--- product_id: 13027263 title: "The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics)" price: "$57.17" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/13027263-the-poetic-edda-stories-of-the-norse-gods-and-heroes store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics) **Price:** $57.17 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics) - **How much does it cost?** $57.17 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/13027263-the-poetic-edda-stories-of-the-norse-gods-and-heroes) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description "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 13th-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 Review: my favorite translation so far - The Poetic Edda is a collection of stories from Norse mythology and history that were written in poetic form. The stories contained within this book are both entertaining and provide advice for life. While not a bible of the Norse, it is easy to understand how people would want to see this as an equivalent. This is my favorite translation of The Poetic Edda but I have not read every translation. So I've been holding off writing a review but I'll go ahead and get this out of the way since I'll likely be unable to access every translation. I first heard about Jackson Crawford from his YouTube channel and I liked his videos on Old Norse and Norse mythology. He seems extremely knowledgeable on the subject. I would suggest you read about discussions on the various translations to get a more accurate comparison instead of using my following opinion. I didn't care for Lee Hollander's translation but his is generally very favorable and popular, for a very long time too. I thought Jackson Crawford's translation was an improvement since that time. Adam Bellows, Olive Bray, and Benjamin Thorpe all have translations that are too old for modern English but interesting to compare with. Carolyne Larrington reads pleasantly but I did not like the way she changes names too much into English, but I have not read her newest edition, which interests me since she includes a poem called Svipdagsmál. Even Jackson Crawford's Poetic Edda removed the accented letters to simplify the spelling of names which really bothers me because it doesn't make sense in English to remove those marks. The glossary of names in the end of the book is nice but I wish it had an additional etymological approach to the names. From the translations I have not read, there are a few that people are very much in favor of. So there are plenty of things I would do differently if I wrote my own translation (which I won't because I don't know Old Norse) but this has been my favorite translation so far. Jackson Crawford's The Saga of the Volsungs is better when it comes to keeping name pronunciation. There was a recent translation of the Hávamál that I found better than Jackson Crawford's translation of it within The Poetic Edda, but Jackson Crawford has his Wanderers Hávamál coming out soon so I have that to look forward to. The book is physically very appealing with a very well printed cover full of rich colors under a glossy coat. The paper used is a bright white paper and the text is printed cleanly and with enough ink. The font size is good and the page margins are of excellent size. The glue binding is well done and the spine is strong. So for its size and quality, in addition to the great content, there is a lot in this book for a very good price. I might come back to this review later in life if I ever got real serious about comparing the different translations so I can add a more in-depth analysis. I don't think there is one best translation of this book but this one is better than most in many ways. Review: Highly recommended. - It is a huge undertaking to look at a centuries-old collection of stories in a long-forgotten tongue, stroke one's chin, and think 'I'll bet I can make that better'. I'm of the opinion that Dr Crawford has succeeded. There may be more 'accurate' versions, based on transliterating word-for-word, and there are certainly dustier volumes if that's how you like 'em. However, I think this translation is the best yet: it's poetic; it's nuanced and colorful; and perhaps most remarkably, it's readable by the average person. Our author manages to render these stories in a way that feels alive and lacks the torturous mental acrobatics one sometimes finds when reading translations of ancient literature into modern language. When I bought this book, I made an evening of it: a wee dram (mead was, alas, in short supply); a roaring fire (okay, it was the Fireplace For Your Home channel on Netflix); and an old interest in the ancient stories told around real fires on long northern nights. I felt myself transported to a mead-hall, enraptured by a chanting skald, my joint of meat going co…okay, look, I read it super fast. It's engrossing and the time passed quickly! The material itself is dense in a way that invites re-reading; as easily as I might have flown through the book, it requires multiple passes to truly absorb. I don't say this often or lightly, but this is a book I will enjoy reading more than once. As a special bonus, you get Crawford's own 'Cowboy Hávamál', a retelling of the original through the voice of his no-nonsense, tough-as-nails grandfather. I promise it's one of the best parts of this book; well-worth the price of admission by itself. tl;dr - Buy it. You won't be disappointed. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #42,594 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Norse & Icelandic Sagas (Books) #5 in Medieval Poetry #21 in Religious Poetry (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.9 out of 5 stars 5,924 Reviews | ## Images ![The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61x4raetevL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ my favorite translation so far *by A***R on August 22, 2019* The Poetic Edda is a collection of stories from Norse mythology and history that were written in poetic form. The stories contained within this book are both entertaining and provide advice for life. While not a bible of the Norse, it is easy to understand how people would want to see this as an equivalent. This is my favorite translation of The Poetic Edda but I have not read every translation. So I've been holding off writing a review but I'll go ahead and get this out of the way since I'll likely be unable to access every translation. I first heard about Jackson Crawford from his YouTube channel and I liked his videos on Old Norse and Norse mythology. He seems extremely knowledgeable on the subject. I would suggest you read about discussions on the various translations to get a more accurate comparison instead of using my following opinion. I didn't care for Lee Hollander's translation but his is generally very favorable and popular, for a very long time too. I thought Jackson Crawford's translation was an improvement since that time. Adam Bellows, Olive Bray, and Benjamin Thorpe all have translations that are too old for modern English but interesting to compare with. Carolyne Larrington reads pleasantly but I did not like the way she changes names too much into English, but I have not read her newest edition, which interests me since she includes a poem called Svipdagsmál. Even Jackson Crawford's Poetic Edda removed the accented letters to simplify the spelling of names which really bothers me because it doesn't make sense in English to remove those marks. The glossary of names in the end of the book is nice but I wish it had an additional etymological approach to the names. From the translations I have not read, there are a few that people are very much in favor of. So there are plenty of things I would do differently if I wrote my own translation (which I won't because I don't know Old Norse) but this has been my favorite translation so far. Jackson Crawford's The Saga of the Volsungs is better when it comes to keeping name pronunciation. There was a recent translation of the Hávamál that I found better than Jackson Crawford's translation of it within The Poetic Edda, but Jackson Crawford has his Wanderers Hávamál coming out soon so I have that to look forward to. The book is physically very appealing with a very well printed cover full of rich colors under a glossy coat. The paper used is a bright white paper and the text is printed cleanly and with enough ink. The font size is good and the page margins are of excellent size. The glue binding is well done and the spine is strong. So for its size and quality, in addition to the great content, there is a lot in this book for a very good price. I might come back to this review later in life if I ever got real serious about comparing the different translations so I can add a more in-depth analysis. I don't think there is one best translation of this book but this one is better than most in many ways. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly recommended. *by G***T on February 4, 2016* It is a huge undertaking to look at a centuries-old collection of stories in a long-forgotten tongue, stroke one's chin, and think 'I'll bet I can make that better'. I'm of the opinion that Dr Crawford has succeeded. There may be more 'accurate' versions, based on transliterating word-for-word, and there are certainly dustier volumes if that's how you like 'em. However, I think this translation is the best yet: it's poetic; it's nuanced and colorful; and perhaps most remarkably, it's readable by the average person. Our author manages to render these stories in a way that feels alive and lacks the torturous mental acrobatics one sometimes finds when reading translations of ancient literature into modern language. When I bought this book, I made an evening of it: a wee dram (mead was, alas, in short supply); a roaring fire (okay, it was the Fireplace For Your Home channel on Netflix); and an old interest in the ancient stories told around real fires on long northern nights. I felt myself transported to a mead-hall, enraptured by a chanting skald, my joint of meat going co…okay, look, I read it super fast. It's engrossing and the time passed quickly! The material itself is dense in a way that invites re-reading; as easily as I might have flown through the book, it requires multiple passes to truly absorb. I don't say this often or lightly, but this is a book I will enjoy reading more than once. As a special bonus, you get Crawford's own 'Cowboy Hávamál', a retelling of the original through the voice of his no-nonsense, tough-as-nails grandfather. I promise it's one of the best parts of this book; well-worth the price of admission by itself. tl;dr - Buy it. You won't be disappointed. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great translation *by A***R on February 23, 2026* Good quality book ## Frequently Bought Together - The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics) - The Wanderer's Havamal - The Saga of the Volsungs: With the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok (Hackett Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/13027263-the-poetic-edda-stories-of-the-norse-gods-and-heroes](https://www.desertcart.us/products/13027263-the-poetic-edda-stories-of-the-norse-gods-and-heroes) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-07-23*