The derivation of the word " Edda " as the name of Snorri Sturluson ’ s treatise on poetry from the Latin " edo ", " I compose ( poetry )" by analogy with " kredda ", " superstition " from Latin " credo ", " creed " is now widely accepted.

Snorri ’ s expression kend heiti " qualified terms " appears to be synonymous with kenningar, although Brodeur applies this more specifically to those periphrastic epithets which don ’ t come under his strict definition of kenning.

The Meaning of Snorri ’ s Categories.

Simek says that Snorri ’ s description is further proven faithful by way of the ( above mentioned ) 10th century skaldic kenning “ Kvasir ’ s blood ” ( Old Norse Kvasis dreya ), and that strong parallels exist between the Old Norse tale of the theft of the Mead of Poetry by Odin ( in the form of an eagle ) and the Sanskrit tale of the theft of Soma — beverage of the gods — by the god Indra ( or an eagle ), and that these parallels point to a common Proto-Indo-European basis.

Eyrbyggja Saga details the transition of paganism to Christianity within Icelandic settlement under the direction of Snorri Goði, or “ Snorri the Priest .” The emphasis on justice and the conviction in their system of governance is reflected within the saga: “ They say we ’ ll suffer setbacks in court ; we must plead for support from powerful chieftains: but Arnkel will argue an eloquent case, he ’ ll sway judge and jury-I have faith in justice .” However, court decisions were often displaced by personal and violent acts of vengeance as a matter of duty and honor.

He slew the Dwarven King Gotrek ’ s son, Snorri Halfhand, and routed many dwarf armies.

Snorri Sturluson states in his Gylfaginning that "' s brothers are Býleistr and Helblindi ", and several Eddic texts use the Loki-kenning " brother of Býleistr " ( bróðir Býleists ) ( Völuspá, ; Hyndluljóð, ; Skáldskaparmál, ).

Snorri quotes his own source saying: " The sun will go black, earth sink in the sea, heaven be stripped of its bright stars ;...." ( Section 56 ).

Simek states that Hlín is likely simply another name for Frigg, and that Snorri " misunderstood her to be a goddess in her own right in his reading of the Völuspá stanza.

Although he lists her own ancestors as unknown, Snorri writes that Thor and Sif produced a son by the name of Lóriði, who " took after his father ".

Although he has his own saga in Heimskringla, it lacks any skaldic verse, which is normally used by Snorri as supporting evidence and this, combined with its rather legendary character, leads historians to be wary of seeing much veracity in it.

Snorri Sturluson in Heimskringla outlines why these sagas are to be taken as being accurate, in reference to given inaccuracies in the literature on his own part, he states: “ that would be mockery and not praise ”.

These include Trollwoman, ( 1948 ), Head Ransom, ( 1948 ), based on a poem that Egil Skallagrimsson composed to save his own head and bleep-Ride, ( 1944 ) taken from the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlusson.

In contrast, in a concurrently published response, Clive Tolley argues that the term must have originated in historical usage, and as such " it is something of a misrepresentation of the evidence to suggest that Snorri is the main source for the vanir.

Saxo's inclusion of Amleth is the most significant part of the Gesta Danorum, however the work also has value in its description of the canonization of Canute and further in comparison to Snorri, whose work shares many characters and stories, creating a better understanding of pre-Christian Scandinavia.

This tradition was also known by the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, who, however had Odin reside in nearby Fornsigtuna, whereas the god Freyr lived in Gamla Uppsala.

Other parts of the extensive work of Snorri Sturluson ( and other saga writers ) may however be considered valid references for finding elements of the ancient history of Scandinavian people and their religious customs and beliefs.

Snorri, however, was well acquainted with Vänern as he had visited Västergötland in 1219.

Fornjót is mentioned only twice in old verse: in stanza 29 of Ynglingatal where " son of Fornjót " seems to refer to fire and in a citation in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál:

Some manuscripts of the Skáldskaparmál give, along with other material, a list of the sons of Odin, which does not altogether fit with what Snorri writes elsewhere and so is usually thought to be a later addition.

The myth related in the poem is also preserved in prose form by Snorri Sturluson in the Skáldskaparmál and a looser analogue is found in Saxo Grammaticus ' Gesta Danorum.

Some scholars take the term kenning broadly to include any noun-substitute consisting of two or more elements, including merely descriptive epithets ( such as Old Norse grand viðar “ bane of wood ” = “ fire ” ( Snorri Sturluson: Skáldskaparmál 36 )), while others would restrict it to metaphorical instances ( such as Old Norse sól húsanna “ sun of the houses ” = “ fire ” ( Snorri Sturluson: Skáldskaparmál 36 )), specifically those where “ he base-word identifies the referent with something which it is not, except in a specially conceived relation which the poet imagines between it and the sense of the limiting element '” ( Brodeur ( 1959 ) pp. 248 – 253 ).

Adding to the ambiguous meaning of dís is the fact that just like supernatural women were called dísir in the sense " ladies ", mortal women were frequently called by names for supernatural women, as noted by Snorri Sturluson in Skáldskaparmál:

However, Snorri Sturluson, writing in the 13th century, understood heiti in a broader sense that could include kennings.

Rudolf Simek says that Snorri may have derived his etymology of Sjöfn from the Old Norse words sefi (" sense ") or from sefi ( possibly " relation "), but that the scant references to Sjöfn do not allow for much more of an elaborate explanation for the goddess.

The word was adopted into English in the nineteenth century from medieval Icelandic treatises on poetics, in particular the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson, and derives ultimately from the Old Norse verb kenna “ know, recognise ; perceive, feel ; show ; teach ; etc .”, as used in the expression kenna við “ to name after ; to express thing in terms of ”, “ name after ; refer to in terms of ”, and kenna til “ qualify by, make into a kenning by adding ”.

Snorri draws the line at mixed metaphor, which he terms nykrat “ made monstrous ” ( Snorri Sturluson: Háttatal 6 ), and his nephew called the practice löstr “ a fault ” ( Óláfr hvítaskáld: Third Grammatical Treatise 80 ).

Snorri uses his visiting the Æsir as the frame of that section of the Prose Edda.

In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel upon death and subsequently Hermóðr uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him.

But in the Skáldskaparmál Snorri uses the form Ónar instead, giving " daughter of Ónar " as one of the kennings for Jörð.

Confusion arises from the introduction of the additional term svartálfar " black elves ", which at first appears synonymous to the " dark elves "; Snorri identifies with the dvergar and has them reside in Svartálfaheim.

As opposed to valkyrja and norn, the term dís never appears in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson.

According to the Vinland sagas, when Snorri was 3 years old, his family left Vinland because of hostilities with Native Americans ( called Skrælings by the settlers, which is the Old Norse equivalent of the English term " wretches ").

In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson gave this information in Gylfaginning but in a list of kennings in Skáldskaparmál equates Gymir with the god and giant Ægir, citing a verse by Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson where the kenning in question probably simply substitutes one giant-name for another.

Snorri may refer to:

It can be argued that Snorri used this narrative device as a means of being able to safely document a vanishing and largely oral tradition within a Christian context.

Snorri further writes that Asgard is a land more fertile than any other, blessed also with a great abundance of gold and jewels.

Snorri quips: " There is a huge crowd there, and there will be many more still ...." ( Section 39 ).

In the initial stanzas of the poem Asagarth is the capital of Asaland, a section of Asia to the east of the Tana-kvísl or Vana-Kvísl river ( kvísl is " fork "), which Snorri explains is the Tanais, or Don River, flowing into the Black Sea.

It is unclear what people Snorri thinks the Vanes are, whether the proto-Slavic Venedi or the east Germanic Vandals, who had been in that region at that time for well over 1000 years.

Troy cannot have been Asagarth, Snorri realizes, the reason being that the Æsir in Asaland were unsettled by the military activities of the Romans ; that is, of the Byzantine Empire.

Snorri says at first it is Valhalla and then adds: " The Swedes now believed that he had gone to the old Asagarth and would live there forever " ( Section 9 ).

Both Fundinn Noregr and Snorri Sturluson in Skáldskaparmál state that Ægir is the same as the sea-giant Hlér, who lives on the isle of Hlésey, and this is borne out by kennings.

The bridge is attested as Bilröst in the Poetic Edda ; compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and as Bifröst in the Prose Edda ; written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds.

According to Gylfaginning, a book of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Baldr's wife is Nanna and their son is Forseti.

In Gylfaginning, Snorri relates that Baldr had the greatest ship ever built, named Hringhorni, and that there is no place more beautiful than his hall, Breidablik.

It is briefly described in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning as one of the halls of Asgard:

Snorri Sturluson quoted this old poem in Skáldskaparmál, saying that because of this legend Heimdall is called " Seeker of Freyja's Necklace " ( Skáldskaparmál, section 8 ) and Loki is called " Thief of Brísingamen " ( Skáldskaparmál, section 16 ).

The first part of Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál is a dialogue between Ægir and Bragi about the nature of poetry, particularly skaldic poetry.

" A third, proposed in 1895 by Eiríkr Magnússon, but since discredited, is that it derives from the Icelandic place name Oddi, site of the church and school where students, including Snorri Sturluson, were educated.

Fenrir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

In reference to Fenrir's presentation in the Prose Edda, Andy Orchard theorizes that " the hound ( or wolf )" Garmr, Sköll, and Hati Hróðvitnisson were originally simply all Fenrir, stating that " Snorri, characteristically, is careful to make distinctions, naming the wolves who devour the sun and moon as Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson respectively, and describing an encounter between Garm and Týr ( who, one would have thought, might like to get his hand on Fenrir ) at Ragnarök.

Freyja is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources ; in the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, both written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century ; in several Sagas of Icelanders ; in the short story Sörla þáttr ; in the poetry of skalds ; and into the modern age in Scandinavian folklore, as well as the name for Friday in many Germanic languages.

The problem is that in Old Norse mær means both " daughter " and " wife ," so it is not fully clear if Fjörgynn is Frigg's father or another name for her husband Odin, but Snorri Sturluson interprets the line as meaning Frigg is Fjörgynn's daughter ( Skáldskaparmál 27 ), and most modern translators of the Poetic Edda follow Snorri.