The Poetic Edda — Henry Adams Bellows (Free Digital Download)

Translated in 1923 — Public Domain The Poetic Edda is the core collection of Old Norse mythological and heroic poems — the primary source for the gods, cosmology, and legendary heroes of the Viking Age. These poems were preserved in the medieval Codex Regius and represent the oldest surviving layer of Norse myth. Henry Adams Bellows’ 1923 translation is clear, direct, and faithful to the original alliterative verse. It includes both mythic lays and heroic lays, covering: the creation of the world and the fate of the gods Odin, Thor, Loki, Freyja, and the giants the prophecy of Ragnarök the Helgi poems and the Sigurd cycle the fall of the Volsungs and the Nibelungs Bellows also provides helpful introductions and notes that give context without getting in the way of the poetry. This edition is ideal for anyone interested in Norse mythology, Viking‑Age belief, Germanic poetry, or the mythic foundations behind modern pagan and heathen traditions. You can also read this book online through the text version hosted at Project Gutenberg.