This unique collection of essays applies significant critical approaches to the mythological poetry of the 'Poetic Edda', a principal source for Old Norse cosmography and the legends of Odin, Loki, and Thor. The volume also provides very useful introductions that sketch the critical history of the Eddas. By applying new theoretical approaches (feminist, structuralist, post-structuralist) to each of the major poems, this book yields a variety of powerful and convincing readings. Contributors to the collection are both young scholars and senior figures in the discipline, and are of varying nationalities (American, British, Australian, Scandinavian, and Icelandic), thus ensuring a range of interpretations from different corners of the scholarly community. The new translations included here make available for the first time to English-speaking students the intriguing methodologies that are currently developing in Scandinavia. An essential collection of scholarship for any Old Norse course, the 'Poetic Edda' will also be of interest to scholars of Indo-European myth, as well as those who study the theory of myth.
Author(s): Paul Acker, Carolyne Larrington (eds.)
Series: Routledge Medieval Casebooks
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 300
Illustrations
Preface
Introduction: "Edda 2000"
1. The Founding of Miðgarðr ('Vo̜luspá 1-8') / Lars Lönnroth; tr. Paul Acker
2. Gunnlo̜ð and the Precious Mead ('Hávamál') / Svava Jakobsdóttir; tr. Katrina Attwood
3. 'Vafþrúðnismál' and 'Grímnismál': Cosmic History, Cosmic Geography / Carolyne Larrington
4. Cursing with the Thistle: 'Skírnismál' 31, 6-8 and OE Metrical Charm 9, 16-17 / Joseph Harris
5. 'Hárbarðsljóð' as Generic Farce / Carol Clover
6. Þorr's Fishing Expedition ('Hymiskviða') / Preben Meulengracht Sørensen; tr. Kirsten Williams
7. Form and Content in 'Lokasenna': A Re-evaluation / Philip N. Anderson
8. Loki's Mythological Function in the Tripartite System ('Lokasenna') / Jerold C. Frakes
9. Reading 'Þrymskviða' / Margaret Clunies Ross
10. The Context of 'Vo̜lundarkviða' / John McKinnell
11. Dwarf-lore in 'Alvíssmál' / Paul Acker
12. 'Rígsþula': Some Medieval Christian Analogues / Thomas D. Hill
13. Dialogue with a 'vo̜lva': 'Vo̜luspá', 'Baldrs draumar' and 'Hyndluljóð' / Judy Quinn
General Bibliography
Contributors
Index