15. Are the Eddic poems really pre-Christian? Interview with Haukur Þorgeirsson
The Eddic poems are our best source for Old Norse mythology. But they are only handed down to us in manuscripts from the 13th century or later, two centuries or more after the conversion. What makes us believe that they really are pre-Christian and not, in fact, composed in the High Middle Ages?The research into this has made substantial progress during the latest decades. Haukur Þorgeirsson at Iceland's Árni Magnússon manuscript institute walks us through the criteria that are used. Recorded in Helsinki 8 August 2022.