Mode and Magne, who have survived the great destruction and who have
been given their father's hammer, because there is to be no more war.
All the gods assemble on the field of Ida, where Asgard was located.
And from _Liv_ and _Livthraser_, who hid themselves in Ygdrasil during
the burning of the world, a new human race shall descend.[d]




CHAPTER V

NORWEGIAN LITERATURE


The people who emigrated from Norway and settled in Iceland, after
Harald the Fairhaired had subdued the many independent chiefs and
established the monarchy (872), for the most part belonged to the
flower of the nation, and Iceland naturally became the home of the old
Norse literature. Among the oldest poetical works of this literature
is the so-called "Elder Edda," also called "Saemund's Edda," because
for a long time it was believed to be the work of the Icelander
Saemund. "The Younger Edda," also called "Snorre's Edda," because it
is supposed to have been written by Snorre Sturlason (born 1178, died
1241), contains a synopsis of the old Norse religion and a treatise on
the art of poetry. Fully as important as the numerous poetical works
of that period was the old Norse Saga-literature (the word saga means
a historical tale). The most prominent work in this field is Snorre
Sturlason's _Heimskringla_, which gives the sagas of the kings
of Norway from the beginning down to 1777. A continuation of the
_Heimskringla_, to which several authors have contributed, among them