The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (penguin Classics)

The Prose Edda is a medieval Icelandic mythological compilation that presents Norse creation myths, divine narratives, and heroic legends through prose interspersed with ancient verse. It comprises a short Prologue, the mythological core called Gylfaginning, and a collection of mythic tales called Skaldskaparmal.

The Prologue harmonizes Norse tradition with Christianity, beginning with God's creation of Adam and Eve and mankind's loss of God's name after the flood. The text identifies the Norse god Thor as a Trojan prince and traces his lineage to Odin, presented as a gifted human leader who travels from Turkey to Scandinavia, placing his sons as rulers. The Prologue frames the Norse gods as glorified ancestors whose language and customs spread throughout the north.

Gylfaginning ("The Deluding of Gylfi") opens with King Gylfi of Sweden, who disguises himself as an old traveler named Gangleri and journeys to Asgard, the stronghold of the Æsir, the Norse gods. There the Æsir have prepared elaborate illusions. Gangleri encounters three enthroned figures: High, Just-as-High, and Third, all manifestations of Odin. A dialogue-based contest of knowledge begins.

The three figures describe creation. Before the world, only the void Ginnungagap exists, flanked by icy Niflheim to the north and fiery Muspellsheim to the south. Where heat and cold meet, the giant Ymir forms. A primeval cow named Audhumla licks a figure named Buri from the ice, and Buri's grandson Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve kill Ymir, fashioning the world from his body: the sea from his blood, earth from his flesh, mountains from his bones, and the sky from his skull. From Ymir's eyelashes they build a wall called Midgard to protect the world from giants, and from two trees on the seashore they create the first humans, Ask and Embla.

At the center of the cosmos stands the ash tree Yggdrasil, whose three roots reach into the realms of gods, giants, and the dead. Beneath one root lies the Well of Mimir, from which Odin gains wisdom by sacrificing an eye. Beneath another, three norns, or fate-shaping maidens, determine men's lives.

The three figures describe the major gods and goddesses. Odin, the All-Father, gathers fallen warriors called the Einherjar in Valhalla, his great hall for the honored dead. Thor, Odin's son, is the strongest of all gods, wielding the hammer Mjollnir. Baldr is the wisest and most beautiful god. Frigg, Odin's wife, is the foremost goddess. Freyja, daughter of the sea god Njord, is equally noble, claiming half the battle-slain. Njord comes from the Vanir, a rival divine family. His son Frey controls rain and harvest. Tyr, the god of war, loses his hand binding the monstrous wolf Fenrir. The trickster Loki, son of a giant, is cunning and treacherous, constantly creating and solving crises.

Loki fathers three monstrous children: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, and Hel, ruler of the dead. Odin casts the serpent into the ocean, where it grows large enough to encircle all lands, and sends Hel to the underworld. The gods bind Fenrir with Gleipnir, a magical fetter forged by dwarves, but the wolf bites off Tyr's hand in the process. In another tale, a builder who is secretly a giant tries to construct a fortress for the gods. Loki thwarts him by transforming into a mare, and later gives birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, which becomes Odin's steed.

Thor journeys to Utgard, the outer realm of the giants, where the giant king Utgarda-Loki deceives him through a series of contests: Loki loses an eating match against wildfire; Thor drinks from a horn whose far end reaches the ocean, lifts a cat that is the Midgard Serpent in disguise, and wrestles Old Age personified. Only after revealing these illusions does Utgarda-Loki vanish. In a later episode, Thor hooks the Midgard Serpent while fishing with the giant Hymir but cannot land it before Hymir cuts the line.

The death of Baldr is the gods' greatest catastrophe. Frigg extracts oaths from all things not to harm Baldr but overlooks the mistletoe. Loki discovers this weakness and tricks the blind god Hod into shooting mistletoe at Baldr, killing him. Hermod, Odin's son, rides Sleipnir to the realm of Hel and secures a conditional release: If all things weep for Baldr, he may return. Everything weeps except a giantess named Thokk, believed to be Loki in disguise, and Baldr remains among the dead. The gods bind Loki with the entrails of his own son, a snake dripping venom onto his face. His convulsions cause earthquakes, and he will lie bound until Ragnarok, the prophesied destruction of the world.

At Ragnarok, three winters arrive without summer. Wolves swallow the sun and moon. Fenrir breaks free, the Midgard Serpent surges onto land, and the fire giant Surt rides forth. Heimdall, the gods' watchman, blows his horn. Odin fights Fenrir and is swallowed; his son Vidar avenges him. Thor kills the Midgard Serpent but dies from its venom. Frey falls against Surt because he gave away his sword to win the giantess Gerd. Loki and Heimdall kill each other. Surt sets fire to the world. Afterward, the earth rises green from the sea. Vidar and Vali, another of Odin's sons, survive alongside Thor's sons Modi and Magni. Baldr returns from the dead. Two humans, Lif and Leifthrasir, emerge from hiding to repopulate the world.

Skaldskaparmal ("Poetic Diction") shifts to a new framing device in which Bragi, the god of poetry, tells stories to Ægir, a sea deity skilled in magic. Several myths explain kennings, the compound metaphorical expressions essential to Norse skaldic poetry. Bragi recounts how Loki lured Idunn, the goddess who keeps the gods' youth-giving apples, out of Asgard, nearly causing the gods to age and die; how Odin obtained the mead of poetry by seducing the giantess Gunnlod and escaping in eagle form; and how Thor dueled the stone-hearted giant Hrungnir. Another tale explains how Loki wagered his head against the dwarf Brokk, whose brother Eitri forged Mjollnir, the ring Draupnir, and a golden-bristled boar, while the sons of Ivaldi produced Odin's spear Gungnir, the ship Skidbladnir, and golden hair for Thor's wife Sif.

Skaldskaparmal also recounts heroic legends. The story of Otter's Ransom explains how the gods paid a dwarf's cursed gold to Hreidmar, father of the slain otter. Hreidmar's son Fafnir kills his father for the treasure, transforms into a dragon, and hoards the gold. The hero Sigurd, fostered by the smith Regin, slays Fafnir with the sword Gram, tastes the dragon's blood, and understands birds' speech. He awakens Brynhild, a valkyrie or divine battle-maiden, then marries Gudrun, daughter of King Gjuki. Sigurd helps Gudrun's brother Gunnar win Brynhild by riding through fire in Gunnar's shape. When Gudrun reveals the deception, Brynhild engineers Sigurd's murder and kills herself. Further tragedies follow: Gudrun's forced marriage to Atli (Attila the Hun), who kills her brothers for the treasure they hid in the Rhine, and Gudrun's vengeance, in which she feeds Atli their sons' hearts before killing him.

Additional tales include King Frodi's magical mill that grinds gold until overworked enslaved women grind out an army to destroy him, King Hrolf Kraki's legendary generosity, and the never-ending battle between the forces of King Hedin and Hogni, in which Hogni's daughter Hild revives the dead each night so that fighting continues until Ragnarok. The section concludes with instruction on constructing kennings for gods, people, natural phenomena, battle, and gold.