The Poetic Edda: A Collection of Old Norse Poems

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She is also involved in Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages, which features the late Kari Ellen Gade, former Provost Professor of Germanic Studies and Adjunct Professor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington. Nevertheless, because of the Rúnatal preceding the list, modern commentators sometimes reinterpret the Ljóðatal as referring to runes, specifically with the sixteen letters of the Younger Futhark. Klaus von See: „Disticha Catonis und Hávamál.“ In: Klaus von See: Edda, Saga, Skaldendichtung. Heidelberg 1981, 27–44.

The poem is notable for its use of humor and satire, and its depiction of the very manly Thor in a comic light. It is also one of many examples of how Loki, the one ultimately bringing the world to an end, is instrumental in helping Thor and the other gods. Völundarkviða – The Lay of Völund One major distinction between Skaldic and Eddic poetry derives from the manuscript sources of the surviving known works. The large majority of works described as "Eddic" are found only in the Codex Regius, while a few of the poems found in it also survive in independent recensions in the AM 748 I 4to manuscript. Many verses from these Eddic poems are also quoted as evidence in the Prose Edda. Some poems not found in the early Eddic manuscripts are still considered to be "Eddic" due to their style. Examples include the " Lay of Ríg" from the Codex Wormianus; the " Lay of Hyndla" from the Flatey-jarbók; and, the " Lay of Svipdag", which is only found in later, paper manuscripts (rather than vellum). [1] Together, all of these poems are grouped under the somewhat fluid term the Poetic Edda. [2] Matter and style [ edit ] A kenning is a circumlocution, a r oundabout way of describing using more than one word to describe something, in Old Norse, Old English, and Icelandic poetry.Many extant skaldic verses are called lausavísur (“loose verses” or individual stanzas). More extended versions take the form of a series of stanzas with a “stef” (refrain or chorus) called “drápa.” Skalds and Norse Poetry in the Viking Age

Svipdagsmál ( The Ballad of Svipdag, The Lay of Svipdag) – This title, originally suggested by Bugge, actually covers two separate poems. These poems are late works and not included in most editions after 1950: Einarr Skúlason (Icelandic priest and skald. A prominent poet and descendent of the family of Egill Skallagrímsson, part of the lineage called the Mýramenn)It also contains many kennings, a type of metaphorical phrase used in Norse poetry, which add to the poetic complexity of the poem. The poem is considered to be one of the most important sources of Norse mythology and is rich in Norse cosmological and cosmogonic concepts. Grímnismál – The Lay of Grímnir Revised as: Terry, Patricia, ed. (1990), Poems of the Elder Edda, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0812282353