The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics)

Professor Larrington wrote an amazing compilation of what original manuscripts provided modern scholarship. It is a delight to read and learn.

Super nice looking book and it arrived super early!

This is not to review the Eddic poems themselves, but Larrington's translation of them. I've given her translation five stars because it is the most accurate complete translation available in English, and as such, along with Ursula Dronke's editions, the only English translation to be recommended as an aid to the student reading the poetic Edda in Old Norse. That being said, while it is the best available, it is still not completely reliable, so be careful. For a proper study of the Poetic Edda you'll need to also consult the glossary of Lafarge and Tucker, the massive Frankfurt commentary (in German), as well as the editions of Jónas and Gísli published in Icelandic. For the reader not intending to read the Old Norse, I would say any of the translations of the Edda from Larrington, Orchard, Crawford, or Dodd can be recommended, each for different reasons.

Great book, for the ones who want to understand history before Christianity, colonized the world. Must have for any Norse pagans or people wanting to get back to there heritage. If you are into the Norse gods or Runic folklore you have to own yourself a copy

Solid translation. However, there are a few mispellings and some incorrect information. (One example being the introduction mentions Loki as Odin's half brother, which is incorrect. In spellings, works like fjord are translated into fiord, not sure if thats on the author or not. In my opinion words like fjord do not need a respelled translation as fjord is still spelled fjord in current day) Overall, a good read for those who prefer an easier translation to comprehend.

Translation is a big deal. The smallest words interpreted different ways can change the whole meaning. This book was recommended by the Norroena Society as being one of the more accurate translations. Trying to translate the meaning and thinking of an ancient society that has been lost and crushed by Christian rule has a huge impact on the end result. What were the social norms at the time? How did our ancestors view nature, god's, marriage, property, community, and family? It's interesting to read the same stanza from different translations and the message is completely different in parts while the same in others.

An absolute must read.

Great read with prefaces helping understand the readings that are translated. Arrived quickly.