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Artists:Kevin NicholsNatasa Ilincic

Sveta Sergeevna IgnatovaDaria Azolina

Soni Alcorn-HenderJuraj Kopacka

Richard Kane FergusonHelena Rosova

Antony GalbraithAnastasia Ovchinnikova

Design and Layout:Andrew ValkauskasKyriaki SofocleousStella Andronicou

Editing / Proof Reading:Sofia Moura

Fay RousseauChris Challice

Melissa George

ISBN# 978-0-9940240-6-0

© Andrew Valkauskas 2016

First EditionPublished by Pendelhaven 2016

121 Place BourbonniereLachute, Quebec

J8H 3W7 Canadawww.pendelhaven.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced for resale without the prior writ-ten permission of the copyright holder.

Author and Designer:Andrew Valkauskas

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Dedicated to Snorri and all of the scribes.Through their work, the Viking age lives on!

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Table of ContentsLove of the Eddas 6Edda Structure and Sources 6

IntroductionElaborations and Style 8Inconsistencies and Omissions 8Other Mythologies 9Presentation 11Bibliography 12

The Illuminated EddaThe Primeval Age 14The Crucible of Life 16The Waking of Nidhogg 17The First Fire Council 18The Dark Tide 19The Loom of Destiny 24Eriu and the Fomorians 26Lebor Gabala IThe Children of Nemed 28Lebor Gabala IIIn The Beginning 32Kalevala IFelling and Sowing 34Kalevala IIGalligarm 36Fornjot and the Alfar 42Norf i and the Battle 46Audhumla and the Ash 52Kalevala II Ymir and the Norns 54Svartalfheim and Alfgard 59The Torrent of Blood 60The Rise of the Aesir 63Nott and Her Children 70Sol, Mani and the Wolves 74 The Amber Gods 78Lietuviskos PasakosNine Nights & Nine Worlds 81The First Line of Kings 84HeimskringlaThe List of Rig 92RigsthulaThe Jotuns Regroup 95The Alfar Visit Midgard 98Freya and the Swan Maidens 100The Warden of the Ash 104

Ratatosk 108The Great Blight 111

Rebellion of The Dvergar 114The Dead Find New Homes 116Valhalla 120Loki Comes to Asgard 124King Adils and the Scyldings 127The Aesir-Vanir War 130Gulveig in Asgard 138Exchange of Hostages 144The Building of the Asgard Wall 146Sayings of Alviss 150AlvissmalThe Wild Hunt 153The Mead of Poetry 156Frey’s great Betrayal 160Iduna’s Family and the Tree 162Thiassi Steals Iduna 166Skadi Comes for the Weregild 168Naglfar 170Thor in Jotunheim 174Harbard’s Song 176Harbardsljoth Sif’s Golden Hair 182 Brokk and Loki’s Wager 185Thrym’s Saga 188ThrymskvidaLove in Jarnvid 192Thor’s Tale 198ThorsdrapaLoki’s Brats in Asgard 201Prophesy of the Seeress 204Voluspa The Binding of Fenrir 208Hel Tames Nif lheim 213Skirnir’s Travels 217Skirnismal Asgard and Gimle 220Baldur Demands Nanna 222Grotti’s Song 226GrottasongrBaldur’s Nightmare 229Baldur’s DraumarThe Eternal Battle 230HjadningavigHymir’s Tale 233HymiskvidaThe Aesir Visit Utgard 236GylfaginningGrimnir’s Advice 241GrimnismalHow Freya Received Brisgamen 245Thor Fights Hrungnir 248

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SkaldskaparmalEgle, Queen of Serpents 251Lietuviskos PasakosThe Two Kingdoms 254Mabinogion ITwo Grooms 256Mabinogion IIAn Heir is Born 258Mabinogion IIIThe Land of Ice and Fire 261The Three Valkyries 264Wayland’s Lament 268WaylandarkvidaHelgi Hjorvardsson 272Helgakvida HjorvardssonarSvava Visits the Norns 275Helgi Hunding’s Bane 280Helgi Hundingsbani IIThe Song of Kara 286Sinfjotli’s Death 290Fra Dautha SinfjotliSvipdag’s Saga 292Groagaldr (Svipdagsmal I)Fjolsvinn’s Questions 294Fjolsvinnsmal (Svipdagsmal II)Gripir’s Prophesy 297GripisspaThe Tale of Regin 301ReginsmalFafnir’s Treasure 306FafnismalOdin and Brynhild 309Brynhild’s Awakening 311BrynhildsmalSigurd’s Tale 315Sigurdarkvida En SkamaSigurd is Betrayed 318Gunnar and Brynhild 320Brot Af SigurdarkvidaGudrun’s Tale 322Gudrunarkvida IBrynhild Rides to Helheim 324Helreith BrynhildrTale of the Nibelungs 326Drap NiblungaGudrun Marries Again 327Gudrunarkvida IIGudrun`s Test 330Gudrunarkvida IIIGudrun`s Lament 332OddrunargratrAtli`s Fate 333Atlakvida

Atli and the Nibelungs 336Atlamal Hin GroenlenzkuGudrun`s Challenge 338GudrunarhvotBrynhild Meets Hel 340Loki’s Quarrel 344LokasennaBaldur’s Death 348Odin is Exiled 352Gesta DanorumOdin’s Darkest Night 355The Woman of the Sea 358The Maidens of Truth 362Odin’s Wisdom 366HavamalLoki is Captured and Bound 374The Return of the King 376Odin Seeks Vafthrudnir 378VafthrudnismalRagnarok 382

EpilogueEinar of the Storjunkari 385The Shadows Stir 388Tyrf ing 390Hervarar Saga Ok Heidreks IAngantyr is Born 393Hervarar Saga Ok Heidreks IIHeidrek the Wise 396Hervarar Saga Ok Heidreks IIIThe Battle of Hiadining 397The Final Prophesy 398HyndlujothThe Inheritance 401

AppendixHelgi Hundingsbane 402Helgi Hundingsbani IHamdir’s Tale 405Hamdismal

GlossaryCharacters from Norse Myths 407Characters from Finnish Myths 425Characters from Baltic Myths 425Characters from Celtic Myths 426Characters from Welsh Myths 426Locations, Halls and Rivers 427Magical Artifacts 429

Story Telling GameRunic Game SystemGame Setup 430Playing the Game 431

Index

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great translators who have walked this path before me. The natural progression led me to the Icelandic Sagas, and then to the Legendary Sagas, and then onto more obscure books. The books written by Jacob Grimm were instrumental bridges between mythology and fairy-tale. In a similar vein, Georges Dumezil was masterful in his comparisons between different mythologies. By now you might think that I am an English literature scholar or someone educated in history and/or anthropology. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I am a computer science graduate and have spent my entire career in IT. The knowledge I have amassed on the subject matter is in great part forged by my love of Norse myths and sagas as well as my love for reading. As big as my book library was, it has doubled since my work on the Illuminated Edda began. A big thanks also goes out to Google. In my quest to track down old and rare texts (to add to my collection), I found many treasures as a result of Googles digitization efforts. My obsession with Norse myths has not dimin-ished my admiration and interest in other ancient systems of belief. Meso-American is a close second, followed by Celtic and Baltic. The Eddas have been so inspirational that for many years I imagined creating my own translation. My deep respect for those works is in part the reason why it took so long to do my own take on these timeless classics. The Illuminated Edda is my personal homage to these works. I do hope that I have done them justice.

Edda Structure and Sources

“Edda” means grandmother and appears in the Rigsthula when Heimdall creates the echelons of man-kind. No one truly knows the reasons for the name which accompanies the Prose and Poetic Eddas. It may have been

Love of the Eddas My love for stories rooted in ancient social con-sciousness started at a very young age. I remember vivid-ly, endlessly asking my grandmother to read me from the fairy-tale book which she brought with her from Lithuania when she came to Canada. Castles, devils, dragons, and heroes lived within those pages. It contained dozens of stories that would replay themselves in my mind after sto-ry-time was over and the lights were turned off. My imag-ination would take over and I would build make-believe worlds around those stories. This intense fascination is no doubt what turned me into an avid reader and led me to role-playing at a very early age. The love affair with mythology started in grade 5 when I cracked open Deities and Demigods, a Dungeons and Dragons source book on mythology. All of the pre-sented pantheons of gods and mythic beasts were intrigu-ing, but I kept on going back to the Norse chapter. There was some visceral and primal attraction I couldn’t resist. That compelling force could not be put into words. My gateway book into the authentic myths was “The Children of Odin” by Padraic Colum. It was a very accessible book and it presented the major stories in a very entertaining manner. I read and re-read the book many times, and over the years, I have gifted that book to many friends, leading me to go out to buy another copy for myself. I’ve lost count of how many of these have passed through my hands. My desire for more was answered by the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. I still have my first copy of this book, and it’s a completely worn out from the many times it has been read. The cover is stained and damaged, the spine is cracked in so many places that it’ll stay at whatever page I need, but the book refuses to give up on me. It has served me well for over a quarter of a century. Naturally, after the Prose Edda, I acquired the Poetic Eddas... and I say Eddas in the plural sense because I’m a collector of the many translations. The Illuminated Edda you hold in your hands was inspired by the many

I n t r o d u c t i o n

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and Zoega, but I also referenced grammatical books by Byock. I double-checked my translation work by drawing on previous English translations by greats like: Bray, Bel-lows, Dronke, Larrington, Faulkes, Crawford and Hol-lander. Mythologies are messy, inconsistent and some-times contradictory. I put every effort into cleaning up the text, adding consistency and resolving inconsistencies. I wanted the Illuminated Edda to present the mythology in a comprehensive and cohesive universe. In order to do so, I added several chapters that help bring context to the stories found in the Eddas. By introducing my own sagas I hope to create the mortar between the stones which are the timeless sagas which have been passed down for hun-dreds of years. This also gave me an opportunity to explore the many interesting characters that are only mentioned in passing, but as a reader you may want to know more about them. Timelines are a problem that sometimes cannot be fixed in this format. You will find mentions of Helheim and Draupnir before their actual stories occur in the Illu-minated Edda. That is because the translated chapters cov-er so much ground, that when they are inserted, they can act as a spoiler for future chapters. I inserted those at the most opportune moments in the chronology, but it cannot always be perfect. My hope is to present the gods and giants as real characters with depth, motivations and ambitions. The Norse pantheon is very special because it involves a lot of interracial and inter-tribal unions. This paves the way for a society which is not polarized for the most part. The good versus evil is replaced with common values and accepted societal norms. I worked hard to overcome modern day tropes and memes, avoiding fantasy/fiction clichés and staying out of the paradigms established by Christiani-ty. All of this effort is done in hopes of transporting the reader a thousand years into the past, so that they could explore a world which shaped the future. The biggest challenge we faced was editing my chapters in a way that kept the same tone as the translat-ed chapters. I wanted to be as accurate as possible in the translations, so over-editing those chapters would have killed the authenticity. Instead we went to work on my chapters, adapting my language and presentation to better merge with the stories from the Eddas. One of the key modifications was to character dialogue. The first draft of the manuscript had very

modern exchanges. Once I merged the original translations with my chapters, I saw the dis-

chosen because grandparents would be the elders with the most knowledge. During the Viking period, most knowl-edge was passed down using oral tradition. So it would make sense that the written works would capture the knowledge that grandparents possessed. Let us not forget that the Eddas were compiled in the thirteenth century, well after the Viking Age. After the fall of the Icelandic commonwealth, in 1281, there was a vested interest in documenting and preserving Iceland’s heritage and roots. The older of the two Eddas is the Po-etic Edda, and that is why many sources refer to it as the Elder Edda. The Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturlu-son, a Christian and Icelandic politician. His Edda is made up of three manuscripts: Gylfaginning, Skaldskaparmal, and Hattatal. In many places it quotes the Poetic Edda and for a long time the source of those quotes was a mystery. That is because the Poetic Edda had been “missing” until it was rediscovered by Brynjolfur Sveinsson in the seven-teenth century. No one truly knows who wrote the Poetic Edda. Many historians speculate it could have been Snorri, while other scholars state the times and styles indicate many different authors. The Poetic Edda is a conglomeration of several manuscripts. The main manuscripts are GKS 2365 4º (Codex Regius also known as the Konungsbok), AM 748 I 4to, and the Hauksbok. These manuscripts are damaged and in some places incomplete. Some of the stories overlap and some-times there are inconsistencies between the various ver-sions of the same poem. The stories contained within these manuscripts have been retold in many publications over the last few centuries. The myriad of translations and publications with varying degrees of inclusions has mud-dled the definition of what works are included into a work you can call the “Poetic Edda”. I have erred on the side of giving the reader more rather than less. This is why you will find a super-set of manuscripts included in the Illuminated Edda. I have in-corporated sections from the Saga of Heidrek the Wise, Heimskingla, Nibelungenlied, Gesta Danorum as well as various works by Tacitus and Grimm. My goal was to present the Eddas in an accurate, faithful, complete, and easy to read fashion. That is why my translation work was only a stepping stone to a final mod-ern English prose manuscript that attempts to present the stories in an entertaining manner. For the translation work, I used two dictionaries-Cleasby-Vigfusson

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will find two distinct characters named Mimir, and you will find more than a single instance for names such as Nari, Skadi, and Vali. There is one exception which I outline in the next section (Ottar-Od). A lot of my style can be attributed to the in-fluence I received from reading Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, Davidson’s Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, Gwyn Jones’ The History of the Vikings, and Colum’s The Frenzied Prince. The historical accuracy was honed by Jonathan Elements’ The Vikings, Snorri’s Heimskringla, and Saxo’s Gesta Danorum. The reader will also find a healthy dose of Jotun worship throughout the book. Seeing as how Vikings were extremely polytheistic, venerating gods, Vaettir, wights and spirits, it stands to reason that Jotuns would be ven-erated as well. My conclusion is that the winners write the history books, and the cult of the Aesir won the historical battles. Prejudice is very evident within the pages of the Gesta Danorum. The Danes had obvious disdain for their northern neighbours. Since my goal was to present a neu-tral view of the world, I gave the “losers” equal time in the spotlight. Just because they lost historically, it does not make them irrelevant during the Viking age.

Inconsistencies and Omissions

The Norse myths are filled with inconsistencies, contradictions and omissions. That comes as no surprise given that the Viking Age unfolded over 500 years and spanned most of northern Europe. Working to present a seamless, consistent mythology, I had the arduous task of deciding which lore became cannon and which lore I needed to disregard. One of the most challenging aspects of presenting a seamless mythology was bridging the gaps between disparate tales. I filled those with my own sagas about the gods, giants and heroes. Perhaps the most inter-esting bridges were those constructed between different mythologies. In this section of the introduction, I will address the major points of contention and the reasons why I chose the path I did.

parity in style and content. I went back and modified the dialogue in my chapters so that they would be more struc-tured and informative. Banter was minimized and lore was maximized. You will find more questions and answers and in styles which reflect magical numbers such as three and nine. For those readers who wish to stick to the “of-ficial” stories from the Eddas, I have taken the liberty to mark those chapters as pure translations (see Presentation below). I have segmented the stories in a way that keeps my created work clearly separate from Norse myth canon. Collectively, my works and the pure unaltered myths and sagas make up the canon for my Fate of the Norns universe. This Viking line of books, games, art and jewelry draw from the Illuminated Edda in its entirety.

Elaborations and Style In this section I’d like to address some of the cosmic, magical and spiritual elements of the mythology which require explanation. If my goal is to work towards creating a living, breathing world with rules governing “physics” of magic, souls and the afterlife, then I needed to give them some foundation and context. I will preface this section by saying that the first dozen chapters lay down the foundation for everything that is to come. They may feel distant from a Njal’s Saga or a Voluspa, but they are important in removing the in-evitable questions which would arise if I would have just jumped into the later periods. Valkyries are portrayed as human, sometimes as divine. Their origins and nature seem complex, broad and sometimes inconsistent. Within the Illuminated Edda I present what would make sense as an “origins of the species” and how they evolve to take on various traits and characteristics found within the Eddas and Sagas. One of the most popular movements in academ-ic mythology is drawing parallels between different char-acters, and going so far as equating those persons. I’m not speaking of the comparative mythology which Dumezil explored in Gods of the Ancient Northmen, but rather I will state up front that I am not a fan of such conjecture and that equating Freya and Frigga as the same character poses more problems than it solves. For this reason, you Sam

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Volsung Saga was written in Iceland in the 13th century and the Nibelungenlied was written in Germany during the 16th century. In the Illuminated Edda, the main plot points and names are driven by the Icelandic Volsung Saga rather than the Nibelungenlied. Sigurd dies in bed rath-er than out in the woods. You may find some of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen sprinkled within because he had a good vibe throughout his opera. Baldur’s conquest in order to obtain Nanna comes from the Gesta Danorum. I found this characteri-zation of the “gentle white-god” so inspiring and such a breath of fresh air that I had to incorporate it into the per-sonality of Baldur, Hod and Nanna. Similarly, Odin’s Exile comes from the same book of the Gesta Danorum. My jaw dropped the first time I read the chapter. I think I must have gone back to re-read it a few more times to make sure my eyes were not trying to fool me. As you can already surmise, this story appears in the Illuminated Edda..

Other Mythologies Mythology is reflective of culture and culture is not always neatly contained within borders. For this rea-son, Norse myth did not exist in a void. The stories about the gods, giants, dragons, and heroes changed depending on where and when they were told and eventually com-mitted to parchment. Take for example The Volsung Saga written in Iceland and the Nibelungenlied written in Ger-many. Both tell a very similar tale, there is no doubt that it is the same story, but each describes the events in a differ-ent way. Dietrich of Bern is another great example. So we can easily see how Norse myths were not only dissimilar by region and time, but must have been influenced by neigh-bouring beliefs. Vikings were well traveled and as a result they were open-minded about other ideas, gods and other so-cietal structures. For this reason, in order to better frame the Norse myths, I have taken the time to dip into Finnish, Celtic, Welsh, and Baltic mythology as well. I present them in a chronology that would make sense, starting with the most ancient being that of the Celts. I have no doubt that anyone skipping this introduction and jumping to chapter 1 will find themselves confused at reading Celtic mytholo-

There are many discussions about the differenc-es and similarities between the Dvergar and the Svartalfar. Many sources reason they are one and the same, citing Snorri in the Prose Edda. In addition, Dvergar and Alfar are given names, but nowhere in the myths do you get a name for a Svartalfar. However, the counter argument is leveled that Svartalfheim and Nidavellir are stated as dif-ferent realms, and that the races have differing names. Ja-cob Grimm complicated the discussion by defining light, shadow, and dark elves as three different distinct races. We had to make a call when it came to the Fate of the Norns lore, and the choice I made was that there were two types of Alfar, the Lios and the Svart, as well as another race named the Dvergar. The reason is simple, having the fol-lowing breakdown allows for the most optimal exploration of mythological archetypes. Ottar and Od are construed as the same charac-ter by Viktor Rydberg in his 19th century works. He bases his theory on the linguistic etymology based on time and place. I’m not a linguist so I cannot give a weighty opinion on the matter, but I can deliver an opinion based on value of storytelling. Freya had very few close friends who fit the confidant archetype. She had so few that creating a profile on them is nigh impossible. By combining their attributes, we can create a working profile. I chose to equate the two characters because their roles were similar enough to war-rant a strong narrative. Remember, my goal is to weave the mythology into a compelling and engaging narrative for you, the reader. Iduna is a very unique character. No one else, god nor Jotun, has an archetype which is comparable. Her past is extrapolated from not only the Prose and Poetic Ed-das, but also reinforced by Hrafnagaldr Odins. This work is thought to be rather late, perhaps from the 17th century. Regardless, it gives an interesting angle for Iduna’s past which I embrace within the Illuminated Edda. When we get to the lineage of the heroic and legendary kings of Midgard, there are many inconsisten-cies between the Edda, the Heimskringla, and the Historia Norwegiae. In most cases, when it comes to the first kings, the Heimskringla becomes my primary source. The places where I allow the Edda to trump the Heimskingla are when the character is divine and the Heimskingla makes them too “mortal”. The Volsungs and Nibelung story is recounted differently in the Volsung Saga versus the story told in the Nibelungenlied. That is not a surprise, because the

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