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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.
Notable Academic Translations
Henry Adams Bellows (1936)Lee M. Hollander (1962)Carolyne Larrington (1996)Jackson Crawford (2015)
Recommended Reading Order
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.
Canonical Figures in this Text
Key heroes and divinities who feature prominently across the chapters of this work
Heroes & Mortals
Sigurd
dragon-slayer, central to the heroic lays of the second half of the collection
Fafnismal, Sigrdrifumal, and the Sigurd lays
Key Dramatic Scenes
Pivotal passages and mythological turning points recorded in this canon
- I
Sigurd Slays Fafnir
(Fafnismal)Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir from a pit dug in its path and gains the power to understand birds from tasting its blood.
- II
The Waking of Sigrdrifa
(Sigrdrifumal)Sigurd wakes a valkyrie sleeping behind a wall of flame, who teaches him runes and counsel before their story turns to tragedy.
- III
Loki's Flyting
(Lokasenna)Loki crashes a feast of the gods and insults each of them in turn before being bound as punishment.
- IV
Thor's Wedding Disguise
(Thrymskvida)Thor dresses as a bride to recover his stolen hammer from the giant Thrym.
Source Passages and Editorial Notes
Direct quotations are distinguished from editorial paraphrases and records awaiting verification.
Ref: 45-46
Original wording unverifiedBrothers shall fight and slay each other, cousins shall break their kinship bonds. Hard it is in the world, whoredom abounds, an axe age, a sword age, shields are cloven, a wind age, a wolf age, before the world sinks.
Translator: Carolyne LarringtonCarolyne Larrington, revised 2014
Featured in Ragnarok - The Twilight of the Gods →Ref: 57
Original wording unverifiedThe sun turns black, earth sinks into the sea, the bright stars vanish from the sky; steam rises up with the life-nurturer, high flames lick heaven itself.
Translator: Carolyne LarringtonCarolyne Larrington, revised 2014
Featured in Ragnarok - The Twilight of the Gods →Ref: Stanza 138Old Norse
Direct quotation“Veit ek, at ek hekk vindga meiði á nætr allar níu, geiri undaðr ok gefinn Óðni, sjálfr sjálfum mér, á þeim meiði, er manngi veit hvers af rótum renn.”
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.
Translator: Carolyne LarringtonCarolyne Larrington, revised 2014
Featured in Odin →Ref: 20
Original wording unverifiedHuginn and Muninn fly every day over the mighty earth. I fear for Huginn that he may not return, yet I am more anxious about Muninn.
Translator: Henry Adams BellowsHenry Adams Bellows, 1923
Featured in Odin →Ref: Stanzas 14–16
Editorial paraphraseHeimdall proposes disguising Thor as a bride to recover his hammer; Thor objects that the gods would call him unmanly.
Translator: Editorial paraphrase; not a Bellows quotationEditorial paraphrase, 2026
Featured in Thor →Stories Sourced from this Work
Ragnarok - The Twilight of the Gods
The 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 Ymir
In 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 Baldur
Baldur, 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 Tree
The 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 Yggdrasil
Odin 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.