Source recordAncient text
Poetic Edda
Anonymous · c. 1000-1300 CE (compiled) · Old Norse
Ancient text
Poetic Edda
Anonymous
A collection of Old Norse poems from the medieval Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius. Primary source for Norse mythology including the Voluspa prophecy and Havamal.
About this work
A collection of Old Norse poems from the medieval Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius. Primary source for Norse mythology including the Voluspa prophecy and Havamal.
Where to start
Carolyne Larrington's Oxford World's Classics translation (1996, revised 2014) is the standard modern starting point, with notes that untangle the poems' compressed references.
Figures in the text
Heroes and divinities who feature prominently, with where they appear.
Heroes and mortals
Key scenes
Turning points of the work, in reading order.
Sigurd Slays Fafnir
Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir from a pit dug in its path and gains the power to understand birds from tasting its blood.
The Waking of Sigrdrifa
Sigurd wakes a valkyrie sleeping behind a wall of flame, who teaches him runes and counsel before their story turns to tragedy.
Loki's Flyting
Loki crashes a feast of the gods and insults each of them in turn before being bound as punishment.
Thor's Wedding Disguise
Thor dresses as a bride to recover his stolen hammer from the giant Thrym.
Passages
Direct quotations are distinguished from editorial paraphrases and records awaiting verification.
“Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered, Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls; Nor ever shall men each other spare.”
Voluspo, Poetic Edda · Stanza 45, final three lines
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
1923; Sacred Texts transcription. Caesura bars omitted; verse whitespace normalized. English transcription checked 2026-09-23. Replaces prior unverified wording; no original-language text is supplied or certified.
Read source“The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea, The hot stars down from heaven are whirled; Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame, Till fire leaps high about heaven itself.”
Voluspo, Poetic Edda · Stanza 57
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
1923; Sacred Texts transcription. Caesura bars omitted; verse whitespace normalized. English transcription checked 2026-09-23. Replaces prior unverified wording; no original-language text is supplied or certified.
Read source“I know that I hung on a windy tree nine long nights, wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run.”
Havamal, Poetic Edda · Stanza 138
Translation: Carolyne Larrington
Carolyne Larrington, revised 2014
Read source“O'er Mithgarth Hugin and Munin both Each day set forth to fly; For Hugin I fear lest he come not home, But for Munin my care is more.”
Grimnismol, Poetic Edda · Stanza 20
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
1923; Sacred Texts transcription. Caesura bars omitted; verse whitespace normalized. English transcription checked 2026-09-23. Replaces prior unverified wording; no original-language text is supplied or certified.
Read sourceHeimdall proposes disguising Thor as a bride to recover his hammer; Thor objects that the gods would call him unmanly.
Poetic Edda, Þrymskviða (adapted paraphrase) · Stanzas 14–16
Reference translation: Editorial paraphrase; not a Bellows quotation
Editorial paraphrase, 2026
Read source“Out of Ymir's flesh was fashioned the earth, And the ocean out of his blood; Of his bones the hills, of his hair the trees, Of his skull the heavens high.”
Grimnismal, Poetic Edda · Grimnismol, stanza 40
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
Henry Adams Bellows translation, Internet Sacred Text Archive. English stanza checked against the cited transcription on 2026-09-23; line breaks collapsed and caesura bars omitted. No Old Norse text is supplied.
Read sourceStories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
Ragnarok - The Twilight of the GodsapocalypseThe prophesied end of the world in Norse mythology. After a great winter called Fimbulvetr, the bound wolf Fenrir will break free, the Midgard Serpent will rise from the ocean, and the giants will sail to battle the gods.
The Creation of the World from YmircreationIn the beginning was the void Ginnungagap, with Muspelheim (fire) to the south and Niflheim (ice) to the north. When fire and ice met, they created the giant Ymir.
The Death of BaldurtragedyBaldur, the most beloved god, was troubled by dreams of his death. His mother Frigg extracted oaths from all things not to harm him, making him invulnerable - except she overlooked mistletoe.
Yggdrasil - The World TreecosmologyThe immense ash tree that stands at the center of the cosmos and connects the Nine Worlds. Its roots extend into multiple realms, and its branches stretch over all existence.
Odin's Self-Sacrifice on YggdrasilmythOdin hangs himself on the World Tree Yggdrasil for nine nights, wounded by his own spear, neither eating nor drinking, in order to gain the wisdom of the runes and the power of sacred knowledge.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.