The Poetic Edda: A Dual-Language Edition

by Edward Pettit

This book is an edition and translation of one of the most important and celebrated sources of Old Norse-Icelandic mythology and heroic legend, namely the medieval poems now known collectively as the Poetic Edda or Elder Edda.
Included are thirty-six texts, which are mostly preserved in medieval manuscripts, especially the thirteenth-century Icelandic codex traditionally known as the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda. The poems cover diverse subjects, including the creation, destruction and rebirth of the world, the dealings of gods such as Óðinn, þórr and Loki with giants and each other, and the more intimate, personal tragedies of the hero Sigurðr, his wife Guðrún and the valkyrie Brynhildr.
Each poem is provided with an introduction, synopsis and suggestions for further reading. The Old Norse texts are furnished with a textual apparatus recording the manuscript readings behind this edition's emendations, as well as select variant readings. The accompanying translations, informed by the latest scholarship, are concisely annotated to make them as accessible as possible.
As the first open-access, single-volume parallel Old Norse edition and English translation of the Poetic Edda, this book will prove a valuable resource for students and scholars of Old Norse literature. It will also interest those researching other fields of medieval literature (especially Old English and Middle High German), and appeal to a wider general audience drawn to the myths and legends of the Viking Age and subsequent centuries.

Genres: Mythology, Poetry

896 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2023

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

While most stories presented in the Poetic Edda will already be known to anyone who has read into Norse mythology at even a passing level, it is always interesting to take them in in a form which has not been modified for current tastes. The levels of elegance and interest each poem maintains varies, but given the brevity of the poems themselves as a part of this book as a whole and the quality of the high points, the duller moment will be more than made up for to anyone interested in myths and legends. Atlamál in groenlenzku stands as the most dramatic and emotional piece, in my opinion, perhaps speaking to the ease and quality of poems of legendary humans over those about the gods, which generally relied more heavily on prior knowledge which a modern reader is unlikely to have.

This dual edition translation provides a larger catalogue of Norse poems than most along with a copious amount of notes and clarifications for those looking to understand the stories on a deeper level. The translation itself reads very well, and the author has clearly put an immense amount of effort into both preserving as much of the original poems as possible while providing an immense amount of support to render the text accessible to non-academics (including by making the entire book available to the public for free without cost). Unfortunately, based on some of the footnotes, the author also appears to be a transphobe. Given that this does not affect the poems themselves (which contain sexist and racist themes as well, unsurprisingly, given their age) and that you do not have to financially support the author to legally read the book, I have only docked one star for this.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I largely enjoyed these Norse tales, considering that they're hundreds of years old with compilation date by the 13th century or earlier. The majority are drawn from the Codex Regius, but a handful of bonus poems are included at the end. The first poem concerns the creation of the world, through its unfolding drama and the anticipation of the final battle Ragnarok. The first half of the remaining poems then concern the drama of various gods like Óðinn, Þórr and Loki, while the latter half concern legendary human heroes such as Sigurðr, Guðrún, and Brynhildr. It was fascinating to see at points how Christian influence began to seep into the poetry, with a verse here or there hinting at Christ Jesus as the most powerful of gods. The book is an impressive feat, containing copious notes and cross-references with a parallel original and translated text, and made freely available by the author here. However I would have preferred footnotes rather than endnotes, especially to distinguish notes that aid reading from those that are cross-references and more academic. I will never see MCU the same