Skáldskaparmál
The second part of the
Younger Edda of
Snorri Sturluson. The Skáldskaparmál or 'language of poetry' is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea,
King Ćgir and
Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both
Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The origin of a number of
kennings are given and
Bragi then delivers a systematic
list of kennings for various people, places and things. Bragi then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular
heiti, the concept of poetical words which are non-periphrastic e.g. steed for horse, and again systematises these. This in a way forms an early form of poetic thesaurus.
