The Poetic Edda (The Elder Edda)

First passed down orally through innumerable generations of minstrels before the presence of Christianity in Scandinavia, and written down eventually by unknown poets, "The Poetic Edda" is a collection of mythological and heroic Old Norse poems. It was preserved for hundreds of years in the medieval Codex Regius of Iceland. This body of poetry contains narratives on creation, the Doom of the Gods, the adventures of Thor and hostile giants, and many tales of love, family, heroes, and tragedy...