The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology (Paperback)

~ Snorri Sturluson (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Prose Edda is a work without predecessor or parallel. Snorri Sturluson feared that the traditional techniques of Norse poetics, the pagan kennings, and the allusions to mythology would be forgotten with the introduction of new verse forms from Europe. Prose Edda was designed as a handbook for poets to compose in the style of the skalds of the Viking ages. It is an exposition of the rule of poetic diction with many examples, applications, and retellings of myths and legends. The present selection includes the whole of Gylfaginning (The deluding of Gylfi)--a guide to mythology that forms one of the great storybooks of the Middle Ages--and the longer heroic tales and legends of Skáldskaparmál (Poetic diction). Snorri Sturluson was a master storyteller, and this translation in modern idiom of the inimitable tales of the gods and heroes of the Scandinavian peoples brings them to life again.

About the Author

Iceland's most versatile literary genius, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) was born in western Iceland, the son of a great chieftain. Early in his career, he won a reputation at home and in Norway for his poetic talents. Later he traveled to Norway and wrote about the lives of the kings: Heimskringla Saga, Egil's Saga, and Saint Oláf's Saga, a work unsurpassed in Icelandic prose.

Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1st edition (August 1, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520012321
• ISBN-13: 978-0520234772
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #946,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excerpts from the Prose Edda, March 19, 2001

By	Gunnvor (McDade, TX United States) - See all my reviews

While Young's translations are quite good, it should be noted that these are *selections* from the Prose Edda, and are not complete. Notably missing are large sections of Skaldskarpamal, or "Poetic Diction". This is a good edition if you just want the mythological stories, but having the complete Prose Edda is even better -- there are a lot of kennings and other details of the poetry that shed further light on the mythology.

Fortunately, there is a good, complete, and inexpensive translation available, and Amazon also carries it -- the Anthony Faulkes translation.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent translation of Sturluson's edda, March 23, 1997

By A Customer

This is an excellent translation of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. The text is very easy to read; it doesn't seem translated in the least. A big plus is the fact that the book contains both the original names of characters in old Icelandic, and a translation in English. Sturluson is a great writer, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is the least bit interested in the old Norse tales

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every page taught me more and more., June 23, 1999

By A Customer

I read this text while at university, and in the years since it is never far from my mind. I recommend it to anyone interested in literature, myth, language, or just exhibits an enquiring mind. What intrigued me the most was the skaldic verse form. To my mind it is the most complicated and creative form I have ever witnessed. Without this book, so much about Scandinavian mythology would have been lost to us forever. Snorri Sturlusson was certainly a special man, with a great gift and a proud endevour. Through his work, his ancestors are still breathing, and waiting in Valhalla.