On occasion I like to share great websites that in my opinion do not get enough credit for what they provide. One such website which I have enjoyed for years is Eddan: The Invincible Sword of the Elf Smith by Mats Wendt. Trust me the title does not go nearly into the greatness that is what you will see below. Mats Wendt (born in 1965) is a Swedish classical composer and artist who has shown his talent in an amazing way and I am going to post part of the introduction that is on the website.
Introduction
Eddan is based on a merge of all the Edda poems.
The work spans the complete pre-christian scandinavian mythology from the beginning to the end of the world (Ragnarök) and beyond.
And most important it answers the question why the world must perish.
The red line thru the piece is the invincible sword, forged by the master smith Völund in part 65.
The sword was forged as revenge upon the whole creation when Völund lost the competition instigated by Loki in part 28.
The competition stood between the elves (Ivaldis son’s) and the dwarfs (Mimir’s son’s) in which the most beneficial treasures for Asgard were made. The gods were tricked by evil to be the judges in this fatal competition.
Völund proved whom was the better smith with this marvelous sword. The sword was crafted with all his knowledge, carved with forbidden runes of absolute victory. The sword fights by itself, shines of its inner power and is indestructible.
A weapon was brought into the world that nothing could stop.
The nature of the sword was that it granted unconditional victory to Völund and his relatives, but eternal ruin to everybody else.
Slowly the plot unfolds and the sword draws the world relentlessly towards Ragnarök.
After the marriage between Svipdag an Freyja in part 104 the blue skies seem to return and in part 106, Frigg is filled with hope that Svipdag can resurrect Baldur and the fate of the world will be reversed.
But this fails and the faint hope of avoiding the apocalypse is lost.
In part 117, the sons of Mimir, the original nature smith’s, resigns after their fathers death. Now convinced that nothing can purify the world except the coming Ragnarök, they all went to sleep.
The seven sleepers will slumber throughout all ages of the world until the final battle.
Now I invite you to have a look at the website and listen to the amazing music provided on https://www.eddan.net/
Here are some of my favorite resources regarding the Eddas.
Völuspá.org Poetic Edda and Prose Edda
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlson: Translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur [1916]
This is an amazing resource I highly recommend. Germanic Mythology