Sleipnir is Sleipnir, he is Odin's, he has eight legs." In chapter 41, High quotes the "Grímnismál" stanza that mentions Sleipnir. In chapter 42, Sleipnir's origins are described. Gangleri (described earlier in the book as King Gylfi in disguise) asks High who the horse Sleipnir belongs to and what there is to tell about it. High expresses surprise in Gangleri's lack of knowledge about Sleipnir and its origin. High tells a story set "right at the beginning of the gods' settlement, when the gods established Midgard and built Val-Hall" about an unnamed builder who has offered to build a fortification for
Eight-legged essay and to display basic logic. In certain times, the candidates were expected to spontaneously compose poetry upon a set theme, the value of which was also sometimes questioned, or eliminated as part of the test material. This was a major argument in favor of the eight-legged essay, arguing that it were better to eliminate creative art in favor of prosaic literacy. In the history of Chinese literature, the eight-legged essay is often said to have caused China's "cultural stagnation and economic backwardness" in the 19th century. The eight-legged essay is named so because it was divided into eight sections, which