Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a text of unknown authorship that contains various, anonymous Old Norse poems, many of which are about Norse mythology and the Norse gods.

While the poems that comprise the Poetic Edda come from a variety of manuscripts, most are sourced from the Codex Regius, an Icelandic manuscript written around 1270 CE. Even though this manuscript was penned nearly 200 years after the Christianization of Scandinavia, the stories it contains are much older, likely derived from the pre-Christian oral traditions of northern Europe.

There are many different English translations of the Poetic Edda, often varying in their stylistic approaches and word-choices. You can find out more about different translations by checking out the guide to reading the Eddas.

The Poetic Edda should not be confused with the Prose Edda, which is another medieval text about Norse mythology written by Snorri Sturluson.