The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Here it is at last (Odin be praised!) and well worth the wait. These amazing texts from a thirteenth-century Icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological, and literary importance, containing the lion's share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre-Christian Scandinavians, their unique vision of the beginning and end of the world, etc. Jackson Crawford's modern versions of these poems are authoritative and fluent and often very gripping. With their individual headnotes and complementary general introduction, they supply today's readers with most of what they need to know in order to understand and appreciate the beliefs, motivations, and values of the Vikings.-Dick Ringler, Professor Emeritus of English and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

“"An excellent and entertaining work that succeeds in achieving its intended purpose: to create an accessible and readable English translation of the Poetic Edda . Crawford's knowledge of and passion for the topic is clear throughout, and he strikes an excellent balance between approachability and authenticity. I will most certainly be using this translation when I teach Norse mythology in the future and will recommend it to anyone looking for an approachable introduction to the subject."”

An excellent and entertaining work that succeeds in achieving its intended purpose: to create an accessible and readable English translation of the Poetic Edda. Crawford's knowledge of and passion for the topic is clear throughout, and he strikes an excellent balance between approachability and authenticity. I will most certainly be using this translation when I teach Norse mythology in the future and will recommend it to anyone looking for an approachable introduction to the subject.

-- "Natalie M. Van Deusen, University of Alberta, in Scandinavian-Canadian Studies"

Jackson Crawford earned his PhD in Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA in linguistics from the University of Georgia. He has taught Norse mythology, the Old Norse language, and the history of the Scandinavian languages at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Instructor of Nordic studies and coordinator of the Nordic program at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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