Máni

For the trans-Neptunian object, see 307261 Máni. For the lunar orbiter, see Máni (spacecraft). For other uses, see Mani.

A depiction of Máni and Sól (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

Máni means "Moon" in Old Norse and is the Moon personified in Germanic mythology. He is described in old books called the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda.

These books say that Máni is the brother of Sól, who is the personified sun, and the son of a man named Mundilfari. The Prose Edda also says that Máni is followed by two children named Hjúki and Bil as he moves across the sky.

Scholars think Máni might be linked to the idea of the Man in the Moon that people in Northern Europe have. They also wonder if there might be an old story about Máni that we don't fully understand yet.

Attestations

Poetic Edda

In the poem Völuspá, the god Odin talks about the beginning of the world.

The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani (1909) by J. C. Dollman

In stanza 23 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál, Odin (disguised as "Gagnráðr") asks the jötunn Vafþrúðnir about the Sun and Moon. Vafþrúðnir says that a man named Mundilfari is the father of the Sun, called Sól, and the Moon, called Máni. They travel across the sky each day to help people count the years.

In stanza 39 of the poem Grímnismál, Odin (disguised as Grímnir) says that the Sun and Moon are followed by wolves. The Sun is followed by Sköll, and the Moon is followed by Hati Hróðvitnisson. In stanza 13 of the poem Alvíssmál, the god Thor asks the dwarf Alvíss about the names for the Moon. Alvíss says it is called many names.

"Far away and long ago" (1920) by Willy Pogany.

Prose Edda

In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Máni is mentioned in several chapters. In chapter 8, a character named High quotes part of Völuspá. In chapter 11, High says that Máni and his sister Sól are the children of a man named Mundilfari. The gods placed them in the sky. There, Máni helps guide the Moon.

Máni is also followed through the sky by two children, Hjúki and Bil. In chapter 51, High talks about what will happen during Ragnarök.

In the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Sól is called the "sister of Máni". Many names for the Moon are listed.

Benjamin Thorpe translation:

The sun from the south, the moon's companion,

her right hand cast about the heavenly horses Arvak and Alsvid.

The sun knew not where she a dwelling had,

the moon knew not what power he possessed,

the stars knew not where they had a station.

Henry Adams Bellows translation:

The sun, the sister of the moon, from the south

Her right hand cast over heaven's rim;

No knowledge she had where her home should be,

The moon knew not what might was his,

The stars knew not where their stations were.

Mundilfæri hight he, who the moon's father is,

and eke the sun's;

round heaven journey each day they must,

to count years for men.

"Mundilferi is he who began the moon,

And fathered the flaming sun;

The round of heaven each day they run,

To tell the time for men."

Theories

A 19th century depiction of The Man in the Moon from folklore in areas of Germanic Europe

Some old poems use special names for women linked to Máni. This might hint at a story where Máni had a special relationship with a powerful woman from another world. But we do not have clear stories about this today.

A scholar named John Lindow thinks that Máni might be destroyed during Ragnarök, a big event in mythology. But this is not clearly told in the stories we have.

Another scholar, Rudolf Simek, connects the stories about Máni and two children, Hjúki and Bil, to modern tales about the Man in the Moon found in places like Scandinavia, England, and North Germany. He also notes that an old poem says the gods put the Moon in the sky to help track the years, showing that early people used the Moon to measure time.

Attestations

Poetic Edda

Prose Edda

Theories

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