ACKERMANAt a glance
History, context & interpretation
The text and its story
Includes the Völuspá (prophecy of creation and Ragnarök), the Hávamál (Odin's sayings) and hero poems of Sigurd. It is the main source for Norse mythology.
Traditional attribution
Ancient lays of the gods and heroes.
Historical scholarship
Anonymous oral poems preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript.
Context and curiosity
The Codex Regius was given to the King of Denmark in 1662 and returned to Iceland in 1971.
Chronology and transmission
This text belongs to Norse, Celtic & Finnish (Viking Age & medieval Iceland). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as poems c. 800–1100; manuscript c. 1270 CE and original language or script as Old Norse. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.
Sources and further reading
Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.
Read free. Keep a research edition.
The online research article is free. An optional CAD $1.99 downloadable, annotated PDF edition is being prepared. Checkout will appear here only once the PDF and automatic delivery are verified. It will not be represented as a complete original manuscript unless the underlying text and rights have been verified.
Explore available books and editions