Guðmundr of the sheaf in Norwegian Yule celebrations. According to "Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks", the Norwegians came to see Guðmundr as a god; Höfler argued that in both the wolf-form suggested by "Úlfhéðinn" and the horse-form suggested by "faxi", Guðmundr was a death-demon and his death-horse the prototype of the death-horse Sleipnir portrayed on the Gotland picture stones. Ingemar Nordgren regards the first Guðmundr as "a cult-god" and his son, the Guðmundr of the sagas, as portraying him in theriomorphic form, and suggests that he is either an earlier fertility god who came to be identified with Óðinn and that Glæsisvellir
Eight-legged essay well defined and easy to follow. For the purpose of administering a large group of exam-takers, this structure allowed convenient regulation as the exam-takers were not likely to deviate from the requirements. Thus, this format contributed to ensuring standard and fairness in the civil service examination system. The examiners could reduce the amount of time spent in grading exams by being accustomed to this format, and uncertainties in the grading schemes were reduced. A scholar named Tian Qilin defended the eight-legged essay by arguing that it embodies the complex Chinese cultural and literary tradition. As early as the 17th century,