Who Is Gylfi (Gangleri) (Gangleri)?
A human king seeking the secrets of the gods
Gylfi
Gylfi is a king who ruled the land that is now Sweden, and he appears in Gylfaginning ("The Deluding of Gylfi"), part of the Prose Edda, a key source of Norse mythology. Described as wise and skilled in magic, he is the "questioner" who drives the whole story by asking the gods how the world came to be.
In this manga, after the goddess Gefjon, disguised as a traveling woman, carries off part of his kingdom, Gylfi wants to know whether the power of the Æsir comes from their own nature or from the gods they worship. So he takes the form of an old man, calls himself "Gangleri," and secretly travels to Asgard. But the gods, who can see what is to come, already know he is coming and have prepared illusions to receive him.
The name Gangleri is also known as one of the many names of Odin. The title "Gylfaginning" is thought to mean that the king is deceived, or deluded, by the gods.
