Edda

About “Edda”

Snorri Sturluson, a scholar, courtier, and poet, wrote the prose Edda over twenty years as a textbook for young poets who wanted to praise kings. The Edda covers the content, style, and metres of traditional Viking poetry and includes a long poem by Snorri praising the king of Norway. Snorri was killed in 1241 in his own cellar in Iceland, ordered by the king of Norway due to political conflict. The Edda is the most complete surviving account of Norse myths and legends from the Middle Ages. It includes stories such as Odin regaining the mead of poetic inspiration and Thor fishing for the Midgard serpent. The work was written in Iceland in the 13th century.