The Poetic Edda

Description

Translated With an Introduction and Explanatory Notes by Lee M. Hollander, PhD., Associate Professor of Germanic Languages in the University of Texas. The 'Poetic Edda' comprises a treasure trove of mythic and spiritual verse holding an important place in Nordic culture, literature, and heritage. Its tales of strife and death form a repository, in poetic form, of Norse mythology and heroic lore, embodying both the ethical views and the cultural life of the North during the late heathen and early Christian times. Collected by an unidentified Icelander, probably during the twelfth or thirteenth century, 'The Poetic Edda' was rediscovered in Iceland in the seventeenth century by Danish scholars. Even then its value as poetry, as a source of historical information, and as a collection of entertaining stories was recognized. This meticulous translation succeeds in reproducing the verse patterns, the rhythm, the mood, and the dignity of the original in a revision that Scandinavian Studies says 'may well grace anyone's bookshelf.' General Introduction vii The Prophecy of the Seeress 1 The Sayings of Hór 17 The Lay of Vafthrúthnir 48 The Lay of Grímnir 61 The Lay of Skírnir 75 The Lay of Hárbarth 85 The Lay of Hymir 97 The Flyting of Loki 105 The Lay of Thrym 121 The Lay of Alvís 127 Baldr’s Dreams 136 The Lay of Ríg 140 The Lay of Hyndla 150 The Short 'Seeress’ Prophecy' 159 The Lay of Svipdag 163 The Spell of Gróa 165 The Lay of Fiolsvith 168 The Lay of Grotti 179 The Lay of Volund 186 The Helgi Lays 196 The Lay of Helgi Hiorvarthsson 197 The First Lay of Helgi the Hunding-Slayer 211 The Second Lay of Helgi the Hunding-Slayer 223 Sinfiotli’s Death 238 The Prophecy of Grípir 240 The Lay of Regin 252 The Lay of Fáfnir 261 The Lay of Sigrdrífa 273 The Great Lacuna 283 Fragment of a Sigurth Lay 285 The First Lay of Guthrún 290 The Short Lay of Sigurth 295 Brynhild’s Ride to Hel 307 The Fall of the Niflungs 311 The Second (or Old) Lay of Guthrún 312 The Third Lay of Guthrún 321 The Plaint of Oddrún 324 The Lay of Atli 331 The Greenlandish Lay of Atli 343 Guthrún’s Lament 369 The Lay of Hamthir 375 The Catalogue of Dwarfs 383 Abbreviations 385 Index 387