Vafthruthnir spake:
21. "Out of Ymir's flesh | was fashioned the earth,
And the mountains were made of his bones;
The sky from the frost-cold | giant's skull,
And the ocean out of his blood."
Othin spake:
22. "Next answer me well, | if thy wisdom avails,
And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence came the moon, | o'er the world of men
That fares, and the flaming sun?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
23. "Mundilferi is he | who begat the moon,
And fathered the flaming sun;
The round of heaven | each day they run,
To tell the time for men."
Othin spake:
24. "Third answer me well, | if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence came the day, | o'er mankind that fares,
Or night with the narrowing moon?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
25. "The father of day | is Delling called,
And the night was begotten by Nor;
Full moon and old | by the gods were fashioned,
To tell the time for men."
[21. Ymir: the giant out of whose body the gods made the world; cf. Voluspo, 3 and note.
22. In this and in Othin's following questions, both manuscripts replace the words "next," "third," "fourth," etc., by Roman numerals.
23. Mundilferi ("the Turner"?): known only as the father of Mani (the Moon) and Sol (the Sun). Note that, curiously {footnote p. 75} enough,
Mani is the boy and Sol the girl. According to Snorri, Sol drove the horses of the sun, and Mani those of the moon, for the gods, indignant that
they should have been given such imposing names, took them from their father to perform these tasks. Cf. Grimnismol, 37.
25. Delling ("the Dayspring"? Probably another form of the name, Dogling, meaning "Son of the Dew" is more correct): the husband of Not (Night);
their son was Dag (Day); cf. Hovamol, 161. Nor: Snorri calls the father of Night Norvi or Narfi, and puts him among the giants. Lines 3-4: cf.
Voluspo, 6.]
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Vafþrúðnir kvað:
21. "Ór Ymis holdi var jörð of sköpuð,
en ór beinum björg, himinn ór hausi
ins hrímkalda jötuns,
en ór sveita sær."
Óðinn kvað:
22. "Seg þú þat annat, ef þitt æði dugir
ok þú, Vafþrúðnir, vitir,
hvaðan máni kom, sá er ferr menn yfir,
eða sól it sama."
Vafþrúðnir kvað:
23. "Mundilfari heitir, hann er mána faðir
ok svá Sólar it sama;
himin hverfa þau skulu hverjan dag
öldum at ártali."
Óðinn kvað:
24. "Seg þú þat it þriðja, alls þik svinnan kveða
ok þú, Vafþrúðnir, vitir, hvaðan dagr of kom,
sá er ferr drótt yfir, eða nótt með niðum."
Vafþrúðnir kvað:
25. "Dellingr heitir, hann er Dags faðir,
en Nótt var Nörvi borin;
ný ok nið skópu nýt regin
öldum at ártali."
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