The Poetic Edda, also known as The Elder Edda or Saemund's Edda, is a magnificent and magical collection of thirty-four Icelandic poems, interwoven with prose, dating from the 9th century to the 12th. The original Old Norse verses are printed here, side by side with English translations.

The collection includes the archetypal stories about wise Odin, hammer-wielding Thor, mischievous Loki and the other gods and goddesses of Asgard.

Professor J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, readily acknowledged his debt to this source. He was sixteen years old when the Viking Club of London published this beautifully illustrated translation by Olive Bray. Readers of Tolkien’s work will easily spot his inspirations—the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit; riddle games; Mirkwood; the Paths of the Dead; an underworld creature being tricked into remaining above-ground until dawn, when sunlight turns him to stone; different races calling a single thing by various names, and more.

In the Poetic Edda the realm where man dwells is called "Midgarth", which translates as "Middle-earth". Elves are mentioned, and there are dwarves called Thorin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Gloin, Fili, Kili Bifur, Bafur, Bombur, and Oaken-shield. The names Thrainn and Thror are mentioned, as is the name Gandalf, which Bray translates as "Wand-elf". Tolkien's Gandalf, of course, carries a staff, or wand.

The poems features a dragon called Fierce-stinger:

"Fares from beneath a dim dragon flying,

a glistening snake from the Moonless Fells.

Fierce-stinger bears the dead on his pinions

away o'er the plains. I sink now and cease."

The language is archaic, so for 21st century readers a glossary is provided at the back of this book, as well as an index of names to help identify all the characters. Bray’s lengthy introduction has also been revised for modern readers, and some footnote citations omitted; all else remains exactly as it was in Tolkien's time.

Remarkably in Bray's edition, the original Icelandic text was included. This would have appealed to Tolkien, as a philologist. He must have relished comparing the English words with the Icelandic, page by page.

Illustrator W. G. Collingwood was an English author, artist, antiquary and professor. In 1897 he travelled to Iceland where he spent three months exploring the actual sites that are the settings for the medieval Icelandic sagas. He produced a large number of sketches and watercolours during this time and published an illustrated account of his expedition in 1899. His study of Norse and Anglican archaeology made him widely recognized as a leading authority, and his gorgeous Art Nouveau-style illustrations for the Bray edition are rich with symbolism.

The Poetic Edda, the most important existing source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, is part of the literature that influenced Tolkien’s inner world, informing the creation of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

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About the Author

Olive Bray The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 28, No. 4, Oct., 1929 reviewed Olive Bray's translation of The Poetic Edda, stating: 'Miss Bray's work is eminently satisfactory: she possesses a scholar's knowledge of the subject (though she was by no means a specialist in the field); and she had poetic ability of a high order. She nearly always succeeded in reproducing the poetry and the spirit of the old lays and she adhered to the metrical form; to do these things she did not hesitate, to depart from rules of alliteration or sometimes to disregard alliteration entirely. '

William Gershom Collingwood (6 August 1854, Liverpool - 1 October 1932) was an English author, artist, antiquary and professor of Fine Arts at University College, Reading. In 1897, Collingwood travelled to Iceland where he spent three months over the summer exploring with Jón Stefánsson the sites around the country in which the medieval Icelandic sagas are set.[2] He produced hundreds of sketches and watercolours during this time (e.g. an imagined meeting of the medieval Althing), and published, with Stefánsson, an illustrated account of their expedition in 1899 under the title A Pilgrimage to the Saga-steads of Iceland. Collingwood was a member of the Viking Club and served as its president. In 1902 he co-authored again with Jón Stefánsson the first translation it published, a translation of Kormáks saga entitled, The Life and Death of Kormac the Skald. His study of Norse and Anglican archaeology made him widely recognised as a leading authority. Following Ruskin's death Collingwood continued to help for a while with secretarial work at Brantwood, but in 1905 went to University College, Reading (now the University of Reading) and served as professor of fine art from 1907 until 1911. Collingwood joined the Admiralty intelligence division at the outbreak of the First World War. In 1919, he returned to Coniston and continued his writing with a history of the Lake District and perhaps his most important work, Northumbrian Crosses of the pre-Norman Age. He was a great climber and swimmer, and a tireless walker into advanced age. In 1927 he experienced the first of a series of strokes. His wife died in 1928, followed by Collingwood himself in 1932. He was buried in Coniston. The largest part of Collingwood's paintings of Iceland are held in the National Museum in Reykjavik: other locations include Abbot Hall Art Gallery.

Cecilia Dart-Thornton is a highly acclaimed fantasy author whose books are popular across the globe and translated into several languages. Notable works include The Bitterbynde Trilogy.

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The Poetic Edda - A Book That Inspired Tolkien

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