About “Skáldskaparmál”
Skáldskaparmál is the second part of the Prose Edda, a work compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It is structured as a dialogue between Ægir, the sea god, and Bragi, the god of poetry. The text combines myths of the Æsir with discussions on poetic language. It also includes stories of human heroes and kings. Over time, the mythological elements become less central, and the work functions as a poetic thesaurus for Old Norse. It focuses on kennings, which are poetic expressions or metaphors. Bragi provides a list of kennings for the Æsir, people, places, and things. He also explains heiti, which are poetic synonyms. For instance, the word hestr, meaning "horse," might be replaced with jór, meaning "steed." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
Book details
- First published
- 1220