Snorri Sturluson, Edda, the Prose

Carl Olsen (University of California, Berkeley)

Ed. by Richard William Dance, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1220

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Epic
Story

Resources

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The

Prose Edda

was composed in Iceland around 1220 by Snorri Sturluson (1178/79-1241), a poet and a member of the powerful Sturlung family. He is believed to also have written

Heimskringla

. The

Prose Edda

is also referred to as

Snorra Edda

[Snorri’s Edda] and

The Younger Edda

. The latter title is based on the belief that the

Prose Edda

was composed after the texts that make up the

Poetic Edda

. The

Prose Edda

, however, is the only one of the two books which was known by the name

Edda

in Medieval Iceland. This name is attested in the

Codex Upsaliensis

version, which opens by stating that the book is called

Edda

and that it was compiled by Snorri.

The Prose Edda survives in four relatively complete manuscripts as well as some fragments. The primary manuscripts are Codex Upsaliensis, from

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1145 words

Citation: Olsen, Carl. "Edda, the Prose". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5442, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Snorri Sturluson, Edda, the Prose

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