The Earliest English Translations of Individual Poems of the Poetic Edda |
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A detailed History of the earliest Eddic Scholarship in English: 1903 Frank Edgar Farley Scandinavian Influences in the English Romantic Movement
The FIRST translation of any Eddic poem into English from an except of the poem published in Bartholin's Antiquitatum Danicarum: 1761 Thomas Gray Vegtam's Kivitha or The Descent of Odin An Ode from the Norse Tongue (Vegtamskviða)
1798 Anonymous The Meal of Vafthruthni (Vafþrúðnismál) The 2nd English translation (after Amos Cottle) This poem, authored by William Taylor, was reprinted as "The Lay of Vafthrudni" with additional notes in Taylor's Historic Survey of German Poetry (1830) 1804 William Herbert Select Icelandic Poetry Volume I (1804) The Song of Thrym (Þrymskviða) Odin's Descent (Vegtamskviða) (Only those verses of the poem not translated by Thomas Gray) Gunlaug and Raven (An excerpt of Sólarljóð). Vol. II (1806) Skirnir's Expedition (Skírnismál) and Brynhilda's Ride to Hell (Helreið Brynhildar)
1815 William Herbert
Song of Vala
in
Helga
(appendix)
said to be the first English translation of Völuspá but only loosely based on the poem. 1816 Rev. James Prowett The Voluspa or the Speech of the Prophetess said to be the first English translation of Völuspá, but clearly an original poem For a full account of Völuspá in English See Völuspá, A Study Guide. 1818 Henry Weber Illustrations of Northern Antiquities includes an English translation of the Grötti Song 1819 Ebenezer Henderson The Voluspa or the Oracle of the Prophetess Vola The FIRST English translation of Völuspá 1823 Sharon Turner The History of the Anglo-Saxons The SECOND English translation of Völuspá 1830 William Taylor Historic Survey of German Poetry includes excerpts from Hávamál and Vafþrúðnismál (from his 1798 edition with additional notes)
1839 Grenville Pigot A Manual of Scandinavian Mythology "Odin's Raven Song" and "Vegtams Kvida" A synopsis and a few verses from Hrafnagaldur Óðins and a complete translation of Vegtamskviða 1842 William Herbert Works Vol. I: Horæ Scandicæ or Works Relating to Old Scandinavian Literature contains a reissue of "Select Icelandic Poetry" with additional Eddaic poems: The Third Song of Sigurd (Sigurðarkviða in skamma) Vegtam's Song (Vegtamskviða), The Song of Attila (Atlakviða) and Volunder's Song (Völundarkviða) Herbert's version of Völuspá is now presented in Canto 2 of 'Helga' with critical Notes on the poem in English 1845 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Poets and Poetry of Iceland Reprints several Eddaic and skaldic poems previously published in English by Henderson, Herbert and Taylor 1847 Anonymous from the French of Xavier Marmier "Northern Literature: The Eddas" in The Knickerbocker Vol. 30, p. 295-296 Contains Völuspá and excerpts from Hávamál 1851 C.P. in Yale Review Grimnis-mal or The Song of Grimnir
1861 G.W.D. Thorr's Hunt For His Hammer (Þrymskviða) Once a Week, Vol. 4 1862 Andrew James Symington Pen and Pencil Sketches of Faröe and Icelandexcerpts from Völuspá, Hávamál and Sólarljóð
1867 N.S. in North British Review The First Song of Gudrun 1870 Eiríkr Magnússon and William Morris Volsunga Saga (Scan) Volsungasaga (E-text) Contains excerpts from the Heroic poems in the Appendix: Part of the Second Lay of Helgi Hundings-Bane (Helgakviða Hundingsbana II) Part of the Lay of Sigrdrifa (Sigrdrifumál) The Lay Called the Short Lay of Sigurd (Sigurdarkviða in skamma) The Hell-Ride of Brynhild (Helreið Brynhildar) Fragments of the Lay of Brynhild The Second or Ancient Lay of Gudrun (Guðrúnarkviða in forna) The Song of Atli (Atlakviða) The Whetting of Gudrun (Guðrúnarhvöt) The Lay of Hamdir (Hamðismál) The Lament of Oddrun (Oddrúnarkviða)
1884 Rasmus Anderson Norse Mythology contains original translations of Völuspá and Thrymskviða. The remainder are reprints from Benjamin Thorpe and William Herbert. 1888 Henry Morley English Writers Volume 2 contains a translation of Völuspá 1905 Ananda Coomaraswarmy Völuspá: Done into English out of the Icelandic Bonus: Ananda Coomaraswarmy and William Morris 1908 William Charles Greene Translations from the Icelandic includes Balder's Dreams and the Grötti-song HOME |
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