ContentsPREFACEINTRODUCTIONFOREWORDTHEFOOLINGOFGYLFE

CHAPTERI:GEFJUNSPLOWINGCHAPTERII:GYLFESJOURNEYTOASGARDCHAPTERIII:OFTHEHIGHESTGODCHAPTERIV:THECREATIONOFTHEWORLDCHAPTERV:THECREATION(CONTINUED)CHAPTERVI:THEFIRSTWORKSOFTHEASAS.THEGOLDENAGECHAPTERVII:ONTHEWONDERFULTHINGSINHEAVENCHAPTERVIII:THEASASCHAPTERIX:LOKEANDHISOFFSPRINGCHAPTERX:THEGODDESSES(ASYNJES)CHAPTERXI:THEGIANTESSGERDANDSKIRNERSJOURNEYCHAPTERXII:LIFEINVALHALCHAPTERXIII:ODINSHORSEANDFREYSSHIPCHAPTERXIV:THORSADVENTURESCHAPTERXV:THEDEATHOFBALDERCHAPTERXVI:RAGNAROKCHAPTERXVII:REGENERATIONAFTERWORDTOTHEFOOLINGOFGYLFE

BRAGESTALKCHAPTERI:GERSJOURNEYTOASGARDCHAPTERII:IDUNANDHERAPPLESCHAPTERIII:HOWNJORDGOTSKADETOWIFECHAPTERIV:THEORIGINOFPOETRYAFTERWORDTOBRAGESTALK

EXTRACTSFROMTHEPOETICALDICTIONTHORANDHRUNGNERTHORSJOURNEYTOGEIRRODSIDUNGERSFEASTLOKESWAGERWITHTHEDWARFSTHENIFLUNGSANDGJUKUNGSMENJAANDFENJATHEGROTTESONGROLFKRAKEHOGNEANDHILD

NOTESENEAHERIKONTHEHISTORICALODINFORNJOTANDTHESETTLEMENTOFNORWAY

NOTESTOTHEFOOLINGOFGYLFECHAPTERICHAPTERIICHAPTERIIICHAPTERIVCHAPTERVCHAPTERVICHAPTERVIICHAPTERVIIICHAPTERIXCHAPTERXCHAPTERXICHAPTERXIICHAPTERXIIICHAPTERXIVCHAPTERXV

NOTEONTHENIFLUNGSANDGJUKUNGSNOTEONMENJAANDFENJAWHYTHESEAISSALT

VOCABULARY

THEYOUNGEREDDA:

ALSOCALLED

SNORRE'SEDDA,ORTHEPROSEEDDA

BYSNORRISTURLUSON

SnorriSturluson(11791241)

TheYoungerEdda

FirstPublishedin1901

Stolen&deliveredby[DerHammer]

Formorematerial,followuson:Twitter:Twitter.com/HammerDer

Kickass.to:Kickass.to/user/DerHammer

https://twitter.com/HammerDerhttps://kickass.to/user/DerHammer/

TO

HON.THOS.F.BAYARD,

AMBASSADORTOTHECOURTOFST.JAMES,INGRATEFULRECOLLECTIONOFPLEASANTOFFICIALRELATIONS

PREFACE

Inthebeginning,beforetheheavenandtheearthandtheseawerecreated,thegreatabyssGinungagapwaswithoutformandvoid,andthespiritofFimbultyrmoveduponthefaceofthedeep,untiltheice-coldrivers, theElivogs,flowingfromNiflheim,cameincontactwith thedazzlingflamesfromMuspelheim.ThiswasbeforeChaos.

AndFimbultyrsaid:Letthemelteddropsofvaporquickenintolife,andthegiantYmerwasborninthemidstofGinungagap.Hewasnotagod,butthefatherofalltheraceofevilgiants.ThiswasChaos.

AndFimbultyr said:LetYmerbe slain and let orderbe established.And straightwayOdin andhisbrothersthe bright sons of Buregave Ymer a mortal wound, and from his body made they theuniverse;fromhisflesh, theearth;fromhisblood, thesea;fromhisbones, therocks;fromhishair, thetrees;fromhisskull,thevaultedheavens;fromhiseye-brows,thebulwarkcalledMidgard.Andthegodsformedmanandwomanintheirownimageoftwotrees,andbreathedintothemthebreathoflife.AskandEmblabecamelivingsouls,andtheyreceivedagardeninMidgardasadwelling-placefor themselvesandtheirchildrenuntiltheendoftime.ThiswasCosmos.

The worlds last day approaches. All bonds and fetters that bound the forces of heaven and earthtogetheraresevered,andthepowersofgoodandofevilarebroughttogetherinaninternecinefeud.LokeadvanceswiththeFenris-wolfandtheMidgard-serpent,hisownchildren,withallthehostsofthegiants,andwith Surt,who flings fire and flame over theworld.Odin advanceswith all the asas and all theblessedeinherjes.Theymeet,contend,andfall.ThewolfswallowsOdin,butVidar,theSilent,setshisfootuponthemonsterslowerjaw,heseizestheotherwithhishand,andthusrendshimtillhedies.FreyencountersSurt,andterribleblowsaregivenereFreyfalls.HeimdalandLokefightandkilleachother,and so do Tyr and the dog Garm from the Gnipa Cave. Asa-Thor fells theMidgard-serpent with hisMjolner,butheretreatsonlyninepaceswhenhehimselffallsdead,suffocatedbytheserpentsvenom.ThensmokewreathesuparoundtheashYgdrasil,thehighflamesplayagainsttheheavens,thegravesofthegods,ofthegiantsandofmenareswallowedupbythesea,andtheendhascome.ThisisRagnarok,thetwilightofthegods.

But the radiant dawn follows the night. The earth, completely green, rises again from the sea, andwhere themewshavebut justbeen rockingon restlesswaves, rich fieldsunplowedandunsown,nowwavetheirgoldenharvestsbeforethegentlebreezes.Theasasawaketoanewlife,Balderiswiththemagain.ThencomesthemightyFimbultyr,thegodwhoisfromeverlastingtoeverlasting;thegodwhomtheEdda skald dared not name. The god of gods comes to the asas.He comes to the great judgment andgathersallthegoodintoGimletodwellthereforever,andevermoredelightsenjoy;buttheperjurersandmurderers and adulterers he sends to Nastrand, that terrible hall, to be torn by Nidhug until they arepurgedfromtheirwickedness.ThisisRegeneration.

ThesearetheoutlinesoftheTeutonicreligion.SuchwerethedoctrinesestablishedbyOdinamongourancestors.ThusdowefinditrecordedintheEddasofIceland.

ThepresentvolumecontainsalloftheYoungerEddathatcanpossiblybeofanyimportancetoEnglishreaders.Infact,itgivesmorethanhaseverbeforebeenpresentedinanytranslationintoEnglish,GermanoranyofthemodernScandinaviantongues.

WewouldrecommendourreaderstoomittheForewordsandAfterwordsuntiltheyhaveperusedtheFoolingofGylfeandBragesSpeech.TheForewordsandAfterwords,itwillreadilybeseen,arewrittenbyalaterandlessskillfulhand,andweshouldbesorrytohaveanyonelaythebookasideandlosethe

pleasureofreadingSnorresandOlafscharmingwork,becausehebecamedisgustedwithwhatseemedto himmere silly twaddle.And yet theseForewords andAfterwords become interesting enoughwhentakenup inconnectionwithastudyof thehistoricalanthropomorphizedOdin.Withaviewofgivingapretty complete outline of the founder of the Teutonic race we have in our notes given all theHeimskringla sketch of theBlackSeaOdin.Wehave done this, not only on account of thematerial itfurnishesasthegroundworkofaTeutonicepic,whichwetrustthemuseswillerelongdirectsomeonetowrite,butalsoonaccountof thevividpicture itgivesofTeutonic lifeasshapedandcontrolledbytheOdinicfaith.

AllthepoemsquotedintheYoungerEddahaveinthiseditionbeentracedbacktotheirsourcesintheElderEddaandelsewhere.

Wherethenotesseemtothereaderinsufficient,wemustreferhimtoourNorseMythology,wherehewill,wetrust,findmuchoftheadditionalinformationhemaydesire.

Wellawarethatourworkhasmanyimperfections,andbeggingourreaderstodealgenerouslywithourshortcomings, we send the book out into the world with the hope that it may aid some young son ordaughterofOdintofindhiswaytothefountainsofUrdandMimerandtoIdunsrejuvenatingapples.Thesonmustnotsquander,buthusbandwisely,whathisfatherhasaccumulated.Theracemustcherishandholdfastandaddtothethought that thepasthasbequeathedtoit.Thusdoesitgrowgreaterandricherwitheachnewgeneration.Thepastisthemirrorthatreflectsthefuture.

R.B.ANDERSONUniversityofWisconsin,Madison,Wis.,September,1879.

INTRODUCTION

TherecordsofourTeutonicpasthavehithertoreceivedbutslightattentionfromtheEnglish-speakingbranchofthegreatworld-ashYgdrasil.Thisindifferenceisthemoredeplorable,sinceaknowledgeofourheroicforefatherswouldnaturallyoperateasamostpowerfulmeansofkeepingaliveamongus,andour posterity, that spirit of courage, enterprise and independence for which the old Teutons were sodistinguished.

Thereligionofourancestorsformsan importantchapter in thehistoryof thechildhoodofourrace,and this fact has induced us to offer the public an English translation of the Eddas. The purelymythologicalportionoftheElderEddawastranslatedandpublishedbyA.S.Cottle,inBristol,in1797,and thewholeworkwas translatedbyBenjaminThorpe,andpublished inLondon in1866.Both theseworksarenowoutofprint.OftheYoungerEddawehavelikewisehadtwotranslationsintoEnglish,thefirstbyDasentin1842,thesecondbyBlackwell,inhiseditionofMalletsNorthernAntiquities,in1847.Theformerhaslongbeenoutofprint,thelatterisapoorimitationofDasents.Bothofthemareveryincomplete.ThesefourbooksconstitutealltheEddaliteraturewehavehadintheEnglishlanguage,excepting, of course, single lays and chapters translated by Gray, Henderson, W. Taylor, Herbert,Jamieson,Pigott,WilliamandMaryHowitt,andothers.

TheYoungerEdda(alsocalledSnorresEdda,ortheProseEdda),ofwhichwenowhavethepleasureofpresentingourreadersanEnglishversion,contains,asusuallypublishedintheoriginal,thefollowingdivisions:

1.TheForeword.2.Gylfaginning(TheFoolingofGylfe).3.TheAfterwordtoGylfaginning.4.BragesSpeech.5.TheAfterword.6.Skaldskaparmal(acollectionofpoeticparaphrases,anddenominationsinSkaldiclanguagewithout

paraphrases).7.Hattatal(anenumerationofmetres;asortofClavisMetrica).In some editions there are also found six additional chapters on the alphabet, grammar, figures of

speech,etc.TherearethreeimportantparchmentmanuscriptsoftheYoungerEdda,viz:1.CodexRegius,theso-calledKingsBook.ThiswaspresentedtotheRoyalLibraryinCopenhagen,

byBishopBrynjulfSveinsson,intheyear1640,whereitisstillkept.2.CodexWormianus.This is found in theUniversityLibrary inCopenhagen, in theArneMagnan

collection. It takes its name fromProfessorOleWorm [died 1654], towhom itwas presented by thelearned Arngrim Jonsson. ChristianWorm, the grandson of Ole Worm, and Bishop of Seeland [died1737],afterwardpresentedittoArneMagnusson.

3.CodexUpsaliensis.ThisispreservedintheUpsalaUniversityLibrary.Liketheothertwo,itwasfoundinIceland,whereitwasgiventoJonRugmann.LateritfellintothehandsofCountMagnusGabrielde la Gardie, who in the year 1669 presented it to the Upsala University. Besides these three chiefdocuments,thereexistfourfragmentaryparchments,andalargenumberofpapermanuscripts.

The first printed editionof theYoungerEdda, in theoriginal, is the celebrated Edda Islandorum,publishedbyPeterJohannesResen,inCopenhagen,intheyear1665.ItcontainsatranslationintoLatin,

made partly by Resen himself, and partly also by Magnus Olafsson, Stephan Olafsson and ThormodTorfason.

Not until eighty years later, that is in 1746, did the second edition of theYounger Edda appear inUpsalaundertheauspicesofJohannesGoransson.ThiswasprintedfromtheCodexUpsaliensis.

InthepresentcenturywefindathirdeditionbyRasmusRask,publishedinStockholmin1818.Thisisverycomplet