Dr. Jackson Crawford's Cowboy Havamal

Odin as wanderer. Image credit: Hans Thoma [Public domain].

"People’s approval ain’t nothin’ you need.
Half the time it ain’t true.
Just be sure you think you’re right;
and that you’re comfortable in your own skin;
you’re all you can count on."

The Poetic Edda, a record of early Norse poems, is one of the sources of our knowledge of the Norse deities and mythology. A more recent translation is by author, scholar and professor of Nordic Studies, Jackson Crawford, P.h.D. He shares his knowledge and his passion for myths on his popular Youtube channel. The Poetic Edda includes the Havamal, which in Crawford's translation is the Counsel of Odin the One-Eyed. This is a poem of stanzas purported to be sayings of Odin. Crawford gives his scholarly translation, but in an appendix, he also shares what he calls the Cowboy Havamal as sampled at the beginning of this post. It's a down-to-earth, Old West meets Norse myths rendition of stanzas 1-79 "give or take a few." The inspiration he states is in the voice of his grandfather, "sad with wisdom and cynical with experience." He renders it beautifully himself in this video. Of the experience of translating this, he states:

"Nothing I have done before or since has matched the strange and moving experience of channeling my grandfather’s voice in that way."

He also has the text version on his website. Some purists may not agree, but I think it took a great deal of respect for the material on his part to make it more accessible in that manner.

Cover of Dr. Crawford's Translation

Naturally, heathens have asked him if he's one of theirs, but he states he doesn't follow Asatru beliefs. He points out that you don't have to be a thing to be a scholar interested in that thing in his video on the topic here.  On his professional website, the tagline is "Norse Mythology:  Real Expertise, No Agenda." After viewing many of his videos, I find that to be true. I sense only love and knowledge for the material he presents.

You can find his Poetic Edda translation at Amazon at the following link: The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics).

Of related interest: Pagans, Heathens, and Allies Against White Nationalism, Odin's Journey for the Runes, and Ways of the Asatru: Beliefs of the Modern, Northern Heathens.

FTC disclaimer: I have not received incentive from the author or publisher for this post. However, I am an Amazon affiliate, and receive a small percentage of any sales from purchases made through links provided on this blog.

© Trish Deneen