The name for the two principal sources of Old Norse mythology.
Edda refers most often either to the Poetic Edda, a collection of anonymous mythological and heroic poems written down in Iceland in the thirteenth century, or to the Prose Edda compiled by Snorri Sturluson around 1220 as a handbook for skalds.
The word's etymology is debated. It may mean great-grandmother, poetry, or derive from the Icelandic estate of Oddi. Together these works form our primary source for the Old Norse divine world and skaldic art.
Attestations
- Codex Regius, ca. 1270
- The most important manuscript witness to the Poetic Edda.