The Prose Edda

Snorri Sturluson's handbook of skaldic poetry, ca. 1220. Preserved in four principal manuscripts — Codex Upsaliensis (DG 11), Codex Regius of the Prose Edda (GKS 2367 4to), Codex Wormianus (AM 242 fol), and Codex Trajectinus.

  • Prologus (Prologue)

    Euhemeristic introduction: the gods are explained as Asian war-leaders. Contested; likely Snorri's own frame.

  • Gylfaginning (The Tricking of Gylfi)

    King Gylfi visits the Æsir in disguise as Gangleri. Across 54 chapters the cosmogony, gods, and cosmology are laid out, through to Ragnarök and the world's rebirth.

  • Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry)

    Bragi instructs Ægir in poetic language. Kennings and heiti are presented with the stories behind them (Iðunn's apples, Suttungr's mead, Baldr's death, the Song of Grotti, etc.).

  • Háttatal (List of Verse-Forms)

    Snorri's own skaldic poem in 102 stanzas, each illustrating a distinct verse form. The poem is addressed to Hákon Hákonarson and Skúli Bárðarson, with prose commentary.