EDDAS, The. The name given to two col lections of early Icelandic literature, very un like in character. The Poetic Edda' consists of a series of lays in various metres, most of them celebrating the deeds of gods and heroes; the Edda' is a manual of instruction for poets, in which information in regard to the matter and form of poetry is given in prose, with some illustrations in verse. The Edda) is the work of different authors, no one of whom is known by name. Internal evidence shows that the lays which compose it date, in their present form, from the 9th to the 12th centuries inclusive; most of them belonging, perhaps, in the 10th. They were united into a collection by an unknown Icelander in the early 13th century. His transcript is lost, but the material is extant in later copies. The best and oldest manuscript is the Codex Regius, now in the Royal Library at Copenhagen. This dates from the end of the 13th century, but was not recovered until the 17th century, by the Icelandic bishop Brynjolf Sveinsson. He called it the (Edda of Samiund the Wise,' because he thought that a learned Icelander of the 12th century, Samund Sigfusson, might be the au thor or collector of the pieces. Modern criti cism has shown this to be impossible, but the term Edda' is still sometimes er roneously used. The author of the Edda' was the Icelander Snorri Sturluson, (1178-1241), a literary man of great distinction. Hence the Edda' is often called the Edda,> and sometimes the Edda,' to distinguish it from the Elder or Poetic collection. The term "Edda" belongs properly only to the work of Snorri. It prob ably means book of Oddi,"— a little place in Iceland where Snorri and Smmund °Edda" also signifies "great-grandmother"' ; hence the collection has been fancifully inter preted as tales told by an old woman to her descendants. Again, it has often been under stood as °a system of poetry." Whatever its origin, the term has won its way to the best modern usage.
The 'Poetic Edda) falls roughly into two divisions, treating respectively of gods and heroes. The Lays of the Gods differ a great deal from each other in character and technic. The 'Voluspa,' or 'Prophecy of the Sibyl,' is an account of the creation and fated destruction of the world. 'Balder's Dreams' has a similar setting; the prophetess gives Odin information about the future, explaining the evil dreams that have afflicted tie god Balder. The 'Lay of Thrym' is a humorous piece, narrating the stealing of Thor's hammer and its recovery by Loki. Similar in character is the 'Lay of Hymir,' in which Thor goes out fishing on the wintry sea with the giant Hymir, and catches the world-serpent which lies at the bottom, en circling the earth. In the 'Word-Combat of Loki,' the treacherous god recalls, at a banquet from which he has been excluded, disreputable incidents in the lives of the deities, until silenced by Thor. The 'Lay of Skirnir' relates a love affair of the god Frey. Several pieces consist of moral reflections, set in a narrative frame work. In the 'Lay of Hoarbeard' and the 'Lay of Vafthruthnir,' Odin shows his supremacy in contests of wisdom; in the 'Lay of Allwise' the victory is with Thor, who keeps the dwarf Allwise above ground after sunrise, so that he is turned to stone. In the 'Lay of Grimnir'
Odin utters wisdom in disguise. The 'Hava mal,) the 'Words of the Mighty One,' is a collection of gnomic material. The 'Lay of Rig) and the 'Lay of Hyndla,) of minor im portance, and the 'Lay of Swipdag,) with the setting of a love-story, but uniting the prophecy and the word-contest, complete the collection, except for material of little significance.
With the exception of the 'Lay of Weland,' the celebrated smith, and three the second section is concerned with the person ages connected with the great story of Sigurd, the German Siegfried,• which is here much extended. A short prose section, 'Sinfjotli's Death,' and the 'Prophecy of Gripir.' lead to the 'Lay of Regin) and the 'Lay of Fafnir.' Sigurd slays the dragon and gets the Nibelun gen gold. In the 'Lay of Sigrdrifa' (Bryn hild) his meeting with the Valkyrie is de scribed; and the well-known story is continued in two lays centering about Sigurd, three con cerned with Gudrun and two describing the tragedy at the court of Atli. The 'Lament of Oddrun' deals with the love of the sister of Atli for Gunnar. The 'Exhortation of Gud run) and the (Lay of Hamthir' describe events after Gudrun's marriage to Tonakr, particularly the pathetic tale of Swanhild. The 'Lays of the Heroes' often attain a high level of tragic power. Dramatic moments are emphasized and details omitted and the stanzaic structure height ens the effect of intensity, much as in the tra ditional ballad-verse. The whole is very differ ent from the tranquil and ample narrative of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Mythological interpreta tions of the poems as allegories of the proces ses of nature must be received with caution. The hypothesis of Sophus Bugge that many of the lays have their origins in classical and Christian traditions has not met with general acceptance.
After a Prologue, the
Edda' narrates the
Bibliography.— The Lays of the Gods have been translated by Olive Bray (Viking Club, London 1908) ; the second volume to con tain the Lays of Heroes, has not yet appeared. The German translation by H. Gering of the entire Poetic Edda may be used in default of an English version. The best portions of the 'Prose Edda' have been translated by A. G. Brodeur (New York 1916).