Search Results: Prose edda snorri sturluson

Edda is a term used to describe two Icelandic manuscripts that were copied down and compiled in the 13th century CE. Together they are the main sources of Norse mythology and skaldic poetry that relate the religion, cosmogony, and history...

Heimdall is a mysterious deity of Norse mythology whose main attribute refers to guarding the realm of the gods, Asgard, from his high fortress called Himinbjörg found at the top of Bifröst, the rainbow bridge. He has the might of sea and...

Baldr is a god in Norse mythology associated with light, wisdom, and courage, although he is never specifically defined as the god of any of these. He is best known for his dramatic death, which heralds the coming of Ragnarök, the end of...

Title page of one of the manuscripts from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda showing various figures of Norse mythology, 18th century CE.

The Völuspá (Old Norse: Vǫluspá) is a medieval poem of the Poetic Edda that describes how the world might have come into shape and would end according to Norse mythology. The story of about 60 stanzas is told by a seeress or völva (Old Norse...

Hoenir or Hönir (Old Norse: Hœnir or Hønir) is a very shadowy god figure in Norse mythology, who joins the gods Loki and Odin on a couple of occasions in the old texts. He seems to have attributes of creation and prophecy, and his name might...

Ull (also known as Ullr), with his bow and skis, is such an elusive presence in Norse mythology that no conclusive remarks can be made about him. The 13th-century Icelandic author Snorri describes him only briefly in his Prose Edda, and he...

In Norse mythology, the Sun and the Moon appear as personified siblings pulling the heavenly bodies and chased by wolves, or as plain objects. Written sources, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, have surprisingly little to say about...

Vidar is a figure in Norse mythology, described as the silent god and almost as mighty as Thor. He will survive Ragnarök, the unavoidable and dramatic end of the world according to the prophecy that chief-god Odin extracts from a seeress...

Frodi (Old Icelandic: Fróði) is the name of legendary Danish kings in Norse mythology. There is a whole range of kings bearing the same name, pointing to fascinating traditions in both Old Icelandic and continental Germanic storytelling...