This colourful front page of the Prose Edda in an 18th century Icelandic manuscript shows Odin, Heimdallr, Sleipnir and other figures from Norse mythology. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Heimdall ( Old Norse Heimdallr, the prefix Heim- means home, the affix -dallr is of uncertain origin is one of the Æsir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odin 's eight-legged steed and the greatest of all Horses His name means smooth or gliding, and is Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland

The Prose Edda, also known also as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda (Icelandic: Snorra Edda) is an Icelandic collection of poems containing many stories from Norse mythology. Icelandic ( is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland The work was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around 1220. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician

The Prose Edda opens with a Prologue and consists of three distinct books: the Gylfaginning (c 20,000 words), the Skáldskaparmál (c 50,000 words) and the Háttatal (c 20,000 words). Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi (c 20000 words is the first part of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda after The second part of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" (c The Háttatal (c 20000 words is the last section of the Prose Edda composed by the Icelandic Poet, politician and historian Snorri Sturluson Seven manuscripts, dating from around 1300 to around 1600, have independent textual value.

The purpose of the collection was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse and to grasp the meaning behind the many kennings that were used in skaldic poetry. In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses Alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry as opposed to A kenning ( Old Norse kenning, Modern Icelandic pronunciation) is a Circumlocution used instead of an ordinary Noun in Old Norse The skald was a member of a group of Poets whose courtly poetry (Icelandic dróttkvæði) is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic

External links

• The Prose Edda, translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, at sacred-texts.com
• Critical editions of all major redactions of the Prose Edda in pdf format at septentrionalia.net
• Edda Snorra Sturlusonar Old Norse text, Guðni Jónsson's edition.
• The Younger Edda, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works , Rasmus B. Anderson's translation (1897)
• The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works , translated by Benjamin Thorpe (Elder Eddas) and I. A. Blackwell (Younger Eddas). (1906)
• Prose Edda Arthur G. Brodeur's translation (1916)

See also

• Edda
• Poetic Edda