Snorri Sturluson – författare

This compelling Icelandic history describes the life of King Harald Hardradi, from his battles across Europe and Russia to his final assault on England in 1066, less than three weeks before the invasion of William the Conqueror. It was a battle that led to his death and marked the end of an era in which Europe had been dominated by the threat of Scandinavian forces. Despite England's triumph, it also played a crucial part in fatally weakening the English army immediately prior to the Norman Conquest, changing the course of history. Taken from the Heimskringla - Snorri Sturluson's complete account of Norway from prehistoric times to 1177 - this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great Norse warrior-king.

The most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature and our most extensive source of Norse mythologyWritten in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, The Prose Edda tells ancient stories of the Norse creation epic and recounts the battles that follow as gods, giants, dwarves and elves struggle for survival. In prose interspersed with powerful verse, the Edda shows the gods' tragic realization that the future holds one final cataclysmic battle, Ragnarok, when the world will be destroyed. These tales have proved to be among the most influential of all myths and legends, inspiring works such as Wagner's Ring Cycle and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.Translated with an Introduction and notes by JESSE BYOCK

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin BooksComposed in Iceland in the 13th Century, The Prose Edda is the most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature, taking readers on a voyage through an enthralling world of gods, giants, dwarfs and monsters. From the beginning of the universe to the dreaded Twilight of the Gods, this is the most extensive source of Norse mythology surviving today.

Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, Heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of Norway through the reign of Olaf Haraldsson, who became Norway's patron saint. Once found in most homes and schools and still regarded as a national treasure, Heimskringla influenced the thinking and literary style of Scandinavia over several centuries.

The only English translation to include the complete work - a must-have for all students of early Norse literature.Over a period of twenty years, Snorri Sturluson, scholar, courtier and poet, compiled the prose EDDA as a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. His work surveys the content, style and metres of traditional Viking poetry and includes a poem of Snorri's own, praising the king of Norway. Ironically, Snorri was killed in his own cellar in 1241 on the instigation of the king of Norway as a result of political intrigue.The EDDA contains the most extensive account of Norse myths and legends that has survived from the Middle Ages. This is the only edition available with introduction, text summaries, indexes and chronology of early Icelandic literature.

The wellspring for modern knowledge of Norse mythology, these legends of gods and heroes were created to preserve the Vikings' narrative style from European influence. Edda means "poetic art," and this guidebook for Icelandic poets has been a timeless inspiration for generations of writers, including Wagner, Borges, and Tolkien.

"Prose Edda" is a work without predecessor or parallel. It was designed as a handbook for poets to compose in the style of the skalds of the Viking ages. It is an exposition of the rule of poetic diction with many examples, applications, and retellings of myths and legends. Snorri Sturluson feared that the traditional techniques of Norse poetics, the pagan kennings, and the allusions to mythology would be forgotten with the introduction of new verse forms from Europe. The present selection includes the whole of Gylfaginning ("The deluding of Gylfi") - a guide to mythology that forms one of the great storybooks of the Middle Ages - and the longer heroic tales and legends of "Skaldskaparmal" (Poetic diction). Snorri Sturluson was a master storyteller, and this translation in modern idiom of the inimitable tales of the gods and heroes of the Scandinavian peoples brings them to life again.