Editing Ask and Embla (section)

==Attestations==
In stanza 17 of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem {{lang|non|[[Völuspá]]}}, the [[Seeress (Germanic)|seeress]] reciting the poem states that [[Hœnir]], [[Lóðurr]] and [[Odin]] once found Ask and Embla on land. The seeress says that the two were capable of very little, lacking in {{lang|non|[[wyrd|ørlög]]}} and says that they were given three gifts by the three gods:
<blockquote>
{|
|
:<small>Old Norse:</small>
:{{lang|non|Ǫnd þau né átto, óð þau né hǫfðo,}}
:{{lang|non|lá né læti né lito góða.}}
:{{lang|non|Ǫnd gaf Óðinn, óð gaf Hœnir,}}
:{{lang|non|lá gaf Lóðurr ok lito góða.}}<ref name=DRONKE11>Dronke (1997:11).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not,
:blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour.
:Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hœnir,
:blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour.<ref name=THORPE5>Thorpe (1866:5).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:Soul they had not, sense they had not,
:Heat nor motion, nor goodly hue;
:Soul gave Othin, sense gave Hönir,
:Heat gave Lothur and goodly hue.<ref name=BELLOWS8>Bellows (1936:8).</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>
The meaning of these gifts has been a matter of scholarly disagreement and translations therefore vary.<ref name="SCHACH93">Schach (1985:93).</ref>

According to chapter 9 of the ''Prose Edda'' book {{lang|non|[[Gylfaginning]]}}, the three brothers [[Vili and Vé|Vili, Vé]], and Odin, are the creators of the first man and woman. The brothers were once walking along a beach and found two trees there. They took the wood and from it created the first human beings; Ask and Embla. One of the three gave them the breath of life, the second gave them movement and intelligence, and the third gave them shape, speech, hearing and sight. Further, the three gods gave them clothing and names. Ask and Embla go on to become the progenitors of all humanity and were given a home within the walls of [[Midgard]].<ref name=BYOCK18>Byock (2006:18).</ref>