Hjúki and Bil

In Norse mythology, Hjúki (Old Norse, possibly meaning "the one returning to health"Simek (2007:151).] ) and Bil (Old Norse, possibly meaning "moment"Orchard (1997:19).] ) are a brother and sister pair of children who follow the personified moon, Máni, across the heavens. Both Hjúki and Bil are solely attested in the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholarly theories that surround the two concern their nature, their role as potential personifications of phenomena associated with the moon, and speculate about a relation between the tale of the two and the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill".

Attestations

In chapter 11 of the "Prose Edda" book "Gylfaginning", the enthroned figure of High states that two children by the names of Hjúki and Bil were fathered by Viðfinnr. Once while the two were walking from the well Byrgir (Old Norse "Hider of Something"Byock (2005:156).] ) — both of them carrying on their shoulders the pole Simul (Old Norse, possibly meaning "eternal"Orchard (1997:147).] ) that held the pail Sæg between them — Máni took them from the earth, and they now follow Máni in the heavens, "as can be seen from the earth".Byock (2005:20).]

Hjúki is otherwise unattested, but Bil receives other mentions. In chapter 35 of "Gylfaginning", at the end of a listing of numerous other goddesses in Norse mythology, both Sól (the personified sun) and Bil are listed together as goddesses "whose nature has already been described".Byock (2005:44).] Bil appears twice more in the "Prose Edda" book "Skáldskaparmál". In chapter 75, Bil appears within another list of goddesses,Faulkes (1995:157).] and her name appears in chapter 47 in a kenning for "woman".Faulkes (1995:47).]

Theories

As the two are otherwise unattested outside of Snorri's "Prose Edda", suggestions have been made that Hjúki and Bil may have been of minor mythic significance, or that they were made up outright by Snorri, while Anne Holtsmark (1945) proposed that Snorri may have known or had access to a now lost verse source wherein Hjúki and Bil personified the waxing and waning moon. Holtsmark further theorizes that Bil may have been a dís (a type of female deity).Lindow (2001:78) referencing Holtsmark (1945:139–154).] Benjamin Thorpe (1851) proposed that Hjúki and Bil represented the spots on the moon.Thorpe (1851:143).]

Rudolf Simek states that the obscurity of the names of the objects in the tale of Hjúki and Bil may indicate that Snorri derived them from a folktale, and that the form of the tale of the Man in the Moon (featuring a man with a pole and a woman with a bucket) is also found in modern folklore in Scandinavia, England, and Northern Germany.Simek (2007:201).]

In both the story Hjúki and Bil found in the Icelandic "Prose Edda" and the English nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill", two male and female children fetch a pail of water, and both pairs have phonetically similar names. These similarities have resulted in theories connecting the two,Streatfield (1884:68).] and the notion has had some influence into the modern age, including a 20th century retelling intended for school children.Judd (1896:39–40) features such a retelling entitled "JACK AND JILL. A SCANDINAVIAN MYTH.".]

The village of Bilsby in Lincolnshire, England (from which the English surname "Billing" derives) has been proposed as having been named after Bil.

Notes

References

* Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2005). "The Prose Edda". Penguin Classics. ISBN 0140447555
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). "Edda". Everyman. ISBN 0-4608-7616-3
* Holtsmark, Anne (1945). "Bil og Hjuke" as collected in "Maal og minne".
* Judd, Mary Catherine (1896). "Classic Myths: Greek, German, and Scandinavian". School Education Co.
* Lindow, John (2001). "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs". Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
* Orchard, Andy (1997). "Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend". Cassell. ISBN 0 304 34520 2
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. "Dictionary of Northern Mythology". D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0859915131
* Streatfield, George Sidney (1884). "Lincolnshire and the Danes". K. Paul, Trench & Co.
* Thorpe, Benjamin (1851). "Northern Mythology: Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands." E. Lumley.