Norse Mythology's Original Texts 1: The Poetic Edda — the Mythic Poems

Thank you for visiting. This article is the first installment in a series explaining the original texts of Norse mythology.

This time, taking up the major poems contained in the oldest original text conveying Norse mythology, the Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda), one by one, we look at them in detail.

For an overview map of Norse mythology’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.

The Original Texts of Norse Mythology — The Eddas & Article Indexen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins-norse/

What Kind of Original Text Is the “Poetic Edda”?

The Poetic Edda is a collection of old, anonymous poems handed down chiefly in the medieval Icelandic manuscript the “Codex Regius (King’s Book).” Although the manuscript was written down in the 13th century, the poems themselves are held to go back to around the 9th–11th centuries or earlier, making it the oldest original text conveying Norse mythology.

The fate this manuscript followed is dramatic too. Long lost, the manuscript became known to the world in 1643, when it came into the hands of the Icelandic bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson. He thought it the old book that underlay Snorri’s Edda, already famous at the time, and called it by the name “Edda.” This is the origin of the name “Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda)” as opposed to the “Prose Edda (Snorri’s).” The manuscript was later presented to the Danish king (hence “King’s Book”) and only returned to Iceland in the 20th century. It contains about 30 poems. It consists of two parts, mythic poems and heroic poems, but is also known for a lacuna (a large blank) where several pages were lost midway.

Unlike Snorri’s Edda (Article 2), organized as story, the Poetic Edda is a gathering of independent poems. Each poem differs in author and date, and is marked by fragmentary, allusive expressions that presume knowledge of the myths. By content it divides broadly into “mythic poems,” which sing of the gods, and “heroic poems,” which sing of human heroes.

In this article, I take up mainly the mythic poems, one by one. The heroic poems (the Sigurd legend) are explained in detail in Article 3, together with the later prose work Völsunga saga.

The Tale of Norse Mythology, Vol. 1View on Amazon → The Easiest-to-Understand Norse MythologyView on Amazon →

Völuspá (Seeress’s Prophecy) — the Skeleton of Norse Mythology

The most important poem, which opens the Poetic Edda. A single “seeress (völva)”, at the request of the chief god Odin, tells in one sweep, as prophecy, from the beginning of the world, through the twilight of the gods Ragnarök, to the rebirth that follows.

The seeress first recalls the primeval age when nothing yet was. There was neither earth nor heaven, only the gaping abyss “Ginnungagap (the void).” Eventually the gods order the earth, assign roles to the sun, moon, and stars, and a peaceful age comes in which they play with golden gaming pieces.

But that golden age does not last. The first war breaks out, and lust for gold brings strife to the world. Through the decisive tragedy of the death of the light god Baldr, the world rushes toward the final battle, Ragnarök. The seeress prophesies, in an ominous and solemn tone, how a wolf swallows the sun, the stars vanish from heaven, and the earth is wrapped in flames and sinks into the sea.

And the poem does not end in destruction. It closes quietly, singing a vision of the surviving gods and the new world that revives: “I see rising again from the sea a green earth.” This single poem alone lets you grasp the skeleton of the grand history of Norse mythology — the most important poem (the detailed content of its story is explained in Snorri’s Edda in Article 2).

Hávamál (Sayings of the High One) — Odin’s Teachings

A poem gathering life-lessons, in the form of utterances by the “High One” — that is, the chief god Odin. Centered not on story but on wisdom for living (maxims), it is a unique original text that makes clear what the Norse people of the time valued.

The first half lines up practical wisdom for a traveler: “When you set out, do not let go of your weapon,” “When you enter an unfamiliar house, first look well around,” “Offer a guest warm food and dry clothes,” “Do not drink too much; ale is not as good as it is said to be” — advice rooted in life that still applies today. Most famous is this passage:

Cattle die. Kinsmen die. You yourself will also die. But I know one thing that never dies: the “fame” the dead have won.

A line symbolizing the Norse value of prizing honor above all.

In the latter half of the poem, Odin’s own myth is told. To win wisdom (the secret of the runes), it is said, he wounded himself with a spear and hung on the world tree Yggdrasil for nine nights. With no one’s help, no food or water, having offered himself to himself, he grasped the runes with a groan. Odin even offered one of his eyes to drink the water of the well of wisdom. He does not begrudge sacrificing his own body for the sake of knowledge — the essence of the god Odin appears well in this poem.

Poems of Wisdom Contests — Vafþrúðnir and Grímnir

The Poetic Edda contains poems that tell mythological knowledge (cosmology) itself in the form of question-and-answer or monologue.

In “Vafþrúðnismál,” Odin, disguised as a traveler, visits the giant “Vafþrúðnir,” known for his learning, and engages in a “wisdom contest” over the origin of the world, the making of heaven and earth, and the end. In a life-or-death exchange where the loser forfeits his head, Odin finally wins by posing a question only he himself can answer: “What did you whisper in the ear of your son Baldr after Ragnarök?”

In “Grímnismál,” Odin, hiding his identity under the name Grímnir (the masked one), tells one after another, while being tortured between two fires, of the nine worlds, the halls of the gods, and the world tree Yggdrasil. It is a treasure trove of information, precious for understanding the worldview of Norse mythology.

Poems of the Gods — Freyr’s Love and Loki’s Quarrel

There are also poems depicting the very human figures of the gods.

“Skírnismál” is the love story of the fertility god “Freyr.” When Freyr looks out over the world from Odin’s throne, he falls in love at first sight with the beauty of the giant’s daughter “Gerd” and collapses with lovesickness. He gives his attendant Skírnir his own famed sword as a reward and sends him out as the envoy of the proposal. This “sword he let go of” foreshadows Freyr being slain weaponless at the later Ragnarök.

And what gouges out the negative side of the gods is “Lokasenna (Loki’s Quarrel).” The trickster “Loki,” bursting into the gods’ banquet, exposes one after another the secrets, shames, and past faults of each of the gods present, reviling them without mercy. This poem, in which the gods’ dignity is bitingly mocked, ends at last with Loki being driven off by Thor’s arrival, but reflects the process of Loki turning into the gods’ enemy.

Poems of Thor’s Adventures — Thrym and Hymir

Powerful yet humorous are the poems starring the thunder god “Thor.”

In “Þrymskviða,” Thor’s mightiest weapon, the hammer Mjölnir, is stolen by the giant Thrym, who demands, “Give me the goddess Freyja as a bride and I’ll return it.” So the gods devise a scheme in which Thor himself disguises as the bride Freyja and Loki becomes a handmaid, and they go to the giant. When the giant grows suspicious of the bride eating a whole ox and eight salmon at once, Loki cunningly covers for it, and the moment the hammer is brought into the wedding, Thor grabs it and slays the giants. It is one of the finest comedies in Norse mythology.

In “Hymiskviða,” Thor goes out fishing in a boat with the giant Hymir and, with an ox-head as bait, hooks the great serpent Jörmungandr that encircles the world and is about to strike it down with his hammer. But the terrified Hymir cuts the line, and the serpent flees into the sea. The poem depicts the feud between Thor and the serpent, foreshadowing their fate of slaying each other at Ragnarök.

More Poems the Poetic Edda Conveys

The Poetic Edda contains other distinctive mythic poems as well. They are works not to be missed for understanding the breadth of the Norse mythic world.

• “Baldrs draumar (Baldr’s Dreams)”: a dark, solemn poem in which, because the light god Baldr is troubled by ominous dreams, Odin rides to the underworld and, with a spell, rouses a dead seeress in her grave to question her about the fate of death closing in on his son Baldr.
• “Hárbarðsljóð (Lay of Hárbarðr)”: a “flyting (exchange of insults)” in which the ferryman Hárbarðr (in fact a disguised Odin) and the thunder god Thor on the far bank boast of their own deeds and revile each other across the river. The difference in temperament of the two gods — cunning Odin and valorous Thor — is depicted amusingly.
• “Alvíssmál (Sayings of Alvíss)”: to the learned dwarf Alvíss, who courted Thor’s daughter, Thor keeps asking, “what do gods, humans, giants, and elves each call heaven, earth, sea, wind, and so on,” delaying him until dawn. Struck by daylight, the dwarf turns to stone, and Thor fends off the suitor by wit (it is also an important poem as a treasury of Norse poetic words = kennings).
• “Rígsþula (Lay of Ríg)”: a poem teaching that the god Heimdall, calling himself “Ríg,” traveled the human world and, by lodging at three houses, gave rise to the origin of society’s three classes — slave, farmer, and noble. An interesting poem in which myth tells the making of society.

Heroic Poems — Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer

In the latter half of the Poetic Edda are “heroic poems” singing not of the gods but of human heroes. At their center is the story of the dragon-slaying hero “Sigurd (Siegfried)” and the Völsung clan over the cursed gold.

The many famous scenes — the slaying of the dragon “Fafnir” with the famed sword “Gram,” the scene of eating the dragon’s heart and coming to understand the speech of birds, the tragic love with the valkyrie “Brynhild” — which connect to the later Nibelungenlied and Wagner’s operas, are explained in detail in Article 3, together with the prose work Völsunga saga.

To Learn More

Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.

An Illustrated Guide to Norse MythologyView on Amazon → An Introduction to Norse MythologyView on Amazon →

Conclusion

In this article, I explained the oldest original text of Norse mythology, the Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda), one poem at a time, centered on the major mythic poems. How was it?

The “Völuspá,” which sings from the world’s creation to its doom; the “Hávamál,” which conveys Odin’s wisdom for living and his self-sacrifice; the wisdom contests with giants; Freyr’s love and Loki’s quarrel; and Thor’s amusing adventures — each fragmentary poem conveys to the present the richness and depth of Norse mythology.

In the next article (Article 2), I will explain Snorri’s Edda, which organized these poems systematically as story, in order from the creation to Ragnarök.

The Original Texts of Norse Mythology — The Eddas & Article Indexen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins-norse/

I hope you’ll read the next article too.