This is why the first section of the Prose Edda is called "The Deluding of Gylfi" (or, in Old Norse, Gylfaginning). Snorri writes that the Æsir were trying to trick Gylfi/Gangleri into believing these stories-in this way he can write all about the old heathen myths without getting into trouble with the Christian Church. The Æsir responded with many myths and stories. When Gylfi/Gangleri found the Æsir, he asked them many questions about the creation of the world and the beings who lived in it. The Æsir were the old Scandinavian gods, but Christian Snorri described them simply as very powerful men.
So he started the Prose Edda with a story of his own about a king of Sweden called Gylfi who disguised himself as a traveler called Gangleri and went on a journey to visit the Æsir and gain knowledge from them.
As a Christian himself, Snorri did not want to present the myths as if he believed them. He included lots of the old myths and stories so that people would know how to use them in the poetry. Snorri wrote the Prose Edda as an instruction manual on how to write the kind of old-fashioned poetry he liked. Partially because of this, the kind of poetry Snorri liked was becoming unpopular and was being replaced by new styles of poetry. During Snorri's times, however, the Christian Church strongly discouraged anything that was connected with the heathen past. Snorri was a great poet as well as a great writer, and he preferred an old-fashioned kind of poetry that made much use of the pre-Christian Scandinavian mythological material. He wrote a number of books, including one best known as the Prose Edda, which contains a great deal of Scandinavian mythological material. The most famous medieval Icelandic writer was Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). At first their writings were largely concerned with Christian religious materials, but in time they became interested in writing about their own culture and history as well. This is largely thanks to the Icelanders, who, not long after they were converted to Christianity, developed the most extensive vernacular literature of any medieval society.
The myths and legends of the ancient Scandinavians survive better than those of any other Germanic people. ECT: Gylfaginning: The Deluding of Gylfi GYLFAGINNING (The Deluding of Gylfi)
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