The Prose Edda, also known also as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda is an
Icelandic collection of poems containing many stories from
Norse mythology. The work was written by the Icelandic scholar and historian
Snorri Sturluson around 1220.The Prose Edda opens with a Prologue and consists of three distinct books: the '
Gylfaginning (c 20,000 words), the
Skáldskaparmál (c 50,000 words) and the
Háttatal (c 20,000 words). Seven manuscripts, dating from around 1300 to around 1600, have independent textual value.The purpose of the collection was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of
alliterative verse and to grasp the meaning behind the many
kennings that were used in
skaldic poetry.
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