Eddic Poetry: Themes, Structure, and Oral Tradition

Class 1: Introduction

• Eddic poetry are Old Norse poems mostly located in the Codex Regius
• Eddic poems are anonmous
  • likely from older oral traditions from before Iceland's Christianization

Themes & Structure

• Eddic poetry has mythological and herotic poems
• Mythological poems have gods like Óðinn, Þórr, and Loki
  • their focus is on creation, fate, and Ragnarök
• Heroic poems center on legendary figures like the Völsungar and tragic fates
• Eddic poetry has simple, direct language and meter versus Skaldic poetry

Performance & Oral Tradition

• Likely preformed orally with elements of drama and ritual
• Poets used gestures, voice changes, and audience interaction to bring stories to life

Christian Influence & Preservation

• Pre-Christian versions are written by Christian scribes
  • They may have alter them
• Some Christian ideas appear in the text subltly

Pagan Myth and Religion

• The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are the main resources
  • written after Iceland's Christianization
• Eddic poems come from oral tradition but remain uncertain in age
• Some Christian influences can be found in the texts

Euhemerism in Norse Mythology

• Snorri's Prose Edda are like a euhemeristic view
  • Portraying gods like Óðinn, Njörðr, and Freyr as historical rulers later mistaken for deities
• Gylfaginning retells King Gylfi being deceive by the Æsir

Preservation vs. Interpretation

• Snorri purposed to preserve pagan myths for culture and poetic while aligning them with Christian views
• His Ynglinga saga in Heimskringla continues that gods are early Scandinavian rulers

Challenges in Interpreting Norse Myths

• Determine authenticity and origins of myths are difficult from Christian-era changes
• Myths about Norse gods have pre-Christian roots even if details was change

Introduction By Robert Segal

• Myths explain fundamental existence aspects as narratives
  • like creation, gods, and morality
• Myth definition varies if it's academic discipline, anthropology, psychology, or literature

Major Theoretical Approaches

• Functionalism is that serving social or psychological functions, explaining customs and justifying traditions
• Structuralism are underlying structures that reflect universal human thought patterns
• Psychoanalysis expresses desires with archetypal patterns
• Rationalism & Euhemerism is myths are events where gods were once real people

Literary & Cultural Impact

• Myths influence lit, religion and identies changing cultural narratives
• Modern reinterpret myths to fit culture and ideologies

Old Norse Religion as it relates to notes from class

• Practices and myths intertwined with everyday life
  • explain cosmos and link moral with myths
• Reliogus actions, or Rituals are the actions attached to the religion
• Different places were important to different gods across Scandinavia or pre-Chrisitan religion

Old Norse Religion

• Pre-Christian belief system including those in Scandinavia and Norse settlements from the Iron ages
• Mythology: oral traditions and stories about gods or events
• Practices: Religious actions with sesonal chanes and community needs

Worldview

• Cosmology with Interconnected realms like Asgard, world of human, and realm of dead
• Describes religions through practices, miss and traditions varying across times
• It uses Polytheistic belief with many gods

Norrøn religion

• Language with culture and literature for Norway and Iceland(and the Norwegian group)
• Vicking ages
• Time eriods
• Begins with Raid on Lindisfarne

Myth

• They are religous powers Mythos is Greek for speech, narrative, or fiction
• Studys on its, Anthoropoloygy

Common features of myths

• Narratives are myths, involving, Gods, and heros