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Poetic Edda

'Seaweed of Hills' in hell; 'Flame-Food' the giants,  'Fair-Limbed' the elves, 'The Wand' is it called by the Wanes."
  Thor spake:29.[1] "Answer me, Alvis!  thou knowest all,Dwarf, of the doom of men:What call they the night,  the daughter of Nor,In each and every world?"
  Alvis spake:30.[2] "'Night' men call it,  'Darkness' gods name it,'The Hood' the holy ones high;The giants 'The Lightless,'  the elves 'Sleep's Joy,'The dwarfs 'The Weaver of Dreams.'"
  Thor spake:31. "Answer me, Alvis!  thou knowest all,Dwarf, of the doom of men:What call they the seed,  that is sown by men,In each and every world?"

[3]

  1. Nor: presumably the giant whom Snorri calls Norvi or Narfi, father of Not (Night) and grandfather of Dag (Day). Cf. Vafthruthnismol, 25.
  2. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. The various Prose Edda manuscripts differ considerably in naming the gods, the giants, etc. Lightless: some manuscripts have "The Unsorrowing."
  3. Grain: the two words translated "grain" and "corn" apparently both meant primarily barley, and thence grain in

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