SOURCE: Nordal, Sigurdur. “Three Essays on Völuspá.” Saga-Book 18, no. 3 (1972): 79-135.

In the following essay, originally published in 1952, Nordal presents an in-depth examination of the Eddic poem Völuspá (The Sibyl's Prophecy), discussing its critical and textual history, framework, content, and structure, its anonymous author, the facts of its composition, and its overall artistic merit.

I History

Völuspá is the most famous poem of the Norse world, and beyond it, and there are many reasons for this. The subject is exalted and of universal application: the destiny of the world, of gods and men, and the battle of opposing powers described in such a way that every man recognises his own story. The poet was at once a man of profound vision and a great artist, and must have lived in an age which forced him to exert all his powers in this creative effort. From the...