#Prose Edda

[hedgewitchgarden]

“From this they realized that Earth was alive, and had a sort of life. And they knew that she was immensely ancient of years, and powerful of nature. She raised all life, and she received everything in death. For this reason they gave her a name, and counted their lineages from her.”

~ Snorri Sturlusson, Introduction to the Prose Edda, 1225 A.D.

[saphronethaleph]

Who the Edda you

The door to Odin’s study opened with a dramatic thud, which wasn’t quite the crash that Thor could manage but was still quite passable.

“Father!” Loki began, without preamble.

“Loki,” Odin replied, turning around. “You seem upset.”

“Congratulations, you can tell,” Loki replied. “I don’t suppose your all-seeing eye has told you why I’m here?”

Odin frowned, then shook his head slightly.

“I don’t know that,” he said. “I know you went to Midgard recently.”

“Well, of course you’d know that,” Loki agreed. “But I have to ask. Am I adopted?”

Odin winked.

“...what?” he asked, mostly to buy time.

“Because some of this stuff is complete nonsense,” Loki went on, slamming a book down on the nearest table.

Odin saw that it said Prose and Poetic Edda, but Loki just kept going. “I mean, really, complete nonsense. It’s impossible for you to conceive of just how ridiculous this is, I read the whole thing and according to this book’s version of things, Sleipnir is my son.”

Odin stared for a moment, then looked at the book again.

“Sleipnir…” he repeated, slowly. “The horse.”

“Yesss,” Loki confirmed. “I understand your confusion, old man, because I very much share it. Admittedly they do have an explanation, but – that’s not even the only child I have in this book! I also have a sea serpent, a giant wolf called Fenris and a half-zombie woman called Hel!”

Odin coughed.

“They what?” he asked, coughing again. “...where did you even get that book, anyway?”

“Book store, while I was waiting for Thor to finish… being Thor,” Loki replied. “Amazingly enough, they quite like books down in Midgard. And some of the things they mention in it are quite familiar. A lot of names, for example, though it’s astonishing what they get wrong. Heimdall’s in there, he’s described as the whitest of the gods.”

Odin looked at the book, then out the window towards the Bifrost (which wasn’t actually visible from this angle), then back to the book.

“And you’re using this book for information?” he asked.

“I said it got all kinds of things ridiculously wrong,” Loki said. “That’s why I’m asking you. I have to say, though, if some of the details here are correct then I’m very much looking forward to them.”

He picked up the book, and flicked through to one of the pages with a turned-over corner. “For example, according to this story Thor and I go on a heist to get Mjolnir back after someone steals it.”

Odin now looked even more baffled.

“Couldn’t Thor just call it back to his hand?” he said, despite himself.

“I don’t know, but knowing Thor he may have forgotten,” Loki said. “And I was apparently having too much fun with the heist plan to actually mention it to my brother… what with how the plan was to disguise Thor as the most beautiful of the goddesses, and insist on the dowry being Mjolnir.”

He smirked. “I do suspect that I came up with that idea. It has my flair.”

“Aren’t you getting it out of a book, right now?” Odin asked.

Loki’s expression soured.

“Fair point,” he admitted. “Did you really pluck out an eye and impale yourself to gain omniscience, though?”

He gave Odin an askance look. “And if you did, is that an Asgardian thing, a parent thing, or just… you, being yourself?”

“...does that book say I was impaled?” Odin asked.

“To death, actually,” Loki confirmed. “Apparently you got better. I don’t pretend to understand.”

Odin frowned, thinking.

“If there’s some deep, dark secret, do tell,” Loki requested. “I know a huge part of this book is absolute nonsense, but some of it is extremely telling and I’ve even got some ideas from it. I should really try shapeshifting into an eagle and flying around some time.”

He made a face. “Not doing a mare, though.”

“Why not?” Odin said, again trying to buy time to think.

“According to the book – which, again, I know isn’t true,” Loki noted, “Sleipnir came about when you’d hired a giant to build the walls of Asgard but didn’t want to pay him. About two thirds of the work was done by his magic horse, and apparently I seduced the horse.”

Odin nodded, slowly.

“Loki,” he said. “My son. I can tell you that that part of the book is Millennial nonsense.”

Loki blinked.

“...what’s a Millennial?” he asked.

“People born this millennium,” Odin clarified. “So, anyone under nine hundred and eighty years old.”

He paused.

“Oh, and – yes,” he added. “You were adopted, but I wanted to wait until you and your brother were mature enough to accept that.”

“You don’t think I’m mature enough now?” Loki asked, hurt.

“I do know about that time you had a bet with Thor to vanish out of a plane in mid-flight,” Odin said. “And, before you ask, that’s both of you that I mean.”

Loki frowned.

“I concede that,” he said, sounding pained. “All right, I’ll try to process that.”

He picked up the book again. “Though I may need to stay away from mistletoe from now on. Getting involved with that particular plant doesn’t seem to end well for me…”

[illustratus]

Nótt riding Hrímfaxi by Peter Nicolai Arbo

[pepsimansthickjuicymeatyschlong]

theyre called the eddas cause theyre heavily edda-ted

[loki-was-framed]

[cuties-in-codices]

Auðumbla, a primeval cow from norse mythology

in Ólafur Brynjúlfsson's "Sæmundar og Snorra Edda", an illustrated icelandic manuscript retelling the medieval "prose edda", 1760

source: Copenhagen, Royal Library, NKS 1867 4º, fol. 95r

[lokavisi]

I'm trying to figure out what kind of regularly scheduled content I to do (besides just my daily queued reblogs to keep this page active). These are just some ideas I had but I was wondering if y'all have any preferences so I can prioritize. I *could* do them all, but don't want my ADHD excitement to lead to burnout. So we'll start with just one or two for now (depending on the frequency). Leave a comment if you have other ideas or to indicate if you want multiple options. If you're finding this within a week or so of the poll's end, feel free to leave a comment with your choice!

[magicaldogtoto]

Noticed on TV Tropes's page for Kamen Rider Ryuki that the only entry under Kamen Rider Odin's character sheet discussing his name origin (that of Odin of Norse myth) just says "He's named after a god, which rings true considering just how overpowered he can be."

This is true, but I'm here today to say that it goes so much further than that, which I've realized while reading/re-reading the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda.

In the Grimnismal, Odin in disguise as the titular Grimnir gives a list of his numerous names and titles. In particular, Grimnismal 48 has him list "Battle-Merry" and "Battle-Stirrer" as two of them. Both titles point to Odin being a god of battle/war, the latter indicating that he stirs up war. In Ryuki, Kamen Rider Odin is meant to be the Rider stand-in for Shiro Kanzaki, who instigates the Rider War. He notably does this by approaching different people and giving them their Advent Decks, thus stirring them to engage in battle with the other Riders.

One of Kamen Rider Odin's cards is also the Time Vent, which rewinds the events of the Rider War back to the start, erasing everyone's memories (though Shinji manages to hold on somewhat, as shown little more than halfway through the show). This effectively puts the Rider War in an endless loop of Riders fighting, dying, and coming back to life to fight again. Those vaguely familiar with Norse myth may have heard of Valhalla, and of the Einherjar. In Vafthruthnismal, the giant Vafthruthnir describes Valhalla's daily battle as this:

"All the Einherjar in Odin's hall fight each other every day. They kill each other, but then ride back from battle and sit in the evening as friends." (Vafthruthnismal 41)

Valhalla's battle is thus a cyclical one, in an endless loop until Ragnarok. In a way, you can call it one of the oldest examples of a battle royale like the Rider War, with the same fighters dying off only to be brought back to life to fight another day. The Rider War can even be seen to parallel Ragnarok, with how the ultimate end of the war is the winner's ability to rewrite the world as they see fit, much like how Ragnarok is meant to end with the destruction of all the gods, only for a new world to be born from it. Indeed, Odin's whole reason for having battles is to gather warriors for Valhalla--like how Shiro keeps engineering the Rider War for his own goals.

So yes, Kamen Rider Odin is a very appropriately named Rider...

[the-pagan-crow]

Poetic Edda vs. Prose Edda

What are they? What's the difference? And why are they important?

Simply put, the Eddas are collections of stories about Norse mythology. They are the closest thing we have to a primary source for the tales that ancient Scandinavians told. Since the people who originally told these stories passed them down orally, these texts are not 100% accurate. However, as with everything, they are based on truth. Thus, we must look at them with a critical eye.

There are a couple of important differences when looking at the Eddas. The Poetic Edda draws from the Codex Regius and has several versions. The text tells the tales of the Norse gods and heroes, and the stories themselves may date back to the 8th century. However, the Codex was written in the 13th century. The author of the Codex is unknown, and some people believe that it was put together by several people. There are several translations available today.

The Prose Edda, on the other hand, was complied by, or possibly written by, a 13th century scholar known as Snorri Sturluson.

It is important to note that these texts were written down after the Chirstanization of the area. Therefore, there is probably a lot of bias in these tales.

These texts, along with the Sagas, are the best known texts for Norse mythology. This is why most modern Norse Pagans and Heathens read, or want to read, these texts.

Our thoughts on them

We are currently reading (and annotating) a pdf of the Poetic Edda. After that, we will move on to the Prose Edda. We have chosen the Jackson Crawford translation.

We are very excited to dive deeper into these texts! We always keep in mind the potential biases present, and we hope to report back to yall with some insight after reading!

If we made any mistakes, please let us know! We try to research and fact-check as much as possible, but we are human.

[monstergirlgang]

Monster Girl October Tarot day 24: Valkyries from the Poetic and Prose Edda as the Knight of Swords card!

The knight of swords is about action, swiftness, determination, and boldness. Valkyries would fly into every battle to determine death or victory, and preserve the souls of the best warriors for Valhalla.

[broomsick]

Kennings to Loki

Hail to the Bench-Mate of Óðinn and the Æsir

Hail to the Brother of Býleistr and of Helblindi,

Hail to the the Sly God,

Hail to the Visitor and Chest-Trapping of Geirrödr,

Hail to the Father of the Monster of Ván and of the Vast Monster, and of Hel, and Áli;

Hail to the Kinsman of Sleipnir

Hail to the Harmer of Sif's Hair

Hail to the Thief of the Giants, of the Goat, of the Brísingamen, and of Idunn's Apples;

Hail to the Husband of Sigyn,

Hail to the Slanderer and Cheat of the Gods,

Hail to the Contriver of Baldr's Death,

Hail to the Son of Fárbauti and Laufey, or of Nil,

Hail to the the Bound God

Hail to the Wrangling Foe of Heimdallr and of Skaði.

[hecatesdelights]

Odin, the All-Father

I know that I hung

on the wind-swept tree

all nine nights

with spear was I wounded

and given to Odin,

myself to me,

on that tree which no one knows

from which roots it grows.

Bread I was not given,

no drink from the horn,

downwards I glared;

up I pulled the runes,

screaming I took them,

from there I fell back again.

- excerpt from Sturluson's Prose Edda.

[raffaellopalandri]

Book of the Day - Loki and Sigyn

Today’s Book of the Day is Loki and Sigyn: Lessons on Chaos, Laughter & Loyalty from the Norse Gods, written by Lea Svendsen in 2022 and published by Llewellyn Publications. Lea Svendsen is a writer and expert in the Norse pantheon. She has given many presentations and led workshop-style discussions about Loki and Sigyn and their role in the Heathen practices. Loki and Sigyn, by Lea Svendsen I…

[to-kalon]

so my mother has this habit of just throwing in these random apocryphal facts about mythology and literature and one day we were arguing at dinner about how and when and to what extent loki returns at ragnarök, the end of the world

but my sister and i distinctly remembered that he was punished for the murder of baldr (a story of ultimate tragedy) by having a serpent suspended over him who would drip poison like acid onto him and he was all bound up with his son's guts and then his wife would try to catch the poison in a bowl but the bowl would get full and while she changed it the poison would fall and cause him terrible suffering and he'd cry out and shake the earth in quakes and all the men would pray and pray to be saved but the aesir would think of baldr and grimly turn away. this left a huge impression on me. and i was like, that was definitely the end. it was an eternal torment. that was why it was so striking to us then

and my mother was like. my children. you foolish children. that was not his end. he sails back on a boat of fingernail clippings for his revenge

and we were like??? no way?? a boat of fingernail clippings??? there would be no way we wouldn't remember that. that is way more punk than the whole serpent thing

and we assumed it was one of her weird stories

but she was right.

prose edda confirmed the existence of the fingernail ship !!!!

like, how amazing and unhinged is this passage? 'please be sure not to die with long toenails or fingernails because we sure as hell do not want this freaky-ass nail clipping boat to be launched any sooner than it absolutely has to be'

and i was like, well okay mother but it wasn't in the d'aulaires book you read to us, was it. because that would be insane for kids

but reader — it was !!!

thus concludes the tale of how i was wrong and my mother was right and i deep-dived into this today at the cost of many a useful thing i should have been doing otherwise.

[lokisbeautifulangel]

i was watching some youtube videos on Loki and his shenanigans about the walls of asgard  & Sleipnir  while listening i decided to scroll threw the comment section & i came across a comment that was purely gold like bro 

‘’Loki made himself submissive and breedable for the squad ‘’

well when you put it that ways, its hilarious ahah