[Grímnir’s sayings] is an Old Norse-Icelandic mythological poem. It is composed for the most part in
ljóðaháttr[song meter], though many of the stanzas have an irregular meter, and stanzas 27 through 29 are composed in
fornyrðislag[old story meter]. The poem is divided into 54 stanzas, and before and after the stanzas of poetry are prose passages which introduce and conclude the narrative frame. Stanzas 1 through 3 and 51 through 53 add to the frame story, with the remaining 48 stanzas mostly didactic in function. The oldest version of
Grímnismálsurvives in a vellum manuscript from c. 1270, Konungsbók eddukvæða (Codex Regius of Eddic Poetry; GKS 2365 4to). The poem also survives in AM 748 I a 4to, from c. 1300. Many verses of the poem are found in manuscripts…
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Citation: McGillivray, Andrew. "Grímnismál". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40735, accessed 12 October 2024.]