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About this mod
Adds books containing a complete version of Gylfaginning (The Fooling of Gylfi) from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, including Old Norse names and spellings for characters and places. The core stories of Norse mythology, with tales of Odin, Thor, Valhalla, Ragnarök and more, available to browse at your fingertips in Skyrim!
- Permissions and credits
Author: 8hooves
Version: 1.0.0
Requirements: Skyrim.esm and Update.esm
Installation | Uninstallation: Standard procedure using your preferred mod manager or manually
OVERVIEW
This mod places a 9-volume book set containing a complete version of Gylfaginning from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda in each of the 5 major cities, and a respawning chest containing an additional set at the Weynon Stones. This version of Gylfaginning is based on Rasmus B. Anderson's English language translation titled The Younger Edda (1879), available in the public domain. Anderson's translation has been edited to replace its anglicized character and place names - and in certain cases words and phrases - with Old Norse names, spellings and terminology. This mod does not edit nav mesh and contains only minor edits to small vanilla objects to accommodate placement of the books on shelves. It utilizes no scripts, is free of errors and has been cleaned with TES5Edit.
BOOK LOCATION DETAILS
There are 5 in-game placements of the 9-volume book set, one in each of the major cities of Skyrim. These books have been set to player ownership, and may be freely taken by the player character for whatever purpose, including sale to any in-game merchant who deals in books. The books placed in the 5 major cities will not respawn once taken. To mediate loss or accidental sale of these volumes, an additional set has been placed in a respawning chest found at the Weynon Stones location. This chest will respawn at least as often as every 30 days in Skyrim, provided the location is not re-entered during this time period. The respawn has been play-tested and determined to work when revisiting the Weynon Stones after a 30 day absence.
The location of the books can be glimpsed in the screenshots posted above. If further assistance is needed in tracking them down, please refer to the following detailed information regarding the location of each set:
THE TEXT, SPELLINGS AND LETTERS
I would like to preface this section with a simple disclaimer: I am not a professional scholar of linguistics or the Old Norse language. My goal in making this mod was to create a text that presents Gylfaginning using the Old Norse names in place of their anglicized counterparts while still being readable in English. The text also includes some unique Old Norse words and phrases that have no direct literal translation in English, noting the meaning where not apparent from context. I read these stories many times over, from many different sources, long before I decided to make a mod that would present them in Skyrim. I wanted to provide the full texts, not just summaries, as I believe the stories are best enjoyed unabridged and in a logical progression, as they were presented by Snorri during the early 13th century in Prose Edda.
As stated above, Rasmus B. Anderson's translation of Prose Edda - originally written by Snorri in Old Norse - is used as the main source text for the books in this mod. By comparing this text with other translations in English, Icelandic and Old Norse (and even consulting digital online copies of surviving medieval manuscripts), I have chosen the names, words and spellings that I felt best conveyed the Old Norse language within the framework of Anderson's English translation. It was also necessary to take into account the game's limitations in displaying certain letters and accent marks peculiar to Old Norse. Where it is not possible to properly display a word in Old Norse on the pages of a Skyrim book, Icelandic (or its closest approximation) is used. My apologies to any native Icelandic speakers I may have offended in my clumsy efforts to achieve this goal.
The text consists of 17 chapters, spread over 9 volumes, as follows:
Vol. 1: Chapter I - Gefjun's Plowing | Chapter II - Gylfi's Journey to Ásgarðr | Chapter III - Of the Highest God
Vol. 2: Chapter IV - The Creation of the World | Chapter V - The Creation (Continued)
Vol. 3: Chapter VI - The First Works of the Æsir ~ The Golden Age | Chapter VII - On the Wonderful Things in Heaven
Vol. 4: Chapter VIII - The Æsir
Vol. 5: Chapter IX - Loki and his Offspring | Chapter X - The Ásynjur (Goddesses) | Chapter XI - The Giantess Gerðr and Skírnir's Journey
Vol. 6: Chapter XII - Life in Valhöll | Chapter XIII - Óðinn's Horse and Freyr's Ship
Vol. 7: Chapter XIV - Þórr's Adventures
Vol. 8: Chapter XV - The Death of Baldr
Vol. 9: Chapter XVI - Ragnarøkkr | Chapter XVII - Regeneration
CREDITS
Meshes and Textures
Bethesda vanilla meshes - book02lowpoly02.nif and book02large02.nif - used to create books
Bethesda vanilla textures - largebook02.dds and largebook02_n.dds - diffuse edited to increase resolution with GIMP
Axhoff2007 - Book Covers Resource - largebook02ax.dds and largebook02ax1.dds textures
Artisanix - Paintings and Frames - meshes and textures used to create Arbo painting
mikeynexus - 201 Stained Glass Lanterns - mnsghook03.nif and "blackiron" textures for the lantern hook!
Artwork
Peter Nicolai Arbo - The Wild Hunt of Odin (1872) - public domain painting used to create texture for use in-game, source available here
Unknown Artist from Vendel era (550-790 AD) - artwork from plate of Vendel era helmet - public domain image used to create .png for cover page artwork of in-game books, source available here
Book Text
Snorri Sturluson - Prose Edda (c. 1220)
Rasmus B. Anderson - The Younger Edda, Also Called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (1879 English translation) - used as the template for the text version of Gylfaginning presented in this mod, available as a public domain resource here
Project Gutenburg website - for its extensive database of public domain resources
Heimskringla website - for its database of additional research resources, including an Old Norse version of Gylfaginning found here
Völuspá.org - additional public domain resources
Germanic Mythology website - contains many photocopied resources from old manuscripts
Wikipedia - for countless entries that were consulted for information on word etymologies and Old Norse spellings
Miscellany
Jokerine - Younger Eddas Excerpts - Viking Mythology Books - for fueling the inspiration to create a mod that added the full text of Gylfaginning to Skyrim
Version: 1.0.0
Requirements: Skyrim.esm and Update.esm
Installation | Uninstallation: Standard procedure using your preferred mod manager or manually
OVERVIEW
This mod places a 9-volume book set containing a complete version of Gylfaginning from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda in each of the 5 major cities, and a respawning chest containing an additional set at the Weynon Stones. This version of Gylfaginning is based on Rasmus B. Anderson's English language translation titled The Younger Edda (1879), available in the public domain. Anderson's translation has been edited to replace its anglicized character and place names - and in certain cases words and phrases - with Old Norse names, spellings and terminology. This mod does not edit nav mesh and contains only minor edits to small vanilla objects to accommodate placement of the books on shelves. It utilizes no scripts, is free of errors and has been cleaned with TES5Edit.
BOOK LOCATION DETAILS
There are 5 in-game placements of the 9-volume book set, one in each of the major cities of Skyrim. These books have been set to player ownership, and may be freely taken by the player character for whatever purpose, including sale to any in-game merchant who deals in books. The books placed in the 5 major cities will not respawn once taken. To mediate loss or accidental sale of these volumes, an additional set has been placed in a respawning chest found at the Weynon Stones location. This chest will respawn at least as often as every 30 days in Skyrim, provided the location is not re-entered during this time period. The respawn has been play-tested and determined to work when revisiting the Weynon Stones after a 30 day absence.
The location of the books can be glimpsed in the screenshots posted above. If further assistance is needed in tracking them down, please refer to the following detailed information regarding the location of each set:
Spoiler:
Show
Whiterun - House Gray-Mane - second floor, on the bottom shelf of the noble shelves at the right-hand side of the rear part of the hallway
Riften - Haelga's Bunkhouse - first floor, on the top shelf of the cupboard against the far wall to the right after entering the building
Windhelm - Candlehearth Hall - first floor, on shelf in the room available for rent (first on the left down the hall past Elda's counter)
Markarth - Silver-Blood Inn - on the top shelf immediately to the right after entering the inn
Solitude - The Winking Skeever - first floor, on the shelf in the corner of the stairwell
Weynon Stones - the respawning chest is located behind the toppled stone head
Riften - Haelga's Bunkhouse - first floor, on the top shelf of the cupboard against the far wall to the right after entering the building
Windhelm - Candlehearth Hall - first floor, on shelf in the room available for rent (first on the left down the hall past Elda's counter)
Markarth - Silver-Blood Inn - on the top shelf immediately to the right after entering the inn
Solitude - The Winking Skeever - first floor, on the shelf in the corner of the stairwell
Weynon Stones - the respawning chest is located behind the toppled stone head
THE TEXT, SPELLINGS AND LETTERS
I would like to preface this section with a simple disclaimer: I am not a professional scholar of linguistics or the Old Norse language. My goal in making this mod was to create a text that presents Gylfaginning using the Old Norse names in place of their anglicized counterparts while still being readable in English. The text also includes some unique Old Norse words and phrases that have no direct literal translation in English, noting the meaning where not apparent from context. I read these stories many times over, from many different sources, long before I decided to make a mod that would present them in Skyrim. I wanted to provide the full texts, not just summaries, as I believe the stories are best enjoyed unabridged and in a logical progression, as they were presented by Snorri during the early 13th century in Prose Edda.
As stated above, Rasmus B. Anderson's translation of Prose Edda - originally written by Snorri in Old Norse - is used as the main source text for the books in this mod. By comparing this text with other translations in English, Icelandic and Old Norse (and even consulting digital online copies of surviving medieval manuscripts), I have chosen the names, words and spellings that I felt best conveyed the Old Norse language within the framework of Anderson's English translation. It was also necessary to take into account the game's limitations in displaying certain letters and accent marks peculiar to Old Norse. Where it is not possible to properly display a word in Old Norse on the pages of a Skyrim book, Icelandic (or its closest approximation) is used. My apologies to any native Icelandic speakers I may have offended in my clumsy efforts to achieve this goal.
The text consists of 17 chapters, spread over 9 volumes, as follows:
Vol. 1: Chapter I - Gefjun's Plowing | Chapter II - Gylfi's Journey to Ásgarðr | Chapter III - Of the Highest God
Vol. 2: Chapter IV - The Creation of the World | Chapter V - The Creation (Continued)
Vol. 3: Chapter VI - The First Works of the Æsir ~ The Golden Age | Chapter VII - On the Wonderful Things in Heaven
Vol. 4: Chapter VIII - The Æsir
Vol. 5: Chapter IX - Loki and his Offspring | Chapter X - The Ásynjur (Goddesses) | Chapter XI - The Giantess Gerðr and Skírnir's Journey
Vol. 6: Chapter XII - Life in Valhöll | Chapter XIII - Óðinn's Horse and Freyr's Ship
Vol. 7: Chapter XIV - Þórr's Adventures
Vol. 8: Chapter XV - The Death of Baldr
Vol. 9: Chapter XVI - Ragnarøkkr | Chapter XVII - Regeneration
CREDITS
Meshes and Textures
Bethesda vanilla meshes - book02lowpoly02.nif and book02large02.nif - used to create books
Bethesda vanilla textures - largebook02.dds and largebook02_n.dds - diffuse edited to increase resolution with GIMP
Axhoff2007 - Book Covers Resource - largebook02ax.dds and largebook02ax1.dds textures
Artisanix - Paintings and Frames - meshes and textures used to create Arbo painting
mikeynexus - 201 Stained Glass Lanterns - mnsghook03.nif and "blackiron" textures for the lantern hook!
Artwork
Peter Nicolai Arbo - The Wild Hunt of Odin (1872) - public domain painting used to create texture for use in-game, source available here
Unknown Artist from Vendel era (550-790 AD) - artwork from plate of Vendel era helmet - public domain image used to create .png for cover page artwork of in-game books, source available here
Book Text
Snorri Sturluson - Prose Edda (c. 1220)
Rasmus B. Anderson - The Younger Edda, Also Called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (1879 English translation) - used as the template for the text version of Gylfaginning presented in this mod, available as a public domain resource here
Project Gutenburg website - for its extensive database of public domain resources
Heimskringla website - for its database of additional research resources, including an Old Norse version of Gylfaginning found here
Völuspá.org - additional public domain resources
Germanic Mythology website - contains many photocopied resources from old manuscripts
Wikipedia - for countless entries that were consulted for information on word etymologies and Old Norse spellings
Miscellany
Jokerine - Younger Eddas Excerpts - Viking Mythology Books - for fueling the inspiration to create a mod that added the full text of Gylfaginning to Skyrim