The term "Edda" (/ˈɛdə/; Old Norse Edda, plural Eddur) applies to the Old Norse Prose Edda and has been adapted to fit the collection of poems known as the Poetic Edda which lacks an original title. Both works were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age. The books are the main sources of medieval skaldic tradition in Iceland and Norse mythology.
Etymology
There are several theories concerning the origins of the word edda. One theory holds that it is identical to a word that means "great-grandmother" appearing in the Eddic poem RÃgsþula. Another theory holds that edda derives from Old Norse óðr, "poetry." A third, proposed in 1895 by EirÃkr Magnússon is that it derives from the Icelandic place name Oddi, site of the church and school where students, including Snorri Sturluson, were educated. The derivation of the word "Edda" as the name of Snorri Sturluson’s treatise on poetry from the Latin "edo", "I do" by analogy with "kredda", "superstition" from Latin "credo", "creed" is now widely accepted, though this acceptance may stem from its agreement with modern usage rather than historical accuracy.
The Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda, also known as Sæmundar Edda or the Elder Edda, is a collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic medieval manuscript Codex Regius ("Royal Book"). Along with the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most expansive source on Norse mythology. The first part of the Codex Regius preserves poems that narrate the creation and foretold destruction and rebirth of the Old Norse mythological world as well as individual myths about gods concerning Norse deities. The poems in the second part narrate legends about Norse heroes and heroines, such as Sigurd, Brynhildr and Gunnar.
The Codex Regius was written down in the 13th century but nothing was known of its whereabouts until 1643 when it came into the possession of Brynjólfur Sveinsson, then the Church of Iceland's Bishop of Skálholt. At that time, versions of the Prose Edda were well known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that there once was another Eddaâ€"an Elder Eddaâ€"which contained the pagan poems Snorri quotes in his book. When the Codex Regius was discovered, it seemed that this speculation had proven correct. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to Sæmundr the Learned, a larger-than-life 12th century Icelandic priest. While this attribution is rejected by modern scholars, the name Sæmundar Edda is still sometimes encountered.
Bishop Brynjólfur sent the Codex Regius as a present to King Christian IV of Denmark, hence the name Codex Regius. For centuries it was stored in the Royal Library in Copenhagen but in 1971 it was returned to Iceland.
The Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, sometimes referred to as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. Its purpose was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse, and to grasp the mythological allusions behind the many kennings that were used in skaldic poetry.
It was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around 1220. It survives in seven main manuscripts, written down from about 1300 to about 1600.
The Prose Edda consists of a Prologue and three separate books: Gylfaginning, concerning the creation and foretold destruction and rebirth of the Norse mythical world; Skáldskaparmál, a dialogue between Ægir, a Norse god connected with the sea, and Bragi, the skaldic god of poetry; and Háttatal, a demonstration of verse forms used in Norse mythology.
See also
- Gesta Danorum
- Heimskringla
- Saga
- Laufás-Edda