Poetic Edda (University of Texas Press)

"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 aby an unidentified Icelander, probably during the twelfth or thirteenth century, "The Poetic Edda" was rediscovered in Iceland in the seventeenth century aby Danish scholars. Even then its value as poetry, as a source of historical information, and as a collection of entertaining stories was recognised. 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'.