Definitely prefer the Poetic Edda but this was still enjoyable and short to read。
Dan
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Interesting reading but becomes less so after a while。 We are lucky that Sturluson collected and wrote these stories， which came from several earlier sources。 The events took place a few hundred years before he collected and integrated them。 He makes some well-educated guesses in order to fill in ambiguous or conflicting material， guesses which proved to be usually accurate based on subsequent research findings about his subject。
Jonfaith
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More personal edification than anything。 I knew next to nothing about Norse mythos and I sought a remedy。 Such a cosmology reflects a brutal existence of deprivation and blind chance。 The prominence of trickery is our human approach to the elemental。 Plenty of infidelity and incest but lacking the serial rape of the Greek origin stories。 As someone （not by choice） who’s sat through a few bad Thor films （as opposed to， you know， the artful ones） I gasped to discover that the depicted familial rel More personal edification than anything。 I knew next to nothing about Norse mythos and I sought a remedy。 Such a cosmology reflects a brutal existence of deprivation and blind chance。 The prominence of trickery is our human approach to the elemental。 Plenty of infidelity and incest but lacking the serial rape of the Greek origin stories。 As someone （not by choice） who’s sat through a few bad Thor films （as opposed to， you know， the artful ones） I gasped to discover that the depicted familial relationships were all wrong at the multiplex。 。。。more
Nadina
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This was a difficult read。 It is less that it is long， more the content。 I felt like all the stories were just summaries of stories that would have been much longer。 I also wasn't a fan of the section that talked about naming things （I really didn't see the purpose of it）。 I understand why the stories are as short as they are due to level of the text， but I feel like I was missing out on a lot。 There were definitely some interesting revalations and I did learn some thing。 Okay over all。 This was a difficult read。 It is less that it is long， more the content。 I felt like all the stories were just summaries of stories that would have been much longer。 I also wasn't a fan of the section that talked about naming things （I really didn't see the purpose of it）。 I understand why the stories are as short as they are due to level of the text， but I feel like I was missing out on a lot。 There were definitely some interesting revalations and I did learn some thing。 Okay over all。 。。。more
John
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The lore is there on the pages， but it fails to leap out at me or do much to stir the imagination。 Nonetheless a great source of information， and a clear influence on writers like Eddison， Tolkien and the like。
Ace M。Z。
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The Prose Edda was an enjoyable read。 I enjoyed how it explained the cast of characters along with the setting before diving into the series of short stories。 I also found it interesting that， unlike most of the famous mythological sagas， the Prose Edda was not a linear storyline。 It instead was built around many short stories centered around a few gods that usually weren't connected to each other。 This gave a sense of incompleteness， but as a historical work， it's understandable。 Also， the Anci The Prose Edda was an enjoyable read。 I enjoyed how it explained the cast of characters along with the setting before diving into the series of short stories。 I also found it interesting that， unlike most of the famous mythological sagas， the Prose Edda was not a linear storyline。 It instead was built around many short stories centered around a few gods that usually weren't connected to each other。 This gave a sense of incompleteness， but as a historical work， it's understandable。 Also， the Ancient Norse names were very fun to attempt to pronounce。 。。。more
Snokey7
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Good myth bookNot hard to read like the illiad。 Very quirky stories about the gods。 Read this if you want to know more about the norse gods。 Exactly what expected to read。
Victor Rouă
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Sincerely， I expected more of Snorri [Sturluson]， but he often contradicted himself in his account of the origins， deeds， and adventures of the Norse gods and goddesses against the giants。 It's a sort of a pseudo-historical work full of errors which contradict the standard oral narrative and what I knew of the Norse mythology。 It has， however， many bits of truth mixed here and there as well。 It is， I should better put it， a mixture of falsified history with bits of truth， which， for the inexperi Sincerely， I expected more of Snorri [Sturluson]， but he often contradicted himself in his account of the origins， deeds， and adventures of the Norse gods and goddesses against the giants。 It's a sort of a pseudo-historical work full of errors which contradict the standard oral narrative and what I knew of the Norse mythology。 It has， however， many bits of truth mixed here and there as well。 It is， I should better put it， a mixture of falsified history with bits of truth， which， for the inexperienced user into Norse history and mythology would just increase his/her confusion on the actual origins of the Norse gods and goddesses but does shed some light on some Norse myths （such as those pertaining to cosmogony; e。g。 the creation and then destruction of the world through 'Ragnarök'）。 It is nevertheless worth reading if you're really into Norse history and mythology， albeit the many errors。 。。。more
Grace
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The Prose Edda is a brilliant in-depth read detailing key aspects of Norse Mythology and many Viking tales。
Jessica
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The historical significance of this work can't be understated and it's worth checking out for that reason alone。 However， it's definitely bottom of the barrel as far as palatable retellings/translations go。 Not sure whether the crude， unromantic summarization of The Saga of the Volsungs or the shoehorned Classics retcon pained me more （ex- Snorri insists that Thor and Hector are the same。。 because chariots and stuff）。 From a hobbyist perspective， The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland， or eve The historical significance of this work can't be understated and it's worth checking out for that reason alone。 However， it's definitely bottom of the barrel as far as palatable retellings/translations go。 Not sure whether the crude， unromantic summarization of The Saga of the Volsungs or the shoehorned Classics retcon pained me more （ex- Snorri insists that Thor and Hector are the same。。 because chariots and stuff）。 From a hobbyist perspective， The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland， or even Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman， offer a more enjoyable and dynamic entry point on the subject。 。。。more
Aestraliong
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NopeI honestly wish I could have given this book no stars。 A horrible translation of the Edda and the ideas in this book I felt were really discrediting the gods like they were a joke。 I feel this was for his Christian audience。 So， this translation is from the early 1900's on this book which was written in the 13 cebtury。 NopeI honestly wish I could have given this book no stars。 A horrible translation of the Edda and the ideas in this book I felt were really discrediting the gods like they were a joke。 I feel this was for his Christian audience。 So， this translation is from the early 1900's on this book which was written in the 13 cebtury。 。。。more
Allison
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Hard to rate such an old book but I finally glad to read it。 A few years ago I got an opportunity to trial to Iceland and stayed at a farm house just up the hill from Snorri's museum。 I got to learn about him before I even picked up the work he is responsible for。 What a treasure of Viking belief。 Hard to rate such an old book but I finally glad to read it。 A few years ago I got an opportunity to trial to Iceland and stayed at a farm house just up the hill from Snorri's museum。 I got to learn about him before I even picked up the work he is responsible for。 What a treasure of Viking belief。 。。。more
Stavros Kosmas
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So very interesting for someone looking into foreign mythologies。 I found the amount of humor in some of the stories very cool， but also I was shocked at how much Lord of the Rings is inspired by this
Connie
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And I thought Greek mythology was insane。Some bits were a little tedious and hard to read， but there was some other really interesting stuff in here and I’m glad I read。
Marissa Jensen
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I almost feel as if it’s unfair to rate this compilation of poetry as it strictly adhered to 700 AD rules but I think it’s important to read for those who are intrigued with Norse mythology （non nazis） as it really is the basis to modern theories。 Much has been lost in time but this translation remains to give people insight on true Norse mythology， no matter the amount of poetic license taken。
Anthony Piska
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Skald！
A Z
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I mean， it's Norse mythology。 It would be kind of stupid to give it a review like "yeah the characters felt underdeveloped and the plot was kinda dumb" or something I mean， it's Norse mythology。 It would be kind of stupid to give it a review like "yeah the characters felt underdeveloped and the plot was kinda dumb" or something 。。。more
Ned Lud
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So。 Odin is of Turkish origin。 Interesting， that。
Erika Hoff Holmgren
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Should've just headed straight for the Older Edda to begin with！ Interesting how much I've clearly already heard these stories before， none of them felt too unfamiliar。 Completely skipped the literal textbooks on "How To Be A Cool Bard:TM:"， shamelessly！ Should've just headed straight for the Older Edda to begin with！ Interesting how much I've clearly already heard these stories before， none of them felt too unfamiliar。 Completely skipped the literal textbooks on "How To Be A Cool Bard:TM:"， shamelessly！ 。。。more
Troy-David Phillips
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This book makes me （A） want to learn everything I can about the Old Norse people。（B） want to learn the archaic Nordic Language。Very entertaining reading found here。 The old Viking legends and lore are fascinating！
John
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Except for the entertaining stories of Thor and the magical/illusory tests， I found this insufferably boring， like most mythology。
Hugo
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Well the prologue was a bit confusing， obviously it was written after the Christianization of Scandinavia， and apparently the Aesir are descendants of the Trojans。 However the rest of the story is pretty interesting， and is delivered in a clear and concise way。 would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Norse Mythology。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Prose Edda
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Prose Edda&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Prose Edda&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0