Why You Should (Mostly) Trust the Prose Edda

On the nature of Christian influence

Somewhere out there, tucked away within deep, dark cyberspace lies a place I like to call the “Anti-Snorri universe”. I've never been there myself, and I've never come across a map that can lead you there. But every so often, its influence touches our world and we are forced to reckon with its existence.

The Anti-Snorri universe is likely a bubble hidden within some social media vacuum, led by one or two anti-Snorri influencers masquerading as members of the normal population. But in the same way that well-known lizard man Mark Zuckerberg¹ gives away his superficial understanding of human nature by keeping barbecue sauce on his bookshelf, Anti-Snorrians betray a superficial understanding of Norse mythology with statements like, "just ignore Snorri Sturluson", or, "the Prose Edda was written by Christians", or, "Snorri's writing is commonly considered to be false". And who could forget the all-time classic, "if you want to understand Norse mythology, you should read Neil Gaiman. The Prose Edda is just Snorri Sturluson's fan-fiction".

This is actual, real-life sentiment that appears sometimes in online forums, and it illustrates that some nefarious actor out there is doing a great job of confusing people. So I think it's high time we nipped this absurdity in the bud.

Who was Snorri Sturluson?

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic lawspeaker, scholar, historian, poet, and chieftain born in 1179 A.D. (179 years after Iceland converted to Christianity) who died on September 22, 1241 when he was brutally assassinated in his cellar by Árni the Bitter on the orders of King Haakon IV of Norway.

Throughout his life, Snorri authored various historically important literary works, but is perhaps best remembered for perpetually appearing completely bored out of his mind.

Snorri Sturluson. A composite of portraits done by Christian Krohg (left) and Haukur Stefánsson (right).

Snorri is traditionally believed to have written the Prose Edda (technically titled just Edda), which is one of the two foremost surviving sources of Norse mythology. However you may be surprised to learn that the identification of Snorri as the author of this book is based almost entirely on the following paragraph from a 14th-century manuscript called the Codex Upsaliensis which contains the Edda:

This book is called Edda. Snorri Sturluson has compiled it in the manner in which it is arranged here. There is first told about the Æsir and Ymir, then Skáldskaparmál and names of many things, finally Háttatal which Snorri has composed about King Hákon and Earl Skúli.²

This passage credits Snorri with composing Háttatal and compiling the Edda, but is not entirely clear in saying that he actually wrote anything in it apart from Háttatal. That said, we currently have no better guesses about its authorship than Snorri, and a lot of ideas he subscribed to did make it into the book. So to keep things easy, we’re going to assume that Snorri is indeed the author.

What is the Prose Edda?

The Prose Edda (technically just Edda, as I mentioned) is a largely narrative guide to understanding and composing, most importantly, skaldic poetry. In other words, it’s essentially an ancient textbook for poets written around 1220 AD.

But in order to understand why such a textbook would be necessary, we need to look at an example of skaldic poetry. Here’s the first stanza from the famous poem Þórsdrápa by Eilífr Goðrúnarson:

The sea-thread’s father set out to urge the feller of flight-ledge-gods’ life-net from home. Lopt was proficient at lying. The not very trustworthy trier of the mind of war-thunder-Gaut said that green paths led to Geirrod’s wall-steed house.³

What is the sea-thread? Who is its father? What is a feller of flight-ledge-gods’ life net?

In order to understand this passage, you will need two things: a familiarity with "kennings" and a basic knowledge of Norse mythology. To illustrate, the phrase “sea-thread” is a kenning, which is a metaphorical allusion to something simpler. In this case, it’s a reference to the World Serpent, who is imagined here like a thread winding its way through the sea. Its father, if you know the story, is Loki. A “flight-ledge” is a mountain or cliff, and therefore the metaphorical “gods” of such places are jotuns (specifically bergrisi, so-called “mountain giants”). The one who fells jotuns and snatches their lives away (the metaphorical “life net”) is Thor. So what we’re being told here in that first sentence is simply, “Loki set out to goad Thor into leaving home.” Then there’s the rest of the poem to worry about.

As you can see, in order to understand Iceland’s literary roots (even in the 13th century), one needed some kind of textbook that would explain not only the rules of poetry but also the old, pagan references employed by the poets.

Which brings us to how we know it’s a generally trustworthy source:

Why should we trust the Prose Edda?

Because you can’t succeed in explaining literary references to pagan mythology if you are actively trying to corrupt the mythology. Such a thing would be a doomed attempt at achieving two mutually exclusive goals.

But this doesn’t mean Snorri got everything right. To be fair, he was a Christian, and if we look closely, we can find moments where his Christian worldview has probably influenced the way he interprets the information he has. However, these moments are often relatively obvious when they occur and we have every reason to believe Snorri was trying his best to get the stories right. Here are some of those reasons:

The Prose Edda warns us not to believe what it says

Here’s a quote from the epilogue to the Prose Edda:

But these things have now to be told to young poets who desire to learn the language of poetry and to furnish themselves with a wide vocabulary using traditional terms; […] Yet Christian people must not believe in heathen gods, nor in the truth of this account...⁴

In other words, “this book may be entertaining and useful for poets, but you as a good Christian should not believe any of the stories in it.”

When we look at mythological sources composed by medieval Christian writers, what we commonly find is euhemerism. Deities are re-imagined as historical, human heroes, and mythical events have been transformed into courtly medieval episodes. In fact, the Prologue and epilogue to the Prose Edda contain this very same type of information. But in this case it exists to caveat and disclaim the rest of the information sandwiched between these two sections.

Which leads us to the realization that…

Snorri actually did write some "fan-fiction" and it looks very different from the mythological content of the Prose Edda

Snorri was not afraid of writing euhemeristic history inspired by Norse mythology. For instance, he wrote Heimskringla, which is ostensibly a history of the kings of Norway. The first part of Heimskringla (Ynglinga saga) deals with the origins of the Æsir. In this version of the story, Odin is a powerful army general from Asia Minor during the time of the Roman conquests who migrates with a tribe of followers through Russia and West-Germanic territory into Scandinavia.

As it so happens, Snorri repeats nearly the exact same narrative in the Prologue to the Prose Edda, including Asia, wizards, prophecy, and giants. In fact, all of the mythological narratives delivered in the section of the book called Gylfaginning are couched within a euhemeristic umbrella narrative about a Swedish king named Gylfi who visits a town in Sweden called Asgard (where the “men of Asia” have settled) to learn about the source of their magic. During the course of his visit, three wizards consistently answer his questions with lies and these lies are Snorri’s tools for delivering actual Norse mythological information (as far as he understands it).

This is the alleged history Snorri wants us to believe. It’s a watered-down version of events where the gods are not gods but epic warriors and wizards. In this regard it is similar to Saxo Grammaticus’ story in Gesta Danorum, and in this context, there is no need to deliberately mangle mythological stories because we are explicitly told that these stories are false and that Christians ought not believe them. Instead, they are couched comfortably within Snorri’s “true” account which, ironically, is not historically true at all.

Within the narratives Snorri presents as “gylfa ginning” (lit., Gylfi’s tricking), we are given stories about actual gods with divine origins, primordial blood sacrifice, the creation of the Earth by Odin and his brothers rather than by Almighty God, and an origin of humanity that springs from driftwood. There is even a retained memory of the Proto-Indo-European primeval cow⁵ alongside various other PIE motifs that we ought to expect out of truly ancient stories, but should be surprised to find in the fan-fiction of a medieval Christian author.

These narratives exist for the purpose of educating poets on earlier, pagan literature and the evidence for their veracity (in a general but not total sense) is piling up.

Snorri cites pagan-era sources

Most Anti-Snorrians are big fans of the Poetic Edda, as they should be. It’s the only other large-and-direct source of pure Norse myth we have. In fact, many of the poems in the Poetic Edda can be dated via certain linguistic markers to have been originally composed during the pagan period⁶, even though pen didn’t hit paper until after the conversion. (Christians “wrote” the Poetic Edda too!)

As it turns out, Snorri quotes the poems of the Poetic Edda quite frequently and directs his readers back to them for confirmation of many of the claims he makes in his own Edda. He quotes Vǫluspá, Vǫluspá hin Skamma, Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, and Lokasenna, as well as various other pagan poetic sources, some of which no longer survive. This is an awfully strange thing to do for someone who has set out to deliberately mislead his readers with Christianized stories. Why redirect them back to the pagan source material?

We can even verify that certain of his no-longer-surviving sources did exist because they are referenced by other authors. For example, both Snorri (in Iceland) and Saxo (in Denmark) cite the same two stanzas of an otherwise lost poem about Njord and Skadi, which may indicate that both were working from a lost source (perhaps a “Proto-Edda?”) that was itself citing even earlier poetry.

And while we're on the subject of confirming Snorri’s details that aren’t found in the Poetic Edda…

Archaeology often vindicates Snorri’s version of events

In Vǫluspá stanza 53 (Pettit’s organization⁷), Vidar kills Fenrir by stabbing him in the heart:

Þá kømr inn mikli mǫgr Sigfǫður, | Víðarr, vega at valdýri; | lætr hann megi Hveðrungs mund um standa | hjǫr til hjarta; þá er hefnt fǫður.

Then comes the mighty son of Victory-Father [=Odin], Vidar, striking at the Slaughter-Beast [=Fenrir]; with his hand he lets stand a sword to the heart of Hvedrung’s [=Loki’s] son; then is [his] father avenged.

However in Snorri’s version of events, things are a bit more complex:

Vidar will come forward and step with one foot on the lower jaw of the wolf. […] With one hand he will grasp the wolf’s upper jaw and tear apart its mouth and this will cause the wolf’s death.⁸

These are two very different ideas. Yet Snorri’s details are confirmed by a picture carved into the Gosforth Cross⁹ which was created in the English Danelaw in the first half of the 900s AD (nearly 300 years prior to the Prose Edda) and which depicts Vidar killing Fenrir in exactly the manner described by Snorri.

Vidar stepping on Fenrir’s lower jaw while placing one hand on his upper jaw as depicted on the Gosforth Cross.

Here’s another one for you: There is only one story presented in Norse mythology wherein a person’s mouth is sewn shut, and that story is told in the Prose Edda. After Loki makes a wager with some dwarves and attempts to interfere with the working of the bellows in their forge, one of the dwarves sews Loki’s mouth shut in lieu of cutting off his head.

Although this story does not exist in the Poetic Edda, it does appear to be referenced by the Snaptun Stone¹⁰, which is a forge stone from Denmark dating to around the year 1000 AD. The Snaptun Stone features a hole through which a bellows may be inserted and a carving of a man’s face with his mouth sewn shut.

A likely depiction of Loki with his mouth sewn shut on the Snaptun Stone

One more for the road: The story of Thor’s fishing trip with Hymir is recorded in both Eddas, however Snorri’s account contains many details that are not found in the corresponding poem. One such detail is that when Thor presses his feet against the bottom of the boat while struggling with the World Serpent on the end of the line, his feet break through the floor of the boat.

Snorri’s version is once again vindicated by the Danish Hørdum Stone¹¹ (8-11th century) and the Swedish Altuna Stone¹² (11th century), both of which feature a carving of Thor fishing for the World Serpent with his foot sticking through the bottom of the boat.

Thor’s foot breaks through the bottom of the boat. A composite of the Hørdum Stone (left) and the Altuna Stone (right).

Time and time again, when new evidence appears, it confirms Snorri’s accounts, thus proving what I have already said: Snorri’s purpose was to educate, which you can not do very well by lying. He clearly had access to legitimate pagan sources that no longer exist and was motivated to get the story right, even if he didn’t get everything right. He was just one scholar after all.

Final thoughts

It occurs to me that Anti-Snorrians often don’t realize just how much Norse mythology is truly off the table if the Prose Edda is to be abandoned. Thor’s iron gloves? Gone. The creation of Odin’s spear Gungnir, Thor’s hammer Mjollnir, and Freyr’s ship Skidbladnir? Out the window. (At this point we wouldn’t even know what Gungnir actually is). The story of Fenrir’s binding? Fake news. The creation and murder of Kvasir? Never happened. The birth of Sleipnir and Loki’s transformation into a mare? Christian fan-fiction. The origins of Ymir and Odin? Your guess is as good as mine. Thor and Loki were deceived by illusory magic in Utgard? Sorry, no trickster magicians in Utgard. Odin gave Hel authority over the dead? He would never. The list goes on and on.

But what may be the most baffling take of all is the oft-repeated advice that a person should completely disregard the Prose Edda and turn instead to any modern book of retellings (e.g., Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology) which derives at least half of its content directly from the Prose Edda. Statements like this are dead giveaways that a person is under the influence of someone whose intentions are not to educate.

The Prose Edda is a legitimate source of mythological information, all serious scholars agree with this, and there is no evidence to the contrary. But there is a difference between understanding this fact and blindly believing every word Snorri ever wrote. Consider this extremely Christian-sounding passage from Gylfaginning:

…[Odin’s] greatest work is that he made man and gave him a soul that shall live and never perish though the body decay to dust or burn to ashes. And all men who are righteous shall live and dwell with him himself in the place called Gimle or Vingolf, but wicked men go to Hel…¹³

This, of course, can be contrasted against some very different-sounding information found in the same book:

Hel [Odin] threw into Niflheim and gave her authority over nine worlds, such that she has to administer board and lodging to those sent to her, and that is those who die of sickness or old age.¹⁴

In this case, we appear to be told two contradictory things about the afterlife known as Hel. In the context of some explanatory text wherein Snorri is summarizing Odin’s accomplishments, he tells us that Hel is the destination of the wicked. In the context of a retold myth, it suddenly becomes the destination of those who die in non-wicked-yet-mundane ways. It’s certainly possible we are dealing with some Christian influence here. But it’s also possible Snorri has just used Christian-sounding language to make some information sound contradictory, when really it may not be¹⁵. This can sometimes be a tricky topic.

Context is always an important key. Understanding why a source was created and what purpose it serves is essential for determining its value and legitimacy. Wherever we can, we should attempt to find corroboration for all claims made in any non-primary source. This includes the Prose Edda, and it also includes modern sources¹⁶ denouncing the Prose Edda. What do the authors of such ideas achieve by attacking him, and are their claims supported by other material or scholarship?

At the end of the day, you should not trust social media gurus, no matter how many followers they have. Don’t even trust me. Read the source material for yourself and, if you really want to get nuts, read some scholarship as well. Then make your own decisions.

1. This is a joke. Mark Zuckerberg is not really a lizard man.

2. Faulkes, A., trans., Snorri Sturluson: ‘Edda’ (London: J. M. Dent, 1987), http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/EDDArestr.pdf, p. xxvi

3. Faulkes, p. 83.

4. Faulkes, p. 64.

5. Introductory information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_mythology

6. Þorgeirsson, H., Árnason, K. (Ed.), Carey, S. (Ed.), Dewey, T. K. (Ed.), Aðalsteinsson, R. I. (Ed.), & Eyþórsson, Þ. (Ed.) (2016). “The dating of Eddic poetry: evidence from alliteration”. In Approaches to Nordic and Germanic Poetry Málvísindastofnun og Háskólaútgáfan, Reykjavík.

7. Pettit, E., trans., The Poetic Edda: A Dual Language Edition, (Open Book Publishers, 2023), pp. 50-51.

8. Faukes, p. 54.

9. Introductory information at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosforth_Cross

10. Introductory information at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki#Snaptun_Stone

11. Introductory information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B8rdum_stone

12. Introductory information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altuna_Runestone

13. Faulkes, p. 9.

14. Faulkes, p. 27.

15. There is some evidence that the Norse underworld may have been comprised of a system that was tiered in some way, wherein the worst members of society received a punishing fate. See, for example, Vǫluspá 38 (Pettit transl., p. 47): “There she saw wading swift currents perjured people and [murderers], and the one who seduces another’s wife; there Niðhǫggr sucked the corpses of the deceased, the wolf tore men…”. For more information, see my post “Norse Cosmology Part I: The Nine Realms are Wrong”.

16. The word sources is used incredibly loosely here. There are no legitimate scholarly sources denouncing the Prose Edda.