1. The Prose _Edda_, properly known as _Edda Snorra Sturlusonar_, was arranged and modified by Snorri, but actually composed, as has been conjectured, between the years 1140 and 1160. It is divided into five parts, the Preface or _Formáli_, _Gylfaginning_, _Bragaraeður_, _Skáldskaparmál_ and _Háttatal_. The preface bears a very modern character, and simply gives a history of the world from Adam and Eve, in accordance with the Christian tradition. _Gylfaginning_, or the Delusion of Gylfi, on the other hand, is the most precious compendium which we possess of the mythological system of the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia. Commencing with the adventures of a mythical king Gylfi and the giantess Gefion, and the miraculous formation of the island of Zealand, it tells us that the Aesir, led by Odin, invaded Svithjod or Sweden, the land of Gylfi, and settled there. It is from the _Ynglingasaga_ and from the _Gylfaginning_ that we gain all the information we possess about the conquering deities or heroes who set their stamp upon the religion of the North. Advancing from the Black Sea northwards through Russia, and westward through Esthonia, the Aesir seem to have overrun the south lands of Scandinavia, not as a horde but as an immigrant aristocracy. The Eddaic version, however, of the history of the gods is not so circumstantial as that in the _Ynglingasaga_; it is, on the other hand, distinguished by an exquisite simplicity and archaic force of style, which give an entirely classical character to its mythical legends of Odin and of Loki. The _Gylfaginning_ is written in prose, with brief poetic insertions. The _Bragaraeður_, or sayings of Bragi, are further legends of the deities, attributed to Bragi, the god of poetry, or to a poet of the same name. The _Skáldskaparmál_, or Art of Poetry, commonly called _Skálda_, contains the instructions given by Bragi to Aegir, and consists of the rules and theories of ancient verse, exemplified in copious extracts from Eyvindr Skáldaspillir and other eminent Icelandic poets. The word _Skáldskapr_ refers to the form rather than the substance of verse, and this treatise is almost solely technical in character. It is by far the largest of the sections of the _Edda_ of Snorri, and comprises not only extracts but some long poems, notably the _Thorsdrapa_ of Eilifr Guðrúnarson and the _Haustlaung_ of Thjóðólfr. The fifth section of the _Edda_, the _Háttatal_, or Number of Metres, is a running technical commentary on the text of Snorri's three poems written in honour of Haakon, king of Norway. Affixed to some MS. of the _Younger Edda_ are a list of poets, and a number of philological treatises and grammatical studies. These belong, however, to a later period than the life of Snorri Sturlason.