The Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda)

First passed down orally through innumerable generations of minstrels before the presence of Christianity in Scandinavia, and written down eventually by unknown poets, "The Poetic Edda" is a collection of mythological and heroic Old Norse poems. It was preserved for hundreds of years in the medieval Codex Regius of Iceland. This body of poetry contains narratives on creation, the Doom of the Gods, the adventures of Thor and hostile giants, and many tales of love, family, heroes, and tragedy. Rediscovered in the seventeenth century and immediately celebrated for its broad portrait of northern pagan beliefs, "The Poetic Edda" is the most important source of Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends in existence today. It is a fascinating collection of poems that has stirred the imagination of artists such as Richard Wagner and Thomas Gray, and it will continue to inspire as it stands as a valuable and informative historical document and an entertaining set of stories of Norse mythology.