Laufás-Edda

The Laufás-Edda was written in the period 1608-9 by the priest Magnús Ólafsson at Laufás on the request of Arngrímur Jónsson.

The purpose was to make a systematic and encyclopedic version of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. The myths in Gylfaginning are presented as a series of examples and the kennings of Skáldskaparmál are organized alphabetically. The last part, Háttatal, was not included.

The result was a distorted version of Snorri's work, but a version which became a convenient and popular work of reference for poets and antiquarians.

Source and external link

• Margaret Clunies Ross and Lars Lönnroth, "The Norse Muse: Report from an International Research Project," Alvíssmál 9 (1999): 3–28 (pdf), here pp. 8–11.