Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, Gylfi ( Old Norse: ), ''Gylfe'', ''Gylvi'', or ''Gylve'' was the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia. He often uses the name Gangleri when appearing in disguise. The traditions on Gylfi deal with how he was tricked by the gods and his relations with the goddess Gefjon.

The creation of Zealand

The '' Ynglinga saga'' section of Snorri's '' Heimskringla'' and the Eddic poem '' Ragnarsdrápa'' tell a legend of how Gylfi was seduced by the goddess Gefjon to give her as much land as she could plow in one night. Gefjon transformed her four sons into oxen and took enough land to create the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

island of Zealand, leaving the Swedish lake

Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland in ...

Meeting the Æsir

'' Gylfaginning'' in the '' Prose Edda'' and the ''Ynglinga saga'' tell how the supposedly historic (non-deified version)

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

and his people the Æsir and Vanir, who later became the Swedes, obtained new land where they built the settlement of

Old Sigtuna Signhildsberg (historically Fornsigtuna, where ''forn'' means ''ancient'', Old Sigtuna, ''Sithun'', ''Signesberg'') is a manor that formerly was a royal estate (Uppsala öd), located in the parish of Håtuna approximately west of the modern tow ...

. In Snorri's account Gylfi is supposedly deluded by the Æsir into accepting their religion; hence the name "Gylfaginning," most often interpreted as the "deluding of Gylfi", although '-ginning' is regarded the same as what we recognise in "beginning", thus "the origin of Gylfi" is also possible. Gylfi and the remaining older bronze-age inhabitants of the land then supposedly adopted the religion of the Æsir and began to live under their rule. Snorri presents an outline of

through a dialogue between Gylfi and three rulers of the Æsir. It is possible that Snorri's account is based on an old tradition tracing particular beliefs or foundations of particular Norse cults to this legendary Gylfi. However, it is much more likely that the historic King Gylfi was simply already a follower of the ancient Norse religion and, as such, could easily have passed on these beliefs or stories.

Other appearances

In one version of '' Hervarar saga'', king Gylfi married his daughter Heiðr to

Sigrlami Svafrlami (Old Norse: ) was in the ''H'' and ''U'' version of the Hervarar saga the son of Sigrlami, who was the son of Odin. In the ''R'' version, Svafrlami is called Sigrlami and his parentage is not given. Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki an ...

, the king of Garðaríki (Russia).Sigrlami átti Heiði, dóttur Gylfa konungs; þau attu sun saman, sá hèt Svafrlami.
in N. M. Petersen's edition of '' Hervarar saga''. Heiðr and Sigrlami had the son Svafrlami, who forced the two dwarves

Dvalin In Norse mythology, Dvalinn (Old Norse: ) is a dwarf (Hjort) who appears in several Old Norse tales and kennings. The name translates as "the dormant one" or "the one slumbering" (akin to the Danish and Norwegian "dvale" and Swedish "dvala", meani ...

and Durin to forge the magic sword

Tyrfing Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving (the name is of uncertain origin, possibly connected to the Terwingi) was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the ''Poetic Edda'' called ''Hervararkvi� ...

Notes

{{s-end Mythological kings of Sweden