Characters from the Prose Edda (Prologue)

Biblical References•Adam, Eve, and Noah, are used to open the text, describing the creation of the world, the beginning of man, the Great Flood, and the re-population of the world. •The entire first paragraph is dedicated to opening the piece in a Christian light, tying into the argument that the author fused Christian, Pagan, and classical literary elements together to preserve as much of the original piece as possible, in a time where non-Christian material was not published and destroyed.

Literary References•Mennon (Agamemnon), King Priam of Troy, and Troan, are famous characters of the Iliad, an epic of the renown Greek bard, Homer. •Using references to famed classical literature was a mark of education and an accepted type of western mythology. With blood ties to the famous conqueror and royalty of Troy, the author gives the Norse god of war, Thor, mortal, Greco-Roman, linage. •After slaying his foster father and becoming the ruler of Thrace, he goes on to marry a mythically beautiful woman named Sybil (possibly the oracle blessed by Apollo, and another mythological figure who further ties a Norse god to a new Christian world, though it is not confirmed). He then goes on to describe all the children that they had, one predominate figure is that of Odin, the patron god of the Norse pantheon of the Æsir. •Odin goes on to marry a woman named Frigida, whose Norse name is Frigg, or the matron goddess of the noble pantheon, and goddess in charge of marriage and the home.

Scandinavian References•The character of Gylfi is the king of Sweden, and after Odin is grown and travels from Turkey to the north with a large group of followers, all believing a prophecy that Odin is to be a great king above all kings, Gylfi sets out to welcome him and give him whatever lands he wishes.• Odin and his band of women, warriors, attendants, and commoners bring peace and prosperity where ever they go, and winning the hearts and minds of the people immediately.• Gylfi is captivated by this, and the Prologue ends with Odin setting up his kingdom in Sweden, and establishing a government similar to that of Troy.

Characters From Deluding of Gylfi

King Gylfi•The wise king of Sweden, and skilled practitioner of the magical arts, who seeks to learn the secrets of the power of the Æsir, and sets out on a journey to Asgard to discover the source of their might. However, upon trying to infiltrate the stronghold of the gods, he is tricked and brought into a false hall of Valhalla, where he encounters the mysterious figures of High One, Just-as-High, and Third. •They tell him the story of the beginning and end of the world, Ragnarok, and of the gods, passing on to him the knowledge of a culture the new world seeks to forget. After asking his questions and being enlightened with their answers, he if charged with the task of passing on all that he has heard and keeping the stories and traditions alive. •He leaves the false hall alive, confused that the place of the three-beings has vanished, and sets forth to perform his task.

More Characters•Gangleri: The alias King Gylfi assumes when he is asked for his name in at the doors to the false hall.•High One, Just-as-High, & Third: The three cloaked figures that omnipotently sit upon three thrones in the false hall, High One on the lowest, Just-as-High in the middle, and Third on the tallest tier. All three take turns recanting the tales of the world's creation, the prediction of the world's end, and how it shall be reborn into a new age when the gods and man end. They charge King Gylfi with the task of telling their stories to all he meets, and then vanish into nothingness with the false hall.

Gods and Goddesses•The All-Father: Goes by twelve different names, some of which translate to "Spear-Shaker", "Full-filler-of-Desire", and "Weather-Ruler". He is the creator of the sky, heaven, and earth; also the creator of man and the giver of souls. "The All-Father" is described very similarly to God in Christian theology.• Hel: Goddess of the Underworld, and ruler of Niflhel, an afterlife described as a dimension composed of nine levels, similar to Dante's Inferno, which is a piece written at a much later date.• Odin: The leader of the Æsir, Asgard, and the army of the Einherjar. He is considered a wise man, a warrior, an a mage; in some legends having given up one of his eyes to Mimir's well to recieve the prophacy of Ragnarok. In this tale, Odin leades the Æsir to battle against the beasts, giants, and opposing gods invading Asgard, and is killed by Fenrir the wolf. He is avenged by his son Vidar, who survives the war and carries on his father's legend.

Continuing Gods and Godessess•Loki: God of mischief, mayhem, and deviousness. The ultimate Norse god of Tricksters. Once a god of Odin's pantheon, he is cast out for his deeds and so fights against him, alongside Hel and the giants, in Ragnarok. In the battle with Heimdall during Ragnarok, he kills the sentinel god, but it killed in turn. •Mimir: The wise one who guards the well of knowledge. Odin seeks council of the being when Bifrost is breeched. •Heimdall: Norse god of sentinals, he guards the bridge of Bifrost and alerts the other gods of the coming threat by blowing on a Gjoll horn that begins the assembly of Asgard. He fights with Loki during Ragnarok, and is killed.

More Gods and Godessess•Thor: Norse god of war, who tries to aid Odin in his battle with Fenrir, but ends up culled in a battle with the Serpent of Midgar. While Thor manages to kill the dragon, he soon succumbs to the serpent's poison and dies. •Frey: Brother of Freya, and god fighting on behalf of Odin. Frey falls in a fight with the giant Surt during the battle of Ragnarok.• Tyr: Odin's left-handed war god, who lost a limb to Fenrir in ages past, and seeks revenge during Ragnarok. However, he instead lands a fight with Garm, and slays the hound while being slain in return. •Vidar: Son of Odin, and slayer of Fenrir after the monster kills his father. Also, one of the only gods to survive Ragnarok. •Vali: One of the only goddesses to survive Ragnarok, along with Vidar along with the sons of Thor, Modi, and Magni. Bladr and Hod will come from Hel as the surviving gods of the other side, and together they will all sit down and share the story of Ragnarok, and remember the great battle that has just occurred.

Norse Mythological Creatures & Monsters

• Niohogg: The great worm, or "Striker-that-Destroys", that gnaws at the roots of the great ash tree, Yggdrassil. Niohogg dwells at the base of the tree in Hvergelmir.

• Veorfolnir: The hawk that sits between the eyes of the eagle that dwells upon the great ash tree, Yggdrassil. Ratatosk: The squirrel messenger that scurries from branch to branch and carries words of war between the eagle and Niohogg. Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathror: The four harts, many pointed deer, that leap about the tree and eat the shoots.

• Fenrir: The mythic wolf who is set free upon the world and heavens with the sun and moon are swallowed by its brethren. Fenrir spews fire from his nostrils and mouth, and is massive enough to swallow nearly anything whole, including Odin, lord of the gods, who meets his end at the jaws of the beast. Fenrir swallows Odin and kills him. The wolf is finally slain by Vidar, son of Odin.

• Midgard Serpent: A monstrous serpentine dragon that spews poison from its mouth and hails forth from the sea. The creature battles Thor and dies, but not before giving the god of war a fatal wound, which leads to his demise.

• Garm: The hound that guards the entrance to the realm of Hel. He is let loose during Ragnarok, and killed by Tyr, who dies in turn.

Norse Mythological TerminologyGinnungagap: According to a prophet, Sybil, the world was a vast Ginnungagap, an open

void, before The All-Father created life.

Yggdrasil: The giant ash tree that holds up the world.

Ragnarok: "The Twilight of the Gods", "The End of the Age of Man and Gods", "The End of the World".

Fimbulvetr: The three "summer-less winters" that with signal the beginning of Ragnarok. Harsh winds, snows, and no sun will consume the world. Fimbulvetr will occure after the

many wars of man and gods, where wolves will be set free and swallow the sun and moon, then free Fenrir, the greatest of all Norse mythological monsters.

Naglafar: The ship composed of the dead that continues to build itself as more and more men die with "nails uncut". It is captained by a giant named Hrym.

Muspell: "A fiery southern world guarded by the giant Surt", from which the giant and his four sons emerge and ride to battle. Surt later sets fire to the whole world after Loki's death

during Ragnarok.

Bifrost: The rainbow bridge that leads to the realm of the gods.

Einherjar: Souls of mortals who have fallen bravely in battle on earth, and join Odin's celestial army to fight with him and the other gods of Asgard in Ragnarok. Einherjar are

selected by battle maidens known as The Valkyries, heavenly beings who serve Odin and work directly under Freya, bringing the souls of heroes to Valhalla when they die.

Post-RagnarokLif & Lifthrasir: The two surviving humans of Ragnarok, that

will repopulate the new world with a new stock of humanity, better than the last.

The Sun: The sun will have bore a daughter before Fenrir devours her during Ragnarok, and this new daughter

shall be the sun at the beginning of the new world, and bring life to the ashes left behind by Ragnarok.