Anonymous, Vafþrúðnismál

Andrew McGillivray (University of Winnipeg)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 900

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Vafþrúðnismál [Vafþrúðnir’s sayings] is an Old Norse-Icelandic mythological poem, composed in the eddic meter ljóðaháttr [song meter] and divided into either 55 or 56 stanzas, depending on the edition. Its form is dialogic with the exception of one stanza of direct narration. The oldest version of Vafþrúðnismál survives in a vellum manuscript from c. 1270, Konungsbók eddukvæða (Codex Regius of Eddic Poetry; GKS 2365 4to). A fragmentary version is also found in AM 748 I a 4to, from c. 1300, that includes the final two-thirds of the Vafþrúðnismál text, from stanza 20 line 2 …

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1942 words

Citation: McGillivray, Andrew. "Vafþrúðnismál". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40733, accessed 14 May 2024.]

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