The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology - Softcover

Sturluson, Snorri

4.15

14,152 ratings by Goodreads

9780520012318: The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520012313 ISBN 13: 9780520012318

Publisher: University of California Press, 1964

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

The Prose Edda is the most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature and our most extensive source for Norse mythology. Written in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, it tells ancient stories of the Norse creation epic and recounts the battles that follow as gods, giants, dwarves and elves struggle for survival. It also preserves the oral memory of heroes, warrior kings and queens. In clear prose interspersed with powerful verse, the Edda provides unparalleled insight into the gods' tragic realization that the future holds one final cataclysmic battle, Ragnarok, when the world will be destroyed. These tales from the pagan era have proved to be among the most influential of all myths and legends, inspiring modern works as diverse as Wagner's Ring Cycle and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

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 Olaf's Saga, a work unsurpassed in Icelandic prose.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.