Table of Contents

Acknowledgments  /  xi
 
Introduction  /  xiv
     The Norse World  /  xiv
     Cosmology  /  xx
     The Pantheon  /  xxv
     Sources  /  xxxii
     The Literary Structure of the Myths  /  xxxvi
     Approach  /  xxxix
 
The Myths
1. The Creation  /  3
2. The War of the Aesir and Vanir  /  7
3. The Building of Asgard’s Wall  /  9
4. Lord of the Gallows  /  15
5. The Song of Rig  /  18
6. The Mead of Poetry  /  26
7. Loki’s Children and the Building of Fenrir  /  33
8. The Theft of Idun’s Apples  /  38
9. The Marriage of Njord and Skadi  /  44
10. The Treasures of the Gods  /  48
11. Skirnir’s Journey  /  54
12. The Lay of Grimnir  /  59
13. The Necklace of the Brisings  /  65
14. The Lay of Thrym  /  70
15. The Lay of Vafthrudnir  /  75
16. Thor’s Journey to Utgard  /  80
17. The Lay of Hymir  /  95
18. Hyndla’s Poem  /  100
19. Thor’s Duel with Hrungnir  /  104
20. Odin and Billing’s Daughter  /  112
21. Gylfi and Gedion  /  114
22. The Lay of Harbard  /  116
23. The Ballad of Svipdag  /  121
24. Thor and Geirrod  /  127
25. The Lay of Loddfafnir  /  133
26. Otter’s Ransom  /  136
27. The Lay of Alvis  /  143
28. Balder’s Dreams  /  147
29. The Death of Balder  /  150
30. Loki’s Flyting  /  162
31. The Binding of Loki  /  169
32. Ragnarok  /  173
 
Notes  /  179
 
Glossary  /  237
 
Bibliography  /  254
 
Index  /  263

About the Author

KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND is a poet, translator, playwright, and award-winning author of children's books. Honors he has received include the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Tir Na n-Og Award. His King Arthur trilogy has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into twenty-five languages. An Honorary Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he lives in East Anglia.

Reviews

“Kevin Crossley-Holland retells the Norse myths in clear, attractive prose ... An excellent introduction, notes, and a glossary provide mythological and historical backgrounds and suggest parallels with myths in other parts of the world.”
—The Denver Post

"This beautiful retelling of tales from ancient Norse mythology features Odin, Thor, Loki, and many more fascinating figures."
—Booklist