- Gylfaginning
"Gylfaginning", or the "Tricking of
Gylfi " (c. 20,000 words), is the first part ofSnorri Sturluson 'sProse Edda afterPrologue . The "Gylfaginning" deals with the creation and destruction of the world of theNorse gods , and many other aspects ofNorse mythology . The second part of the Prose Edda is called the "Skáldskaparmál " and the third "Háttatal ".Summary
The "Gylfaginning" tells the story of Gylfi, a king of Sweden, who after being tricked by one of the goddesses of the
Æsir , wonders if allÆsir use magic and tricks for their will to be done. This is why he journeys toAsgard , but on the way he is tricked by the gods and arrives in some other place, where he finds a great palace. Inside the palace he encounters a man who asks Gylfi's name and so king Gylfi introduces himself as Gangleri. Gangleri then is taken to the king of the palace and comes upon three men, the first called Hár, the second Jafnhár and the third Trithi, which mean "The High", the "The Equally High" and "The Third", and are also names forOdin .Gangleri is then challenged to show his wisdom by asking questions, as is the custom in many
Norse sagas . Each question made to Hár, Jafnhár or Trithi is about an aspect of the Norse mythology or its gods, and also about the creation and destruction of the world (Ragnarök). In the end all the palace and its people just vanish and Gylfi is left standing on empty ground. It is then implied that as Gylfi returns to his nation, he retells the tales he was told. It can be argued that Snorri used this narrative device as a means of being able to safely document a vanishing and largely oral tradition within aChristian context. And even many will argue whether Gylfi was tricked by this visions or by the tales of a mythology which, seen through Christian eyes, are a befooling themselves.External links
* [http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/gg/index.html Text of all original manuscripts]
* [http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/gylf.htm The text with modern Icelandic spelling]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm English translation]
* [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/ContentsEnglish.htm#gylfe CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology: Prose Edda - Gylfaginning (English)]
* [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/ContentsIcelandic.htm#gylfe CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology: Prose Edda - Gylfaginning (Old Norse)]
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