The Wanderer´s Hávamál
Translated and Edited, with Old Norse Text and Related Texts, by
Jackson Crawford
Hackett Publishing Company, 2019
The Wanderer´s Hávamál features Jackson Crawford´s complete, carefully revised
English translation of the Old Norse poem Hávamál, newly annotated for this volume,
together with facing original Old Norse text sourced directly from the Codex Regius manuscript.
Rounding out the volume are Crawford´s classic Cowboy Hávamál and translations of
other related texts central to understanding the character, wisdom and mysteries ofÓðinn (Odin).
Portable and reader-friendly, it makes an ideal companion for both lovers of Old Norse mythology and those
new to the wisdom of this central Eddic poem wherever they may find themselves.
Jackson Crawford, Ph.D., is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Coordinator of the Nordic Program,
University of Colorado Boulder. A pioneer in the use of digital technology as a platform for educational
outreach, he shares his expertise on Old Norse mythology and language at
www.JacksonWCrawford.com
"Jackson Crawford´s new translation of Hávamál is a valuable addition to the
rich textual history of this poem. Infused not only by his learning and understanding of the
medieval languageand culture but also by his own poetic creativity, this is a translation that is likely
to bring Hávamál to a new audience. Of no less valueis his more freely translated
Cowboy Hávamál, which, even more than most translations, brings the vitality and
poetic strength of this text to the fore."
- Ármann Jakobsson, Professor of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Iceland.
"Hávamál, ´Words of the High One´ - purportedly delivering the wisdom of Odin
in his own voice - is one of the most important mythological poems of the Poetic Edda and simply
the most important witness to early Norse cultural ethics. Jackson Crawford has now given us a clean text
and a new facing-page translation in contemporary idiom. A highly trained linguist, Crawford has already
published with Hackett a complete translation of the whole of the famous ancient anthology, the Poetic Edda,
and acquired many fans for his YouTube videos teaching Old Norse. Crawford is a poet in his own right
with a recognizably Western voice. A scholary commentary on the whole poem is an accomplishment made
palatable for the general reader by Crawford´s informal style. All in all, a fresh start on the
mysteries of this classic."
- Joseph Harris, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of English Literature and Professor of Folklore,
Emeritus, Harvard University.
"Jackson Crawford offers his readers an excellent entry into the world of Hávamál,
where the high-god Óðinn from the Old Norse Pantheon mediates some age-old wisdom to his
audience. Crawford provides a clear translation that points directly into the original text itself, while
his extensive commentary emphasizes its nuances and ambiguity, strips away popular notions of paganism,
and draws attention instead to the poem´s universal down-to-earth attitude. The humorous and
entertaining cowboy-version that Crawford offers at the end serves as a tribute to the wisdom of his
own grandfather, a fitting epilogue that updates this ancient poem which the Christian people of Iceland
assembled from oral tradition into a book in the thirteenth century."
- Gisli Sigurðsson, Research Professor and Head of the Folklore Department,
Árni Magnússon Institute, University of Iceland.
(Bovenstaande tekst komt van de binnenflappen en de achterkant van het boek)