38 



MYTHOLOGY AND COSMOGONY. 



tamed five days. The days were called Tysdag = Tuesday ; 

 Odinsdag = Wednesday ; Thorsdag - Thursday; Frjadag = 

 Friday ; Laugardag (bath-day) or Thvattdag (washing-day) 

 = Saturday. 



Odin. 



Tell me ... 

 Whence the moon came 

 That walks above men, 

 And the sun also? 



Vafthrudnir. 



Mundilfori * is called 

 The father of the moon, 

 And of the sun also ; 

 Wheel round the heaven 

 They shall every day, 

 And tell men of the years. 



Odin. 



Tell me ... 

 Whence the day came 

 That passes over mankind, 

 Or the night with her new moons? 



Vafthrudnir. 



Delling (the bright) is called 

 The father of Dag (the day) 

 But Nott (night) was Norvi's 2 



daughter ; 



The full moons and the new ones 

 Tlie good gods made 

 Tu tell men the years. 



(Vafthruduismal.) 



The following is the origin of Midgard : 



Ere the sons of Bor 

 Raised me lands, 

 They who shaped 

 The famous Midgard ; 

 The sun shone from the south 

 On the stones of the hall ; 

 Then the ground grew 

 With green grass. 



The sun from the south, 3 

 The companion of the moon, 

 With her right hand took hold 

 Of the rim of heaven ; 4 

 The sun knew not 

 Where she 5 owned halls, 

 The moon knew not 



What power he 6 had ; 

 The stars knew not 

 Where they owned places. 



Then all the powers went 



To their judgment seats, 7 



The most holy gods 



Counselled about this ; 



To night and the quarters of the 



moon 



Gave they names ; 

 They gave names to 

 Morning and midday, 

 To afternoon and eve, 

 That the years might be reckoned. 



(Voluspa.) 



Then we have the origin of the wind and of winter. Hrsesvelg 

 means the swallower of corpses. 



1 Mundilfori, from rnond"! = a handle, 

 and fara = to go ; the one veering or 

 turning round. 



2 A Jotun. 



Sun, in the north, is of feminine 

 gender, and the moon masculine. 



4 The rim of heaven = the line of the 

 sky from the horizon. 



5 The sun. 



6 The moon. 



7 Kokstol stol, seat or stool ; rofc, 

 .judgment. 



