V. Kukhta, Master’s Student
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2021.150.5
THE CORRECTNESS OF THE CANONICAL YOUNGER EDDA'S CHAPTERS ORDER FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE WORK INTEGRITY PERCEPTION
Abstract. The article is devoted to historically little-studied sources of the Middle Ages Scandinavian countries history. The object of the study is the Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, which is one of the main literary sources from which historians derive data on the religious beliefs and culture of pre-Christian Scandinavia. But for many years it attracted the exclusive attention of philologists and linguists. Historians have only briefly paid attention to this source, neglecting its comprehensive study.
The relevance of the topic of the article lies in the novelty of the study. A thorough study of the source opens up a wide space for the reconstruction of the mentality and religious worldview of the Scandinavians of the pre-Christian era, as well as helps to establish and trace the relationships and interactions between pagan and Christian thinking.
Achieving this goal involves solving a number of tasks: conducting a detailed internal source review of Younger Edda, researching the connections between four parts of which it consists, and consideration of the opposing concept.
The question of Younger Edda’s parts arrangement order is a fundamental problem for historians, helping to reconstruct and explore not only the obvious aspects of the Scandinavian worldview and religious beliefs in the pre-Christian era, but also to understand the thoughts and reflections of the medieval Icelandic nobility. The deep meaning inherent in the content of each section gives an understanding that literature was highly valued as a means of influence and a "politicized act."
The arguments presented in the article, based on the research, support the canonical arrangement of the parts of the Younger Edda, because it is this arrangement that connects the work with one integral logical line. Younger Edda is a unique example of a literary source, whose structural elements are connected with each other not explicitly, meaningfully, but more deeply, contextually and stylistically. This in turn makes it a unique monument of medieval literature.
Keywords: Prose Edda, Younger Edda, Snorri Sturluson, Iceland of 13th century, Norse Mythology, source review.
Submitted: 27.08.2021
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