Gylfaginning

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Gylfaginning.

The Gylfaginning (Gylfis Deception) is a main part of the prosaic Snorra Edda of the Icelandic skald Snorri Sturluson . It tells of the legendary Scandinavian King Gylfi, who embarks on a journey to the gods in order to gain cosmogonic and cosmological knowledge from them. In the form of a didactic dialogue, which in the end turns out to be a hallucination, Gylfi asks the gods questions about Norse mythology.

Importance of Gylfaginning

The Gylfaginning contains an outline of the pre-Christian-pagan mythology of the North Germanic culture, which is intended to explain to prospective skalds the mythological concepts on which the Kenningar are based. The descriptions and explanations are probably not genuinely Germanic, as the texts were created after Christianization and a Christian influence is very likely.
In its mythological teaching structure, Gylfaginning does not refer to the preservation of the metrical forms of the old scald poetry ; her only concern is to provide material, mythical motifs, names and suggestions for the stylistic descriptions of the skalds.

Technique of Gylfaginning

In the external framework (Chapters 2 and 54) Snorri outlines the pseudo-historical reality of the Scandinavian King Gylfi and his way to the Æsir . The first chapter, the Gefjon episode, tells of Gylfi's motivation to want to learn more about the Æsir. Gylfi's subsequent illusion is designed by Snorri as a dialogue between the king and three gods on their high seats: the high, the equal and the third. The Æsir's answers to Gylfi's questions are borrowed from the vision of the Völva in the Eddic Völuspá , which begins with creation, proclaims theological and anthropological theories, drafts a cosmological topology, offers an etiological explanation of the world and ends with the eschatology of a world age in Ragnarök . All of this is also the subject of gylfaginning.

With the dialogue between the asking student and the answering teacher, Snorri falls back on a common medieval stylistic device. It is believed that Snorri borrowed this scheme from templates such as the Gregorius dialogues and the Latin encyclopedia Elucidarium . The latter was translated into Icelandic as early as the 12th century . With the Grímnismál and the Vafþrúðnismál , poems of the song Edda also use the literary technique known as knowledge poetry or knowledge encounter. At the end of the questions and answers, the loser pays with his life.

Snorri's sources

Despite Christian influences, the Gylfaginning with its extensive Nordic mythography is an important source for understanding the Old Norse worldview. What is essential here is Snorri's aloof attitude and his renunciation of moral evaluations and comments. Snorri's profound knowledge of mythology suggests that he used other sources besides the Edda of Songs, which are now lost. Since written adaptations of these topics for the 12th century are conceivable, but not proven, it is reasonable to assume that he owes a lot of information to oral storytelling tradition. Whether Snorri was also active as a creative poet in Gylfaginning remains an open question.

Commented content by chapters

Gylf.1 - Gylfi gives the Gefjon a piece of land for her singing:

  • Gylf.1 introduces the legendary King Gylfi. This represents the population of Sweden before the arrival of the Æsir, who from Snorri's euhemeristic perspective brought culture . Gylfi offers a wandering woman named Gefjon of the Geschlechtsir clan as much land as she can plow in one day with four oxen. The oxen, in reality their huge sons from Jötunnheimr , tear a piece of Gylfi's kingdom away and pull it west. This is how the island of Zealand is created.
  • Gefjon is Óðinn's traveling companion , and like Gylfi. She is the asianische ancestress of the Danish dynasty of Skjöldungen .
  • In conclusion, Snorri quotes a Skaldic stanza which thematizes the mythical conquest of Gefjons and is said to come from Bragi the Old. The protagonists of this stanza are still gods, those Snorri's mighty earthly rulers on the run.
  • Gylf.1 refers euhemeristically to Óðinn and his followers who, according to learned ancient Icelandic prehistory, immigrated from the East (from Asia) to Central and Northern Europe and finally to Alt-Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren (see also prologue Snorra-Edda and Ynglinga saga , Chapter 5).

Gylf.2 - King Gylfi moves to Ásgarðr to learn from the magical Assir :

  • Gylfi learns about the powerful people of the Æsir through Gefjon. Curious, he wondered where this power comes from. In order to experience this, he puts himself in the mask of Gangleri (who is tired of walking; the lonely wanderer - a Óðinn- Heiti , who Snorri takes over for Gylfi without implying an identity of Gylfi and Odin). Snorri again quotes a Skaldic stanza, this time by Þjódólfr ór Hvini ( 9th century ), in which he describes Valhöll.
  • Gylfi arrives in Ásgarðr, overwhelmed by the architectural beauty of the Æsir residence. A doorkeeper lets him in, and he meets the carefree, amusing residents. Gylfi speaks a skaldic (loose) stanza ( Lausavísa ), which brings a magical protective formula into poetic form.
  • The Æsir see through the masquerade and blind Gylfi.
  • Gylfi sees three high seats where the hosts hold court. It is about the trinity Óðinn, Vili and Vé - the high, the equal and the third. The high one offers Gylfi a characteristic Germanic knowledge encounter (cf. Vafþrúðnismál ), in which the loser usually pays with his life.


3. Question about the highest and oldest of the gods
4. The origin of the world
5. The creation of the world in Ginnungagap
6. Ýmir and Auðhumbla
7. The killing of Ýmir
8. The creation of the world from Ýmir
9. The creation of men Ask and Embla
10. Day and Night
11. Sun and Moon
12. The Fate of Sun and Moon
13. Sky Bridge Bifröst
14. Golden Age and Creation of the Dwarfs
15. Yggdrasil and Urd's Fountain
16. The Animals at Yggdrasil
17. Other Buildings of Heaven
18. The wind giant Hräswelg
19. Summer heat and winter cold
20. Odin
21. Thor
22. Baldur
23. Njörðr and Skadi
24. Freyr and Freyja
25. Tyr
26. Bragi
27. Heimdall
28. Hödur
29. Widar
30. Ali or Wali
31 . Uller
32. Forsete
33. Loki
34 Loki's children: the Fenris Wolf , the Midgard serpent and Hel
35. goddesses
36. Valkyries
37. Freyr courtship to Gerd
38. the Einherjer
39. Heidrun and eikþyrnir
40. Valhalla
41. the Einherier in Walhalla
42. Sleipnir ; The building of Valhalla
43. Skidbladnir
44. Thor and the lameness of his goat
45. Thors Ostfahrt: Skrymir
46. ​​At Utgardloki
47th competitions; Utgardloki turns out to be a mirage
48. Thor at Hymir (who is called Ymir here)
49. Baldur's death by the shot of Hödur
50. Loki is captured
51. The Twilight of the Gods / Ragnarök
52. Good and Bad Places
53. The New Earth
54. Under The clutter disappears and Gylfi stands alone

literature

Web links

Wikisource: The Edda (Simrock 1876) / Snorra-Edda / Gylfaginnîng  - Sources and full texts