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68 INTEODUCTION.
objects, the changes of seasons, &c., all illustrated
hj examples from the lays of the Skalds.
The Skalda, i. e., Poetics, is usually included
among theEddaic writings, as it was found in the
collection with them. It is a treatise on Prosody, .
Ehetoric, &c., written by Sndrri's nephew, Olaf
Thordsson, one of the latest of the Skalds, and contains
a number of epithets and metaphors used by
the Skalds, illustrated by specimens of their poetry,
as well as by a poem by Snorri, written in a hundred
d^erent metres. The whole collection is also called
Hattatal or Hdttalykil—^Enumeration of Metres or
Clavis Metrica.
Beside these, there is a Preface (formali), which
begins with the Creation, of the World, and ends
with the emigration of the Trojans from Asia into
the North, and a Conclusion (eptirmali) after the
mythological. part. They were probably written by
Snorri himself, and are an absurd mixture of Hebrew,
Greek, Koman, and Scandinavian myths and
legends, thrown together in a confused mass. They
appear to be the attempt of a learned Christian to
give a philosophical and historical foundation to the
.^ir doctrines, and to bring them into conformity
with the Judaic and heathen traditions.
The " Kenningar " is the most important part of
the prose Edda, as it gives an insight into the nature
of the poetic spirit and the mythic conceptions of
the Old-Scandinavians, and by its illustratioos and
paraphrases it opens the way to an understanding of
the Sagas.
"We will now turn to the Sagas of Iceland, and