Poetic Edda - Imperium Press

by Anonymous, Thomas Rowsell (Foreword), Tristan Powers (Contributor)

The Poetic Edda is our main source for the myths of the Norse gods and heroes. Written down in medieval Iceland, this "original storehouse of Germanic mythology" collects 35 narrative poems recounting most of what we know about the religious beliefs of the ancient Northmen. Henry Adams Bellows' 1923 translation has long been recognized as one of the most aesthetically faithful, being rendered in the original alliterative meters of the Norse poems. This revised edition updates it according to modern scholarship, adding a foreword by historian Thomas Rowsell, dozens of beautiful illustrations, and facing Old Norse text. Each poem has been newly introduced by Tristan Powers, writing from the perspective of a living practitioner of the Norse religion, giving us deeper insight into the worldview and religious spirit that animates them. This edition corrects the flaws and retains the strengths of the 1923 edition. The result is the ultimate edition of the Poetic Edda both for serious students of Norse myth, and for lovers of poetry.

942 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Poetic Edda, utgiven 2022 av Imperium Press (ett förlag som vi för övrigt varmt rekommenderar), är en reviderad och utökad version av Henry Adams Bellows översättning från 1923. Detta massiva verk, som består av närmare 900 sidor fornnordisk poesi, erbjuder oss dikterna på både engelska och orginalspråket. Utöver detta finner vi noter, introduktioner och ett antal vackra illustrationer. Vi rekommenderar denna bok för alla som är intresserade av poesi, nordisk mytologi och Asatron. Boken redogör även för våra nordiska förfäders seder och bruk, världsåskådning samt religion. Avslutningsvis vill vi dela med oss från dikten Hovamol där Oden bjuder läsaren på några visdomsord:

”I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust,
Then fare to find him oft;
For brambles grow and waving grass
On the rarely trodden road.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
A good man find to hold in friendship,
And give heed to his healing charms.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Be never the first to break with thy friend
The bond that holds you both;
Care eats the heart if thou canst not speak
To another all thy thought.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Exchange of words with a witless ape
Thou must not never make.”