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.'
Author(s): Lee M. Hollander (transl.)
Edition: 1
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Year: 1928
Language: English
Pages: XXXII+396
City: Austin
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
