This volume presents five Norse poems, originally of oral composition, from the late ninth to the early eleventh century. Each has a translation and commentary, intoduction, analysis of structure and meaning, provenance and date. Voluspa traces the history of the earth and its deities, Rigspula pursues the divinely programmed progress of man from ancinet thralldom to contemporary kingship, Volundarkvida concerns the torn halfs of human nature, in the swan-woman and the elf-man, Skirnismal tells of the earth's feminine obstinacy that denies the sun-god his love and Lokasenna tells scandalous...

This volume presents four of the most intricate and fascinating mythological poems of the Poetic Edda, with parallel translations and individual introductions and commentaries. 'Havamal', notable for its unforgettable flashes of beauty and despair, explores the nature of human knowledge. 'Hymiskvita' is the boisterous tale of the giant Hymir. 'Grimnismal', the lay of Grimnir, the Visored God, is a dramatic monologue spoken by Otin. The final poem, 'Grottasongr', is the song of two girls kept as slaves by King Froti to work at his magic grindstone. Ursula Dronke provides new and illuminating...