Thank you for visiting. This article is one installment in a series that explains the “original texts” of the world’s myths and religions — an index page summarizing the original texts of “Norse mythology.”
Norse mythology — Odin, Thor, Loki, and the world’s doom “Ragnarök” — is popular in recent games and films, but like Greek mythology, no single scripture exists.
Norse mythology has been handed down to the present mainly through the two Eddas recorded in medieval Iceland, and the Völsunga saga, which conveys the heroic legend.
This series explains Norse mythology in detail, divided by these original texts into three articles. This page introduces the big picture and what each article covers.
The “strength” of the gods and heroes of Norse mythology has been introduced previously in ranking form, so please use that as a reference too.
You can also view the complete index of the world’s myths and religions, including others besides Norse mythology, from the page below.
The Big Picture of Norse Mythology’s Original Texts
The traditions of Norse mythology were originally handed down orally, not in writing. What recorded them for later ages are the following two Eddas.
To put the relationship of the two in a word: the Poetic Edda is a collection of fragmentary old poems, and Snorri’s Edda is a handbook that organized them into readable story.
| Original text | Date | Character | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda) | The poems themselves c. 9th–11th centuries | A collection of old poems | Mythic and heroic poems. Creation to doom, to hero tales |
| Snorri’s Edda (the Prose Edda) | 13th century (c. 1220) | A systematic handbook | Organizes myth as story + a guide to poetic composition |
| Völsunga saga | 13th century | A heroic story (saga) | Sigurd the dragon-slayer and the tragedy of the cursed-gold clan |
This series explains Norse mythology in three articles, divided by these original texts. The correspondence of each article is as follows.
Now, let me introduce what each article explains.
An Introduction to Norse MythologyView on Amazon →
The Tale of Norse Mythology, Vol. 1View on Amazon →
Article 1: The Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda)
The first part of the series explains the oldest original text, the Poetic Edda, taking up its major mythic poems one by one.
It covers in detail the poems concerning the gods: the “Völuspá (Seeress’s Prophecy),” in which a seeress tells from the creation of the world to its doom and rebirth; the “Hávamál (Sayings of the High One),” conveying Odin’s wisdom for living and his winning of the runes; the wisdom contests with giants; Freyr’s love and Loki’s quarrel; and Thor disguised as a bride in the “Þrymskviða (Lay of Thrym).”
Article 2: Snorri’s Edda (the Prose Edda)
The second part of the series explains the original text that conveys Norse mythology most systematically, Snorri’s Edda, following its structure.
It explains richly, in order, the flow told by its core, the “Gylfaginning”: the creation of the world → the world tree and the nine worlds → the gods and treasures → the death of Baldr → Ragnarök and rebirth. It also introduces the anecdotes conveyed by the “Skáldskaparmál,” such as the mead of poetry.
Article 3: The Völsunga saga (the Heroic Legend)
The third part of the series (the finale) explains the Völsunga saga, which depicts human heroes, different in flavor from the myths of the gods.
It covers the dwarf’s cursed gold and ring, the slaying of the dragon Fafnir with the famed sword Gram, the scene of learning the speech of birds from the dragon’s blood, the tragic love and betrayal with the valkyrie Brynhild, and the influence on Wagner and Tolkien.
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
The Easiest-to-Understand Norse MythologyView on Amazon →
An Illustrated Guide to Norse MythologyView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I introduced the big picture of Norse mythology’s original texts and what the three articles of the series cover. How was it?
Norse mythology has no single scripture; it has been handed down to the present by the two Eddas, which convey the world of the gods, and the Völsunga saga, which conveys the world of heroes.
Its greatest appeal is a distinctive worldview in which destruction and rebirth are one — “Ragnarök,” in which even the chief god Odin perishes, and the “rebirth of the world” that follows.
Besides Norse mythology, I also explain the original texts of Greek, Japanese, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian mythology, and Christianity (the Bible). For the full list, see the complete index of the world’s myths and religions.
For the strength of the gods and heroes of Norse mythology, please use this ranking article as a reference too.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Norse Mythology (1/4)
