The Poetic Edda

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The Poetic Edda is one of the most important sources we have about our faith, many of the poems trace back to pre-Christian times and are an important source for those of us who practice Asatru. The Poetic Edda is a collection of poems, mainly preserved in the main manuscript Codex Regius, which dates from the latter part of the 13th century but goes back to an older lost original. In the collection they have been organised into two different categories. The former comprises 10 poems of a mythological nature, the latter 19 with motifs from Germanic and Norse heroic sagas.

The Poetic Edda contains poems such as Völuspá (The Prophecy of Volva), Hávamál (Song of the High One), Lokesenna and many, many more poems.
We have chosen to use Erik Brate’s Swedish translation ‘Poetiska Eddan – De Nordiska Guda- och hjältesångerna’ and for the normalised Old Norse (Norse) we have chosen to use Guðni Jónsson’s ‘Eddukvæði Sæmundar-Edda’.

• Völuspá – Prophecy of the Volva
  In Völuspá, the Volva tells of the creation and end of the world.
  
• Hávamál – The Words of Odin the High One
  The Hávamál contains the language of thought, rules for living and words of wisdom.
  
• Vafþrúðnismál – The Lay of Vafþrúðnir / Vafthrudnir’s sayings
  About when Odin meets the giant Vavtrudner in a wisdom competition
  
• Grímnismál – The song of Grimnir
  Is a teaching poem about Frigg and Odin raising the king’s sons Agnar and Geirröd
  
• Skírnismál – The song of Skirnir
  It’s about when Freyr falls in love with Gerd and sends his servant Skirnir to try to persuade Gerd to become Freyr’s consort.
  
• Hárbarðsljóð – The song of Harbard
  It is about when Thor, after having been in the East, meets a ferryman named Harbard at a ferry crossing and quickly gets into an exchange of words. Harbard is in fact Odin who appears in disguise.
  
• Hymiskviða – The lay of Hymir
  Contains 3 poems, first poem when Thor and Týr visit Hymir to borrow his great cauldron for Aegir’s guild, second poem is about Thor’s fishing trip with Hymir, third poem is about when Hymir challenges Thor to carry the huge cauldron.
  
• Lokasenna – Loki’s Wrangling
  It’s about when Loki shows up at Aegir’s guild and then gets jealous and starts mocking the other gods who are there.
  
• Þrymskviða – The Lay of Thrym
  It’s about when Thor wakes up one morning and realises that Mjolnir has been stolen. It is Thrym who is behind the crime.
  
• Alvíssmál – The song of Allvis
  The dwarf Allvis turns up at Thor’s house to fetch Thor’s daughter Thrud after the agreement made earlier, Thor objects as he was not at home at the time. To resolve this, Allvis is challenged but Thor outwits the dwarf.
  
• Baldrs Draumar – Baldr’s Dreams
  Baldr’s life is in danger, as Baldr’s nightmares testify, and to find out who the orbiter is, Odin travels to the underworld to meet a volva.
  
• Rígsþula – The Lay of Rig
  The Lay of Rig tells how Rig, who is Heimdall in the guise of a traveller, creates the three social classes.
  
• Hyndluljóð – The song of Hyndla
  In The song of Hyndla, at Freyja’s request, Hyndla enumerates Ottar’s ancestors, which will help Ottar win a bet against Angantýr. The ‘short Völuspa’ (verses 30-45) also tells of various deities.
  
• Völundarkviða – The Lay of Völund
  In The Lay of Völund, the blacksmith Völund is captured by King Nidud, who forces him to make jewellery; Völund takes revenge by murdering the king’s sons.
  
• Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar – Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson
  This is a poem found in the collection of heroic poems in the Poetic Edda’s manuscript Codex Regius and is part of a Helgetrilogy together with Helgakvida Hundingsbana in fyrri and Helgakvida Hundingsbana önnur.
  
• Helgakviða Hundingsbana I – The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane
  This is the second poem in the Helgetriology, Helge Hundingsbane is a hero from Östergötland, Sweden who also appears in the Völsunga saga. He belongs to the Völsunga family and the Östergötland Ylvinga family.
  
• Völsungakviða in forna (Helgakviða Hundingsbana II) – The third Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane
  Är den tredje dikten i Helgetriologin men andra om Helge Hundingsbane. I denna avslutande dikt berättas det om Völsungarna, om Helges död och Sigruns natt tillsammans med Helge vid hans gravhög.
  
• Grípisspá (Sigurðarkviða Fáfnisbana I) – Griper’s prediction
  Is a dialogue in which Sigurd Fafnesbane asks the wise King Griper about the future, who then predicts Sigurd’s life and destiny.
  
• Reginsmál (Sigurðarkviða Fáfnisbana II) – The Lay of Regin
  Here Sigurd Fafnesbane meets the blacksmith Regin, who forges Sigurd the sword that will kill Regin’s brother Fafner.
  
• Fáfnismál – Fáfnir’s sayings
  It tells the story of Sigurd Fáfnirsbane slaying the dragon Fáfnir for gold.
  
• Sigrdrífumál – The Lay of Sigrdrifa
  Is the third and final poem about Sigurd Favnersbane’s youth, and it relates to the meeting between Sigurd and the Valkyrie Sigrdrífa who gives advice to Sigurd consisting of runic magic and wisdom.
  
• Sigurðarkviða in meiri (Brot) – Fragment of a Sigurth Lay
  The poem is believed to have contained around 250 verses, now only 22 remain after someone removed the fifth leaf of the Codex Regius containing the poem before 1643. Here, in the 22 remaining verses, the death of Sigurd is disputed.
  
• Guðrúnarkviða in fyrsta – First Lay of Gudrun
  It’s about Gudrun, paralysed by grief, she sits by Sigurd’s body and mourns. No matter what those who come to help her do, nothing helps.
  
• Sigurðarkviða in skamma – The Short Lay of Sigurd
  Is one of the longest poems and its name derives from the fact that there was once a longer Sigurðarkviða.
  
• Helreið Brynhildar – Brynhild’s Hel-Ride
  It is about how Sigurd and Brynhild are burned at the stake, first they burn Sigurd and then they burn Brynhild, who is lying on a richly decorated wagon. This wagon takes Brynhild on her journey to the afterlife. On her journey she passes a house where Gýgrin lives.
  
• Dráp Niflunga – The Slaying of the Niflungar
  This poem is about how Brynhild’s brother Atli becomes Gudrun’s second husband and how Atli avenges Brynhild’s death by killing Gudrun’s brothers Gunnar and Hogni.
  
• Guðrúnarkviða in forna – The Second Lay of Gudrun
  The poem is a brief overview of Gudrun’s fate, from her childhood, Sigurd’s death and until shortly before her revenge on Atle, who is guilty of Gudrun’s brothers’ deaths.
  
• Guðrúnarkviða in þriðja – The Third Lay of Gudrun
  Gudrun is falsely accused of adultery by Atle’s slave Herkja, who claims to have seen Gudrun and King Tjodrek together. Atle confronts Gudrun, who denies this.
  
• Oddrúnarkviða – Oddrún’s poem or Oddrún’s lament
  Atli’s sister Oddrun visits a friend Borgny, who can’t get pregnant, and Oddrun helps Borgny to get pregnant by bile. Oddrun also tells her that her brother Atle is behind Gunnar’s death.
  
• Atlakviða – The Lay of Atli
  The lay is considered one of the oldest poems in the Codex Regius, originally from the 9th century. Atle Budlasson marries Gudrun for the sake of her rich family, and in order to share in the wealth, Atle has Gudrun’s brothers murdered, whereupon Gudrun avenges her brothers.
  
• Atlamál in grænlenzku – The Greenlandic Lay of Atli
  Atle plans to kill his brothers-in-law Gunnar and Hogne, and sends them an invitation. Gudrun, Atle’s wife, finds out what is going on and sends a message with runes to her brothers, but one of the messengers partially destroys the message. Hogne’s wife Kostberga manages to decipher the runes and realises that something is wrong and warns Hogne.
  
• Guðrúnarhvöt – Gudruns Incitement
  Is another poem about Gudrun Gjukesdotter, here she incites her sons to avenge the murdered daughter Svanhild, the daughter she had with Sigurd Favnesbane.
  
• Hamðismál – The Lay of Hamdir
  It’s about Hamdir and his brothers who, at the urging of their mother Gudrun, take revenge for their half-sister Svanhild, whom her suitor King Jörmunrek had murdered.
  
• Gróttasöngr – Song of Grótti or The Mill’s Songs
  It’s about the giant women Fenja and Menja who pull the magical mill Grotte owned by King Frode. The Grotte mill is magical and produces whatever is desired. The poem is designed as a work song depicting the fate of the women.
  
• Grógaldr – The Spell of Gróa
  It’s about a young man (Svipdag), who is searching for Menglöd. Faced with a long and perilous journey, he goes to the grave of his mother, the dead volva Gróa, to wake her and ask for advice. Gróa teaches him nine galdr´s to help him on his journey.
  
• Fjölsvinnsmál – The Lay of Fjölsvinn
  The poem is about the disguised Svipdag, who has now arrived at Menglöd’s castle, meets the castle’s guardian Fjölsvinn and asks him questions. In the end, Svipdag reveals who he is to Fjölsvinn and is let in.
  

Other poems

• Forspjallsljóð (hrafnagaldr óðins) – Prelude poem (Odins raven-galdr)
  Believed to be a 17th century work, perhaps even after the Codex Regius was rediscovered in 1643. The poem is believed to be an introductory poem to Baldrs Draumar – Baldr´s Dreams. Since 1876, when Sophus Bugge discussed the poem and its origins in his edition of the Poetic Edda, the poem has not been included in later editions of the Poetic Edda.
  
• Hervararkviða – The Incantation of Hervor or The Waking of Angantýr
  This is a poem from the Hervarar Saga, which is found in the ancient sagas and is about the shield-maiden Hervor and her visit to her father Angantýr in his burial mound. She visits him to get him to give her the sword Thyrfing.

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