Vidfinn

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In Norse mythology, Vidfinn was the father of Hjúki and Bil, a brother and sister (respectively) who according to Gylfaginning were taken up from the earth by the moon as they were fetching water from the well called Byrgir, bearing on their shoulders the cask called Saegr and the pole called Simul. They now follow him on his nocturnal journey, "as may be seen from the earth". Later in Gylfaginning, Snorri reckons Bil among the Ásynjur along with Sól. The moon is personified as Mani.

Some scholars refer to Byrgir as a mead fountain and think Hjúki and Bil can be seen on the face of the moon as craters or as the waxing and waning phases. This story may be a source of the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill.

[edit] External links

• Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology

• The man in the moon

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