Gylfaginning

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Gylfi is tricked

Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi, is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology. The second part of the Prose Edda is called the Skáldskaparmál and the third Háttatal.

The Gylfaginning deals with king Gylfi's encounters with the Æsir, and his disguised journey as Gangleri to Asgard. There Gylfi is ostensibly exposed to the glories of Asgard and its inhabitants. The whole of this narrative is metaphysical since the Æsir, who according to Snorri, have foreknowledge, trick him into a belief in the arcane complexities of the Norse pantheon, ultimately leaving him standing on empty ground. 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 a Christian context.

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