Anonymous, Völuspá [The Sybil’s Prophecy]

Gísli Sigurðsson (University of Iceland)
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Völuspá

is one of the poems of the edda, in

fornyrðislag

metre, preserved in two complete versions in medieval Icelandic manuscripts: 63 stanzas in the

Codex Regius

manuscript of the edda poems from around 1270 (“Konungsbók eddukvæða

Codex Regius

”), and 59 stanzas in

Hauksbók

, the relevant section being dated to the middle years of the 14th century (

Hauksbók

1892-96). In addition, 28 stanzas from

Völuspá

are quoted, in part or in whole, in the various manuscripts of Snorri Sturluson’s

Edda

from the early thirteenth century, the forms being very close to those in

Hauksbók

. Much of the material of the poem is also paraphrased in the manuscripts of Snorri’s

Edda

.

The numbering of the stanzas varies considerably in editions of the poem – for two principal reasons. Firstly,

4608 words

Citation: Sigurðsson, Gísli. "Völuspá". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 October 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40793, accessed 12 October 2024.]

40793 Völuspá 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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