Translated poems (first ed., 35; second ed., 39):
Codex Regius (31)
Vǫluspá, Hávamál, Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, Skírnismál, Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Vǫlundarkviða, Alvíssmál, Frá dauða Sinfjǫtla, Grípisspá, Reginsmál, Fáfnismál, Sigrdrífumál, Brot af Sigurðarkviðu, Sigurðarkviða hin skamma, Helreið Brynhildar, Dráp Niflunga, Oddrúnargrátr, Atlakviða, Atlamál, Guðrúnarhvǫt, Hamðismál, Helgakviða Hundingsbana (I, II), Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar, Guðrúnarkviða (I, II, III)
Non-Codex Regius (4)
Baldrs draumar, Rígsþula, Hyndluljóð, Grottasǫngr
Second edition additions (+4):
Larrington’s second edition adds three additional poems, all of which are non-Codex Regius in origin: Svipdagsmál (Grógaldr and Fjǫlsvinnsmál), and, more unusually, Hervararkviða. Additionally, Larrington’s second edition includes a translation of the Hauksbók edition of Vǫluspá.
Other notable contents: Contains a section on translation decisions (pp. xxvi-xxix), a select bibliography (pp. xxx-xxxi), and "Main Genealogies of Gods, Giants, and Heroes" (pp. xxxii-xxxiii).
Introduction page length: 16
Notes format: Extensive endnotes
Dual Edition? No
Rendering: jǫtunn = “giant” (p. 4, both editions), þurs = “giant” (p. 5) changed to “ogre” in revised edition (p. 5)
Censorship: None (cf. first edition p. 90)
Original illustrations? Not in the standard editions. However, what appears to be Larrington’s revised edition (?) was reprinted in 2020 by the Folio Society with new illustrations by Simon Noyes. This edition was limited to 980 copies. Read more about this edition here.
I. TRANSLATION SAMPLES
a.) Vǫluspá (p. 6 in both editions):
First edition:
19. I know that an ash-tree stands called Yggdrasill,
a high tree, soaked with shining loam;
from there come the dews which fall in the valley,
ever green, it stands over the well of fate.
The revised edition contains minor alterations to this stanza:
19. An ash I know that stands, Yggdrasill it’s called,
a tall tree, drenched with shining loam;
from there come the dews which fall in the valley,
green, it stands always over Urd’s well.
b.) Helgakviða Hundingsbana II (first edition: p. 139, second edition: p. 136):
Sigrun went into the mound to Helgi and said:
43. 'Now I am so glad, at our meeting,
as are the greedy hawks of Odin
when they know of slaughter, steaming food,
or, dew-drenched, they see the dawn.
In her revised edition, the stanza is much the same: Larrington changes “steaming food” to “steaming flesh”, and “dew-drenched” to “dew-gleaming”.
c.) Rígsþula (first edition: p. 252, second edition: p. 244):
45. He contended in rune-wisdom with Lord Rig,
he knew more tricks, he knew more;
then he gained and got the right
to be called Rig and to know the runes.
Again, the revised edition contains minor alterations to the stanza:
45. He contended in rune wisdom with Lord Rig,
he played more tricks, knew more than he did;
then he gained and got the right
to be called Rig and to deploy the runes.
II. Reviews
Pettit, Edward & John Porter. 2001. Review of first edition. Saga-Book, vol. XXV, p. 92-95. Viking Society for Northern Research. Viewable online.
Excerpt:
It is regrettable that Oxford University Press should lend its name to a work of such deficient scholarship, still more regrettable that as a result many new readers will place their trust in its accuracy.
Madrid, Anthony. 2019. Review of revised edition. RHINO poetry. Viewable online.
Excerpt:
Something else you get from Carolyne Larrington’s introduction: she is a fine stylist. Her introduction by itself is worth the price of the book, but ya can’t help but think while you’re reading it “OK, but can she deliver the poetry?” She can. If you want a little taste, click on this piece I wrote, years ago, on “The Sayings of the High One,” my favorite item in the Poetic Edda. Look at how she handles the rhythm. I, for one, wondered if the original Icelandic could possible be any better.
III. OBSERVATIONs
English scholar Carolyne Larrington’s translation includes a prominent thank you to her former instructor, Ursula Dronke. Dronke herself produced a multi-volume partial translation of the Poetic Edda ("I should like to express my warmest and most respectful gratitude to Ursula Dronke, who first taught me Old Norse and introduced me to the poetry of the Edda and whose own edition of the Poetic Edda is brilliant and inspirational"). While the two translations share some similarities, Larrington’s features significantly more translated items with very few of the numerous issues that plague Dronke’s editions.
In 2014, the Oxford University Press released a second, heavily revised version of Larrington’s translation. This edition makes for a major improvement over the first edition of her translation. For example, Larrington seems to notably reduce her tendency toward heavy glossing (see for example translation sample A’s transition from “well of fate” to “Urd’s well”) and adds an additional four (rarely translated) poems and additional endnotes. This change results in the most accessible, affordable, and comprehensive English translation of The Poetic Edda to date, and it is the revised edition of Larrington’s translation that we at Mimisbrunnr.info recommend to readers new to the text.
Readers searching for more information about Larrington’s translation decisions and the broader context leading to her editions may find the following essays authored by the translator useful:
Larrington, Carolyne. 2007. “Translating the Poetic Edda” as published in Old Norse Made New, pp. 21-42. eds. D. Clark and C. Phelpstead. Viking Society for Northern Research.
Larrington, Carolyne. 2017. “Translating and Retranslating the Poetic Edda” as published in Translating Early Medieval Poetry: Transformation, Reception, Interpretation, pp. 165-182 eds. Birkett, Tom & Kristy March-Lyons.