The cultural, historical, and artistic significance of the Elder Edda is enormous. Alongside the Iliad and the Odyssey, it occupies one of the places of highest honor in world literature. The songs of gods and heroes, so popular in Iceland and conventionally united under the title The Elder Edda, date from the 13th century.
The Edda bears traces of Christian influence, but on the whole its spirit is closer to the Viking Age. Readers are presented with unique mythological material—an essential source for understanding European, and in particular Scandinavian, history and literature.