Sources & Texts
The Eddas, sagas, and histories — where everything we know actually comes from.
The Poetic EddaEddukvæði
Anonymous mythological and heroic poemsThe great anthology of Old Norse mythological and heroic poetry, preserved chiefly in the Codex Regius manuscript (~1270) — the closest thing to the pagan North speaking in its own voice.
The Prose EddaSnorra Edda
Snorri Sturluson's handbook of myth and poetics, c. 1220The systematic guide to Norse mythology, written by the Icelandic chieftain Snorri Sturluson around 1220 as a textbook for poets — the single most important source for the myths as connected stories.
Völuspá
The Seeress's Prophecy — the first poem of the Poetic EddaThe greatest single poem of Norse mythology: a dead seeress, raised by Odin, recites the history of the cosmos from the void before creation to Ragnarök — and past it, to the world reborn.
Hávamál
'Sayings of the High One' — Odin's wisdom poemOdin's own voice across 164 stanzas: hard-headed advice for travellers and hosts, rueful love-lessons, and the god's account of hanging nine nights on the tree to win the runes.
Heimskringla
Snorri's sagas of the Norwegian kingsSnorri Sturluson's monumental history of the kings of Norway, whose opening Ynglinga saga retells the gods as ancient human kings — a key euhemerist source for Odin, the Vanir war, and old cult practice.
Gesta Danorum
Saxo Grammaticus's Latin history of the Danes, c. 1200The sixteen-book Latin history of Denmark whose first nine books preserve alternative — often startlingly different — versions of the Norse myths and legends, from a warrior Baldr to the source of Hamlet.
Völsunga saga
The saga of the Völsungs — the northern tragic cycleThe 13th-century prose epic of Sigurðr, the dragon, the cursed gold, and the fall of two dynasties — source of Wagner's Ring and Tolkien's deepest borrowings.
Grímnismál
'The Sayings of the Masked One' — the cosmic gazetteerOdin, tortured between two fires under the name Grímnir, recites the architecture of the cosmos — the halls of the gods, the rivers, Valhalla's dimensions — before revealing himself to his doomed host.
Vafþrúðnismál
'The Sayings of Vafþrúðnir' — the wisdom duelOdin visits the wisest giant for a head-wagering quiz on the cosmos — past, present, and future — and wins on the only question with one living witness.
SkírnismálFör Skírnis
'The Journey of Skírnir' — the wooing of GerðrFreyr's servant rides to Jötunheimr to win the giantess Gerðr for his lovesick lord — with gifts, then threats, then a rune-curse that works. Romance, as the Norse actually wrote it.
Þrymskviða
'The Lay of Þrymr' — the comic masterpieceThe best-loved poem of the Edda: Thor's hammer stolen, Freyja's refusal, and the thunder-god in a bridal veil eating an ox at his own wedding.
Lokasenna
'Loki's Quarrel' — the flyting at Ægir's feastThe poem where Loki, uninvited, insults every god at the table with slanders that are mostly true — the mythology auditing itself, one horn of ale at a time.
Baldrs draumar
'Baldr's Dreams' — the necromantic prologueThe short, cold poem where Odin rides to Hel's gate, wakes a dead seeress against her will, and interrogates her about his son's nightmares, learning the whole disaster in advance.
Rígsþula
'The List of Ríg' — the origin of the social classesThe god Heimdallr, travelling as 'Ríg', fathers the three estates of society (thrall, farmer, and noble) in three farmhouse beds. Norse sociology as a bedroom farce with a straight face.
Hymiskviða
'The Lay of Hymir' — the cauldron questThe poem of Thor's expedition for the mile-deep brewing cauldron — including the fishing trip that hooked the World Serpent — told in the Edda's densest kenning-style.