"Edda" (/ˈɛdə/; Old NorseEdda, plural Eddur) is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the Prose Edda and an older collection of poems (without an original title) now known as the Poetic Edda. The term historically referred only to the Prose Edda, but this usage has fallen out of favour because of confusion with the other work. Both works were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching back into the Viking Age. The books provide the main sources for medieval skaldic tradition in Iceland and for Norse mythology.
The Edda has been criticized for imposing Snorri Sturluson’s own Christian views on Norse mythology. In particular the clean-cut explanation of what happens to a soul after death as understood in the Edda contradicts other sources on death in Norse mythology.[1]
At least five hypotheses have been suggested for the origins of the word edda:
One hypothesis holds that it is identical to a word that means "great-grandmother" appearing in the Eddic poem Rígsþula.[2] The word could stem from the Sanskrit term veda ("knowledge").[3]
Another hypothesis holds that edda derives from Old Norse óðr, "poetry".[citation needed]
A third, proposed in 1895 by Eiríkr Magnússon, is that it derives from the Icelandic place name Oddi, site of the church and school where students, including Snorri Sturluson, were educated.[4]
A fourth hypothesis—the derivation of the word Edda as the name of Snorri Sturluson's treatise on poetry from the Latin edo, "I compose (poetry)", by analogy with kredda, "superstition", from Latin credo, "creed"—is now widely accepted, although this acceptance might stem from its agreement with modern usage rather than historical accuracy.[5]
The fifth hypothesis is based on the past fashion of giving Icelandic manuscripts bird titles. Such are the legal codes Grágás 'grey goose', Gullfjǫðr 'gold feather (quill?)', and Hryggjar-stykki 'a kind of duck'. Perhaps Edda was also one of such titles: Edda would be an appropriate 'pet name' of æðr (pronounced as [æ:ðr] f.) 'eider duck'. Then, Edda meant 'little eider duck' (an analog of Grágás).[6]
The Poetic Edda, also known as Sæmundar Edda or the Elder Edda, is a collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic medieval manuscriptCodex Regius ("Royal Book"). Along with the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most expansive source on Norse mythology. The first part of the Codex Regius preserves poems that narrate the creation and foretold destruction and rebirth of the Old Norse mythological world as well as individual myths about gods concerning Norse deities. The poems in the second part narrate legends about Norse heroes and heroines, such as Sigurd, Brynhildr and Gunnar.
It consists of two parts. The first part has 10 songs about gods, and the second one has 19 songs about heroes.
The Codex Regius was written in the 13th century, but nothing is known of its whereabouts until 1643, when it came into the possession of Brynjólfur Sveinsson, then the Church of Iceland's Bishop of Skálholt. At that time, versions of the Prose Edda were well known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that there once was another Edda—an Elder Edda—which contained the pagan poems Snorri quotes in his book. When the Codex Regius was discovered, it seemed that this speculation had proven correct. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to Sæmundr the Learned, a larger-than-life 12th century Icelandic priest. While this attribution is rejected by modern scholars, the name Sæmundar Edda is still sometimes encountered.
Bishop Brynjólfur sent the Codex Regius as a present to King Christian IV of Denmark, hence the name Codex Regius. For centuries it was stored in the Royal Library in Copenhagen but in 1971 it was returned to Iceland.
The Prose Edda, sometimes referred to as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda, is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. Its purpose was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse, and to grasp the mythological allusions behind the many kennings that were used in skaldic poetry.
It was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around 1220. It survives in four known manuscripts and three fragments, written down from about 1300 to about 1600.[7]
^McCoy, Daniel. "Death and the Afterlife". Norse Mythology. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
^Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology, translated by Jean I. Young (University of California Press, 1964), p. 8.
^Titchenell, Elsa Brita (1985). The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse. Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press. ISBN9780911500721. p. 20: Edda means 'great-grandmother' and, by extension of meaning, 'matrix', suggesting 'world mother.' The word is apparently derived from veda, the Hindu scriptures or sacred vidyā (knowledge, from vid, to know, to perceive) from which stem the German wissen, the Swedish veta, and the old English wit — all words which mean 'to know.'
^Liberman, Anatoly (1996). "Ten Scandinavian and North English Etymologies". Alvíssmál. 6: 63–98.
^Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (2010) under "Snorri Sturluson"
^Liberman, Anatoly (2016). "The Origin of the Name Edda", in Anatoly Liberman, In Prayer and Laughter. Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture. Paleograph Press. ISBN9785895260272.
^Kevin J. Wanner (2008). Snorri Sturluson and the Edda: The Conversion of Cultural Capital in Medieval Scandinavia. University of Toronto Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN978-0-8020-9801-6. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
edda, other, uses, disambiguation, norse, plural, eddur, norse, term, that, been, applied, modern, scholars, collective, medieval, icelandic, literary, works, what, known, prose, older, collection, poems, without, original, title, known, poetic, term, historic. For other uses see Edda disambiguation Edda ˈ ɛ d e Old Norse Edda plural Eddur is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works what is now known as the Prose Edda and an older collection of poems without an original title now known as the Poetic Edda The term historically referred only to the Prose Edda but this usage has fallen out of favour because of confusion with the other work Both works were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic although they contain material from earlier traditional sources reaching back into the Viking Age The books provide the main sources for medieval skaldic tradition in Iceland and for Norse mythology The Edda has been criticized for imposing Snorri Sturluson s own Christian views on Norse mythology In particular the clean cut explanation of what happens to a soul after death as understood in the Edda contradicts other sources on death in Norse mythology 1 Contents 1 Etymology 2 The Poetic Edda 3 The Prose Edda 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology editAt least five hypotheses have been suggested for the origins of the word edda One hypothesis holds that it is identical to a word that means great grandmother appearing in the Eddic poem Rigsthula 2 The word could stem from the Sanskrit term veda knowledge 3 Another hypothesis holds that edda derives from Old Norse odr poetry citation needed A third proposed in 1895 by Eirikr Magnusson is that it derives from the Icelandic place name Oddi site of the church and school where students including Snorri Sturluson were educated 4 A fourth hypothesis the derivation of the word Edda as the name of Snorri Sturluson s treatise on poetry from the Latin edo I compose poetry by analogy with kredda superstition from Latin credo creed is now widely accepted although this acceptance might stem from its agreement with modern usage rather than historical accuracy 5 The fifth hypothesis is based on the past fashion of giving Icelandic manuscripts bird titles Such are the legal codes Gragas grey goose Gullfjǫdr gold feather quill and Hryggjar stykki a kind of duck Perhaps Edda was also one of such titles Edda would be an appropriate pet name of aedr pronounced as ae dr f eider duck Then Edda meant little eider duck an analog of Gragas 6 The Poetic Edda editMain article Poetic Edda nbsp The Poetic Edda titled The Tree of Yggdrasil The Poetic Edda also known as Saemundar Edda or the Elder Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic medieval manuscript Codex Regius Royal Book Along with the Prose Edda the Poetic Edda is the most expansive source on Norse mythology The first part of the Codex Regius preserves poems that narrate the creation and foretold destruction and rebirth of the Old Norse mythological world as well as individual myths about gods concerning Norse deities The poems in the second part narrate legends about Norse heroes and heroines such as Sigurd Brynhildr and Gunnar It consists of two parts The first part has 10 songs about gods and the second one has 19 songs about heroes The Codex Regius was written in the 13th century but nothing is known of its whereabouts until 1643 when it came into the possession of Brynjolfur Sveinsson then the Church of Iceland s Bishop of Skalholt At that time versions of the Prose Edda were well known in Iceland but scholars speculated that there once was another Edda an Elder Edda which contained the pagan poems Snorri quotes in his book When the Codex Regius was discovered it seemed that this speculation had proven correct Brynjolfur attributed the manuscript to Saemundr the Learned a larger than life 12th century Icelandic priest While this attribution is rejected by modern scholars the name Saemundar Edda is still sometimes encountered Bishop Brynjolfur sent the Codex Regius as a present to King Christian IV of Denmark hence the name Codex Regius For centuries it was stored in the Royal Library in Copenhagen but in 1971 it was returned to Iceland The Prose Edda editMain article Prose Edda nbsp Manuscript of the Prose Edda The Prose Edda sometimes referred to as the Younger Edda or Snorri s Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories Its purpose was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse and to grasp the mythological allusions behind the many kennings that were used in skaldic poetry It was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around 1220 It survives in four known manuscripts and three fragments written down from about 1300 to about 1600 7 The Prose Edda consists of a Prologue and three separate books Gylfaginning concerning the creation and foretold destruction and rebirth of the Norse mythical world Skaldskaparmal a dialogue between AEgir a Norse god connected with the sea and Bragi the skaldic god of poetry and Hattatal a demonstration of verse forms used in Norse mythology See also editGesta Danorum Heimskringla Laufas Edda SagaReferences edit McCoy Daniel Death and the Afterlife Norse Mythology Retrieved 2023 06 01 Snorri Sturluson The Prose Edda Tales from Norse Mythology translated by Jean I Young University of California Press 1964 p 8 Titchenell Elsa Brita 1985 The Masks of Odin Wisdom of the Ancient Norse Pasadena California Theosophical University Press ISBN 9780911500721 p 20 Edda means great grandmother and by extension of meaning matrix suggesting world mother The word is apparently derived from veda the Hindu scriptures or sacred vidya knowledge from vid to know to perceive from which stem the German wissen the Swedish veta and the old English wit all words which mean to know Liberman Anatoly 1996 Ten Scandinavian and North English Etymologies Alvissmal 6 63 98 Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages 2010 under Snorri Sturluson Liberman Anatoly 2016 The Origin of the Name Edda in Anatoly Liberman In Prayer and Laughter Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology Literature and Culture Paleograph Press ISBN 9785895260272 Kevin J Wanner 2008 Snorri Sturluson and the Edda The Conversion of Cultural Capital in Medieval Scandinavia University of Toronto Press pp 97 98 ISBN 978 0 8020 9801 6 Retrieved 17 December 2012 External links edit Edda The American Cyclopaedia 1879 Gosse Edmund William 1878 Edda Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol VII 9th ed pp 649 651 Gosse Edmund William 1911 Edda Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 8 11th ed pp 921 922 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edda amp oldid 1220892717, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
