Essays on Eddic Poetry

✍ Scribed by John McKinnell

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 394
• Series: Toronto Old Norse and Icelandic Series, 7
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Edited by Donata Kick and John D. Shafer.

'Essays on Eddic Poetry' presents a selection of important articles on Old Norse literature by noted medievalist John McKinnell. While McKinnell’s work addresses many of the perennial issues in the study of Old Norse, this collection has a special focus on the interplay between heathen and Christian world-views in the poems.

Among the texts examined are 'Hávamál', which includes an elegantly cynical poem about Óðinn’s sexual intrigues and a more mystical one about his self-sacrifice on the world-tree in order to gain magical wisdom; 'Vǫlundarkviða', which recounts an elvish smith’s revenge for his captivity and maiming; and 'Hervararkviða', where the heroine bravely but foolishly raises her dead father to demand the deadly sword Tyrfingr from him.

Originally published between 1988 and 2008, these twelve essays cover a wide range of mythological and heroic poems and have been revised and updated to reflect the latest scholarship.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
1. 'Vǫluspá' and the Feast of Easter 3
2. On Heiðr and Gullveig 34
3. The Evolution of 'Hávamál' 59
4. 'Hávamál B': A Reconstructed Poem of Sexual Intrigue 96
5. Wisdom from Dead Relatives: The 'Ljóðatal' Section of 'Hávamál' 123
6. The Paradox of 'Vafþrúðnismál' 153
7. Motivation and Meaning in 'Lokasenna' 172
8. Myth as Therapy: The Function of 'Þrymskviða' 200
9. 'Vǫlundarkviða': Origins and Interpretation 221
10. Female Reactions to the Death of Sigurðr 249
11. Two Sex Goddesses: Þorgerðr Hǫlgabrúðr and Freyja in 'Hyndluljóð' 268
12. The Trouble with Father: 'Hervararkviða' and the Adaptation of Traditional Story-patterns 292
Abbreviations 317
Bibliography 321
Index 349