| Translator | Jesse L. Byock |
| First Written | 1241 |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Origin | Iceland |
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
| My Copy | cheap penguin paperback |
| First Read | March 30, 2017 |
The Prose Edda
Notes
These are the canonical set of Norse myths, the oldest writing and most definitive set. They were written by Snorri Sturlason, who was writing them down a few hundreds of years after the Xianization of Iceland & the nordic countries.
See Nancy Marie Brown's The Song of the Vikings for a great writeup of Snorri's life, and short retellings of the most compelling stories).
They're written within a wrapper narrative, where king Gylfi / aka Gangleri has a quiz with High, Just-As-High, and Third - serving as narrative ligaments to string together disparate facts and stories. I presume it also served as a prophylactic distancing mechanism so the powerful catholic bishops and priests didn't throw a fit about these pagan stories.
See Nancy Marie Brown's The Song of the Vikings for a great writeup of Snorri's life, and short retellings of the most compelling stories).
They're written within a wrapper narrative, where king Gylfi / aka Gangleri has a quiz with High, Just-As-High, and Third - serving as narrative ligaments to string together disparate facts and stories. I presume it also served as a prophylactic distancing mechanism so the powerful catholic bishops and priests didn't throw a fit about these pagan stories.
Noted on April 25, 2017
Quotes
And now, if you have anything more to ask, I can't think how you can manage it, for I've never heard anyone tell more of the story of the world. Make what use of it you can.Quoted on April 25, 2017