About Snorri Sturluson

Ask any Icelander who the most famous man was, they would answer Leif Eriksson and Snorri Sturluson. Those of you who have traveled to Iceland have probably heard of Leif (you would have seen his statue in front of Hallgrímskirkja) and perhaps you have heard of Snorri as well, but if not (or if you would like to know more), here is a quick summary of whom Snorri Sturluson was:

Who was he?

Firstly, Snorri was the primary compiler of the Norse myths. Secondly, he was an Icelandic politician, historian and writer. He was the author of the Prose Edda, which is the aforementioned compilation of Norse Myths in prose form, as opposed to the standard poetic form.

What is Norse Mythology?

Some background information on the Norse myths and sagas, they were stories about Norse gods and heroes (semi divine and human) that were told in the oral tradition. Picture Iceland in the winter, very few hours of daylight, too cold to do most work, so you sit in the main room of your home, surrounded by your family, huddled around a fire. What do you do? You tell stories. Stories about glorious gods and gallant heroes to pass the time. Stories that encourage hard work, honesty, and a thirst for fame and knowledge.

What did he do?

Snorri, took these stories, that would have been well known by the people of his time, and wrote them down. It was a pretty big deal. These stories began to become famous as they passed from country to country with his book. There is little doubt that without him, we would have little knowledge about this huge part of Norse history that would have passed long ago with the loss of the oral tradition.

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