Prose Edda

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The Prose Edda, known also as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which contains many stories from Norse mythology. Its purpose 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.

The work was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around 1220. Seven manuscripts, dating from around 1300 to around 1600, have independent textual value.

The Prose Edda consists of three distinct sections: the Gylfaginning (c 20 000 words), the Skáldskaparmál (c 50 000 words) and the Háttatal (c 20 000 words).

Reference

Edda by Snorri Sturluson, Anthony Faulkes (Translator), Everymans Library, ISBN 0460876163.

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