Anonymous, Völuspá [The Sybil’s Prophecy]

Gísli Sigurðsson (University of Iceland)

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), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1200

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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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,

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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 25 April 2024.]

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Anonymous, Völuspá [The Sybil’s Prophecy]

Dates

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