Prose Edda

(also Snorri’s Edda, Younger Edda), a work written by the Icelandic prose writer and poet Snorri Sturluson between 1222 and 1225. The Prose Edda is divided into a prologue and three parts. Many of the pagan myths recounted in the work appear in no other source. In one section Snorri explains the significance of the kennings (metaphorical expressions) and heiti (poetic synonyms) used in skaldic poetry and illustrates his explanations with examples from the works of the skalds. The Prose Edda also contains an original narrative poem with a prose commentary in a style reminiscent of a scholastic treatise.