Alvis spake:
26. " Fire men call it, | and Flame the gods,
By the Wanes is it Wildfire called;
The Biter by giants, | The Burner by dwarfs,
The Swift in the house of hell."
Thor spake:
27. "Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the wood, | that grows for mankind,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
28. "Men call it The Wood, | gods The Mane of the Field,
Seaweed of Hills in hell;
Flame-Food the giants, | Fair-Limbed the elves,
The Wand is it called by the Wanes."
Thor spake:
29. "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. "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."
[26. Wildfire: the word may mean any one of various things, including "Wave," which is not unlikely.
28. In hell: the word simply means "men," and it is only a guess, though a generally accepted one, that here it refers to the dead.
29. Nor: presumably the giant whom Snorri calls Norvi or Narfi, father of Not (Night) and grandfather of Dag (Day). Cf. Vafthruthnismol, 25.
30. 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."]
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Alvíss kvað:
26. "Eldr heitir með mönnum, en með ásum funi,
kalla vág vanir, frekan jötnar,
en forbrenni dvergar, kalla í helju hröðuð."
Þórr kvað:
27. "Segðu mér þat, Alvíss, - öll of rök fira
vörumk, dvergr, at vitir -:
hvé viðr heitir, er vex fyr alda sonum,
heimi hverjum í?"
Alvíss kvað:
28. "Viðr heitir með mönnum, en vallarfax með goðum,
kalla hlíðþang halir, eldi jötnar
alfar fagrlima, kalla vönd vanir."
Þórr kvað:
29. "Segðu mér þat, Alvíss, - öll of rök fira
vörumk, dvergr,at vitir, hvé sú nótt heitir,
in Nörvi kennda, heimi hverjum í?"
Alvíss kvað:
30. "Nótt heitir með mönnum, en njól með goðum,
kalla grímu ginnregin, óljós jötnar,
alfar svefngaman, kalla dvergar draumnjörun."
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