What is the Mead of Poetry?
Short answerTrue
A Norse myth in which a mead brewed from a murdered wise being's blood confers poetic ability, and Odin steals it. It is recorded principally by Snorri Sturluson around 1220, two centuries after Iceland's conversion.
The story
In the account Snorri gives, a being of exceptional wisdom is killed and his blood mixed with honey to make a mead that grants poetry to whoever drinks it. The mead passes through several hands, is hidden in a mountain, and Odin obtains it by trickery and carries it off in the form of an eagle. Poetry, in this framing, is something acquired rather than innate — and acquired by theft.
What kind of source this is
Treating the Prose Edda as a direct window onto pre-Christian Norse belief is the standard error with this material, and it is worth resisting even though the story is excellent.
The association worth noticing
Honey linked to inspired speech turns up independently in Greek material, where prophetic figures are fed on honeycomb and speak truth. Two unconnected traditions connecting a sweet fermentable substance with eloquence is a convergence worth noting — and not evidence of contact between them.
Sources
- The Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson) — Iceland, around 1220 · Historical text
- Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages — University of California Press (2009) · Monograph
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.