The
Háttatal (c. 20,000 words) is the last section of the
Prose Edda composed by the
Icelandic poet, politician, and historian
Snorri Sturluson. Using, for the most part, his own compositions, it exemplifies the types of verse forms used in Old Norse poetry. Snorri took a prescriptive as well as descriptive approach; he has systematized the material, and often notes that "the older poets did not always" follow his rules.