The Poetic Edda

Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

By: Jackson Crawford

Narrated by: Jackson Crawford

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

"The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Here it is at last (Odin be praised!) and well worth the wait. These amazing texts from a thirteenth-century Icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological, and literary importance, containing the lion's share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre-Christian Scandinavians, their unique vision of the beginning and end of the world, etc.

"Jackson Crawford's modern versions of these poems are authoritative and fluent and often very gripping. With their individual headnotes and complementary general introduction, they supply today's readers with most of what they need to know in order to understand and appreciate the beliefs, motivations, and values of the Vikings." (Dick Ringler, professor emeritus of English and Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison)

©2015 Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

need a better reader for such an amazing book .

one of the best books I've read on the subject. However the reader was not good . really distracts.

Well done, Crawford

Excellent reading and translation by Crawford. The only issue I had was following the stories, but that is only because they are from eras past. Jackson is easy to listen to, thereby making it easier to take in what is being read.

Excellent explanation & translation.

Excellent explanation of the text as well as translation and pronunciation of the verses and names.

Viking's Creed

"Never back down from a fight, Say no one ever kills you, old age ain't much of a peach either." The line sticks out at me. The whole poem is a great insight into the values and understandings of people in the viking era. The translation reads smoothly. The narration is great.

Seems like the stories manifest themselves

It_seems_that_the_narrator_has_manifested_the_writings_with_a_pleasing_intent.

He_resembles_a_man_who_would_have_heard_these_stories,_as_a_young_man,_and_even,_one_that_could_have_been_born_in_the_time_when_such_myths_were_told,_and_have_turned_out_to_be_the_same,_the_voice_,_the_speech,_the_narration_and_translation,_are_rather_great.

The_stories_are_interesting,_yet_the_poetic_edda_isn't_a_Norse_Iliad,_if_one_wishes_to_understand_all_of_the_mythology,_he_should_read_more_and_more.
all and all, great.
oh! it begs for a minimum requirement of words, it's not a limit, the _ Have been a waste of time

Great but odd narration

Narration was generally good with appropriate reconstructed pronunciations on majority of the Old Norse words but for some reason the narrator selectively pronounces certain English words like “what” or “where” as “hwat” and “hwere”. The narrator speaks otherwise clear generic North American English, so hearing this regionalism was downright jarring.

Easy to understand

Jackson Crawford sometimes sounds a bit dry, like reading a text book. But he makes these stories easier to understand than anything I’ve ever read before of the same subject. I also enjoyed his “cowboy havimal” when I thought at first it might be silly. I was really good and I’d like to share it with several friends now

Absolutely Amazing

This is the greatest! If you have any doubts to buy this then please look at all of the reviews. Jackson Crawford’s narration and explanations in this book make everything so much easier to follow and understand. The cowboy version at the end is just perfect. Truly outstanding.

Truly the best way to experience the eddas

The Dr. is a true scholar, hard to accomplish in this day. he rides a fine li e of staying accurate to the source material he also dives into the etymology of some of the obfuscated words, and phrases, in his own research so that he may better represent the poems. Truly the best way to experience the eddas, I will be listening to his other books as well.

great book

I love Jackson Crawford and highly recommend anything he's written. it's worth it to check out his other titles.