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Snorri Sturluson (–1241)

Author of The Prose Edda

143+ Works 6,899 Members 65 Reviews 21 Favorited

About the Author

Snorri Sturluson's fame as a historian---his main work is the 16 sagas included in Heimskringla (c.1230), a monumental history of Norway from its beginning until 1177---lies both in his critical approach to sources and in his fine, realistic exposition of event and motivation. A similar combination show more of scholarly and imaginative talent is seen in The Prose Edda (c.1220). Intended to be a handbook in skaldic poetry, it preserves invaluable mythological tales that were on the verge of being forgotten even in Sturluson's time. A large part of what we know about Nordic mythology stems from his Edda. The bibliography that follows also lists the anonymous Egil's Saga (1200--30), which many expert Scandinavian medievalists (e.g., Sigurdur Nordal and Bjorn M. Olsen) attribute to Sturluson. It is a fascinating account of life in Norway, England, and Iceland and of the poet-warrior Egil, whose skaldic verse is renowned for its unusual emotional and personal qualities. Snorri Sturluson's own life was as eventful as those about whom he wrote. Returning to Iceland from exile in 1239, he again became deeply involved in serious power struggles and was murdered in 1241. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Statue of Snorri Sturluson by sculptor Gustav Vigeland, in Bergen, Norway. An identical statue was erected at Reykholt, Iceland. Source: Own work Date: 27 March 2007 Author: Barend

Series

Works by Snorri Sturluson

The Prose Edda (1220) — Author — 3,153 copies
Egil's Saga (1240) 1,065 copies
Eyrbyggja Saga (1973) 344 copies
Nordiska kungasagor. 2, Olav den heliges saga (1964) — Author — 59 copies
The Elder Edda and the Younger Edda (2006) — Author — 36 copies
La saga de los Ynglingos (1976) 17 copies
Edda: Hattatal (1991) — Author — 16 copies
La alucinación de Gylfi (1990) 12 copies
Edda: Skaldskaparmal (1998) 10 copies
UPPSALA EDDA (2012) 8 copies
Eddas (2014) 5 copies
Norrœna Anglo-Saxon Classics : The Eddas (1907) — Author — 4 copies
Norges kongesagaer B. 2 (1995) 4 copies
Snorris Eddasagn (1970) 4 copies
Viking Mitolojisi (2018) 4 copies
The Heimskringla (2018) 2 copies
Edda młodsza prozaiczna (2009) 2 copies
Kongesoger 2 copies
Edda: Part 1 (1982) 2 copies
2. Kongesagaer. Annen del (1979) 2 copies
Kongesagaer 2 copies
Viking Mitleri-Nesir Edda (2019) 2 copies
Saga of the Ynglings (2021) 1 copy
Snorre 1 copy
Konungasagor 1 copy
Snorre Sturlasøn: (2012) 1 copy
Kongesoger 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

(665) 13th century (71) anthology (47) classic (55) classics (108) Edda (56) epic (80) fiction (310) folklore (140) history (508) Iceland (406) Icelandic (165) Icelandic literature (148) Icelandic Sagas (59) literature (205) medieval (285) medieval history (52) medieval literature (170) Middle Ages (67) myth (72) non-fiction (145) Nordic (50) Norse (388) Norse mythology (153) Norway (134) Old Norse (131) Old Norse literature (46) Penguin Classics (73) poetry (175) read (42) religion (72) saga (341) sagas (307) Scandinavia (152) Scandinavian literature (50) Snorri Sturluson (41) to-read (525) translation (106) unread (57) Vikings (378)

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Reviews

thought to have been written by Snorri Sturluson about 1230 AD.
 
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NordenClub | 9 other reviews | Jan 11, 2024 |
Since this was my second time reading, I skipped Snorri's final section detailing verse-forms, as I was more interested in the mythology than the art of ancient poetry.

Snorri created this collection of stories and poetry how-to in part to save a dying art. He himself was Christian but he wished to ensure that traditional Norse poetic composition was not lost. He has an interesting theory on the origin of Aesir worship, linking them with Trojan mythology.

Reading this composition, I couldn't help but be sad that this is one of the few sources we still have for Norse mythology, and what we get here is often tantalising fragments. Snorri often quotes other compositions, which have been lost to the ages save the few lines he includes. Just what was Heimdall's poem, what would it have told us about the enigmatic watchman of the gods, and would it have told us why the head is called "Heimdall's sword"?

This is certainly a must for anyone wishing to dig down into Norse mythology. This is one of the main sources that collections of the myths draw from, and you can judge for yourself how well they have interpreted the fragmentary source material. One of the surprises is how numerous the gods were, yet these days we only really pay any attention to Odin, Thor and Loki, seeing as the surviving myths concern mainly these three and give them such lively personalities. But what of Loki and Odin's companion Hoenir? What of Gefjon who ploughed up a whole island? We may never know.

One thing I can say with fair certainty: our modern interpretation of Odin seems to be completely wrong. Sure he was "All Father", but he was also "Corpse Father" and "Dread". I feel that rather than being a kindly old man, he must have been terrifying.
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weemanda | 24 other reviews | Nov 2, 2023 |
prior to reading notes in this vol I hadn't realized that some of the "mythical" material reflects actual people/events with independent attestations (Atli=Attila etc)
utterly fascinating
 
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lidaskoteina | 24 other reviews | Sep 16, 2022 |
The Prose Edda is a collection of Norse legends and writings compiled by Snorri Sturluson (and at least some definitely written by him) in the 1200s. I don't know a ton about Norse mythology so did find this interesting - it was nice to finally "really" figure out how all of the pieces that I've heard about at various times, from Valhalla to Thor's hammer to Ragnarok to Yggdrasil, all fit together. As one would expect from what is essentially a compilation of myths (also featuring all of the different names of the different gods), it's not the most compelling read, and I found it hard to keep track of which giant did what in which story, but I definitely came out of this knowing more about Norse myths than I did when I started it.

It would have been useful for me to know in advance that the translation/edition that you pick to read may have huge repercussions for your enjoyment of the book, since there are some sections of the Prose Edda (the really dry ones on the composition of poetry) that aren't included in all editions. I first tried to read a non-abridged edition and found it to be a total slog, but eventually I switched to the Penguin edition (the Jesse Byock translation) and found it much more enjoyable.
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forsanolim | 24 other reviews | May 18, 2022 |

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Anthony Faulkes Translator, Editor
Rasmus B. Anderson Editor, Translator
Alison Finlay Translator
I. A. Blackwell Translator
J. W. Buel Editor
Lee M. Hollander Translator
Paul Schach Translator
Hermann Palsson Translator
Samuel Laing Translator
W. de Wit Translator
C. Voetelink Translator
I. Marsman Translator
P. Vermeyden Translator/afterword
J. Lasès Translator
A. Kroep Translator
T. Bouwman Translator
H. Hamaker Translator
K. Samplonius Translator
William Morris Translator
Hjalmar Alving Translator
Björn Collinder Translator
Sigurdur Nordal Introduction
Mårten Eskil Winge Cover artist
Mats Malm Translator
Jesse L. Byock Translator
Erik Werenskiold Illustrator
E. R. Eddison Translator
Antti Tuuri Translator
John Lucas Translator
Paul Edwards Translator
Christine Fell Translator and Editor
Bernard Scudder Translator
Hermann Palsson Translator
Wilhelm Wetlesen Illustrator
Halvdan Egedius Illustrator
Gustav Storm Translator
Didrik Arup Seip Translator
A. H. Smith Contributor
Eilif Peterssen Illustrator
Christian Krohg Illustrator
Erling Monsen Translator
Gerhard Munthe Illustrator
Magnus Magnussen Translator
Herman Palsson Translator
Samuel Laing Translator
Peter Foote Introduction
Benjamin Thorpe Translator
谷口 幸男 Translator

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Works
143
Also by
11
Members
6,899
Popularity
#3,545
Rating
4.1
Reviews
65
ISBNs
340
Languages
24
Favorited
21

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