Description: The Swedish King Gylfi, who is in disguise as Gangleri, presumably in the
presence of Óðinn, who is
represented in three forms as Þriði, Jafnhárr, and Hárr. This scene is from the Deluding of Gylfi in Gylfaginning in Snorri's Edda. This illustration is from
the Icelandic manuscript that is now known as Codex Upsaliensis.
Source: DG 11 4to
Folio or Page: 26v.
Medium: ink drawing on parchment
Date: c. 1325
Dimensions (mm): 118 x 155
Provenance:
Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson sent the manuscript to Sorö, Denmark as a
gift for his friend Stephanus Johannis Stephanius in 1639. After his
death, Stephanus's widow sold it to the Swedish Chancellor, Count
Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie.
Count Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie donated the Codex Upsaliensis to
the Carolina Rediviva Library at the University of Uppsala in
1662.
Artist Not
Known
Artist not known for this illustration in the DG11 manuscript.
Gods and Goddesses
Hárr (non.)
High (en.)
One of Óðinn´s many names that are collectively known as Óðins
heiti.
Jafnhárr (non.)
Just-as-high (en.)
One of Óðinn´s many names that are collectively known as Óðins heiti.
Jafnhárr means Just-as-High.
Óðinn (non.)
Odin (en.)
The chief god of the Æsir in The Prose Edda.
However, in Heimskringla he was a mortal who
tricks the King of Sweden into believing that he was a god.
Þriði (non.)
Third (en.)
One of Óðinn´s many names that are collectively known as Óðins heiti.
Þriði means Third.
Historical Persons, i.e. from Heimskringla, Saxo, sagas etc.
Gylfi (non.)
A king in Ynglinga Saga, the first saga in
Heimskringla, who promises
Gefjon a ploughshare of land. He plays a much larger role in Snorri's
Edda where he decides to try and discover
if Óðinn and his followers are men or gods.
Myths
Gylfaginning (non.)
Deluding of Gylfi (en.)
Part of the story that Snorri uses to frame one of the three sections
of his Prose Edda. It is not a myth, but is an
essential part of Snorri's attempt to use euhemerization as an
explanation for the origin of the belief in pagan gods.
Mythological Persons
Gangleri (non.)
This is the name that King Gylfi used when he went to question Óðinn,
and the men who came with him from Asia, to see if they were gods or
sorcerers. It is also one of the many names of Óðinn that are known as
Óðins heiti.
Source Materials:
Codex Upsaliensis (la.)
This manuscript is one of the four surviving complete manuscripts of
Snorri's Edda. However, it is shorter than the
others. It was created circa 1325 by an unknown scribe and is also known
by its shelfmark DG 11 4to.
DG 11 (is.)
Shelf mark for Codex Upsaliensis, which contains the iconic
illustration of Gylfi standing before the three figures of Odinn seated
on high seats from the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda.
Prose Edda (is.)
Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth-century prose work concerning Old Norse
mythology and poetics.
Source Persons
Snorri
Sturluson (is.)
b. 1179
d. 1241
Nationality: Icelandic
Snorri was an Icelandic statesman, scholar, and author who is credited
with writing Heimskringla, The
Prose Edda, and possibly Egil's
Saga.
