Hávamál
poem in the Poetic Edda
Hávamál ("Words of Hávi [the High One]" in Old Norse) is presented as a single poem in the Codex Regius, a collection of Old Norse poems from the Viking age. A scholarly estimate of Hávamál's age dates the poem to between 900 and 1000 A.D. The poem, itself a combination of numerous shorter poems, is largely gnomic, presenting advice for living, proper conduct and wisdom. It is considered an important source of Old Norse philosophy.
The verses are attributed to Odin; the implicit attribution to Odin facilitated the accretion of various mythological material also dealing with the same deity.
For the most part composed in the metre ljóðaháttr, a metre associated with wisdom verse, Hávamál is both practical and philosophical in content. Following the gnomic "Hávamál proper" comes the Rúnatal, an account of how Odin won the runes, and the Ljóðatal, a list of magic chants or spells.
Name
The Old Norse name Hávamál (Old West Norse: [ˈhɒːwaˌmɒːl], Modern Icelandic: [ˈhauːvaˌmauːl̥]; English: HAW-və-mawl) is a compound of the genitive form of Hávi, which is the inflexionally weak form of Odin's name Hár ('High One'), and the plural noun mál (from older mǫ́l), and means 'Song (or Words) of the High One'.
Unnormalised spelling in the Codex Regius: hava mal (title); Nv ero Hava mál qveðin Háva hꜹllo i [...] (final stanza).
Textual history
The only surviving source for Hávamál is the 13th century Codex Regius, with the exception of two short parts. The part dealing with ethical conduct (the Gestaþáttr) was traditionally identified as the oldest portion of the poem by scholarship in the 19th and early 20th century.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hávamál” as poem in the Poetic Edda. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as poem in the Poetic Edda. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1359571. The Library of Congress control number is n79058893. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1000.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hávamál”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hávamál primary sources, Hávamál archive and Hávamál research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hávamál”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hávamál” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.