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Alvissmol

  Alvis spake:32.[1] "Men call it 'Grain,'  and 'Corn' the gods, 'Growth' in the world of the Wanes;'The Eaten' by giants,  'Drink-Stuff' by elves, In hell 'The Slender Stem.'"
  Thor spake:33. "Answer me, Alvis!  thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men:What call they the ale,  that is quaffed of men, In each and every world?"
  Alvis spake:34.[2] "'Ale' among men,  'Beer' the gods among, In the world of the Wanes 'The Foaming';'Bright Draught' with giants,  'Mead' with dwellers in hell,  'The Feast-Draught' with Suttung's sons."
  Thor spake:35.[3] "In a single breast  I never have seen More wealth of wisdom old;
  1. ↑ Grain: the two words translated "grain" and "corn" apparently both meant primarily barley, and thence grain in general, the first being the commoner term of the two. Drink-Stuff: the word is identical with the one used, and commented on, in stanza 24, and again I have followed Gering's interpretation for want of a better one. If his guess is correct, the reference here is evidently to grain as the material from which beer and other drinks are brewed.
  2. ↑ Suttung's sons: these ought to be the giants, but the giants are specifically mentioned in line 3. The phrase "Suttung's sons" occurs in Skirnismol, 34, clearly meaning the giants. Concerning Suttung as the possessor of the mead of poetry, cf. Hovamol, 104.
  3. ↑

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