Njord (deity)

Culture: Norse

Children: Frey; Freya

Njord (also spelled Njordr) is a deity from Norse mythology. He is the god of the wind and the waves. Njord is one of three sea gods in this culture. He represents the mild sea along the coast. He is calmer and gentler than Aegir, the ruler of the ocean depths, or Mimir, the god of the primordial sea. Njord calms waves, blows gentle winds, and helps ships lost at sea. Humans have called on him during hunting and boating expeditions. He also has been called upon to help attain riches from the sea.

Njord comes from a tribe of Norse gods called the Vanir. Their rivals are the Aesir. He is the father of twins by his sister Nerthus, the goddess of Earth. They have a son named Frey, the god of fertility, and a daughter named Freya, the goddess of love. He also briefly marries a giantess named Skadi. Their union is partially at odds because he is a summer god and she is a winter goddess.

In Mythology

In Norse mythology, there were two main groups of gods. The Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir gods were the more prominent group. They included Odin, Thor, and Loki. The Aesir lived in Asgard, which is comparable to Mount Olympus, the home of the ancient Greek gods. The Vanir lived in Vanaheim. The Aesir gods primarily represented war and conquest. The Vanir gods primarily represented fertility, sexuality, and prosperity. The two groups were rivals and were often in conflict. They fought battles, made treaties, and even exchanged hostages with one another. However, after the Aesir-Vanir War, the two groups merged and became one. As a result, some sources simply use the term Aesir to refer to the entire pantheon of Norse gods and goddesses. As peace settled over the two groups, the Vanir helped bring prosperity and plenty to the Aesir.

Njord and his children Frey and Freya are the best-known deities of the Vanir group. Njord’s sister Nerthus was the mother of the twins. Njord had to leave Vanaheim due to the conflict between the Vanir and the Aesir. He joined the Aesir gods during a hostage exchange designed to bring the war to an end. The two groups decided to stop fighting each other to focus on a common enemy—the giants. Odin’s brother Hoenir and the god Mimir went to live with the Vanir. Njord and his twins went to live with the Aesir. However, marriage between siblings was frowned upon in Asgard, so the family left Nerthus behind.

A giantess named Skadi, who was the goddess of winter, came to Asgard, too. She traveled to this land for a very different reason. She was seeking vengeance after the gods killed her father. He had stolen apples that belonged to the Aesir. This fruit had the power to grant eternal youth.

In the myths, Skadi’s rage and anger upon her arrival in Asgard represented the harshness of winter. At first, the gods offered the giantess gold to appease her. However, she claimed she had plenty and did not need it. So the Aesir agreed she could marry one of their own. Skadi was instructed to choose a husband by looking only at the feet of several different gods. She selected a pair of feet that appeared very graceful. When it was revealed that they belonged to Njord, Skadi was disappointed. She had expected they were the feet of a handsome god named Balder. Still, she agreed to go forward with the wedding as planned.

Njord and Skadi’s marriage was a struggle because he wanted to live in his warm, coastal home, and she wanted to reside in her icy dwelling in the mountains. At first, they attempted to compromise. They lived for part of the time in his home Noatun and part of the time in hers, Thrymheim. However, both were unhappy with this arrangement. So they separated, and Njord returned to Noatun. The story of their marriage represents the seasonal shift from summer to winter and back again.

Origins & Cults

The story of Njord and Skadi’s union appears in Gylfaginning, the first book of the Prose Edda, which was written by Snorri Sturluson. The Eddas are Old Norse literature and tell the stories of gods and goddess. The poems and prose works that make up this collection were written in Icelandic during the thirteenth century. In the Vafthruthnismol, one of the books of the Poem Edda, Njord is described as the ruler of an area rich in temples and shrines. This suggests he was once worshipped by a cult. There likely was a cult established around his sister Nerthus as well.

A version of Njord seems to appear in Gesta Danorum by the twelfth century Danish author Saxo Grammaticus. Hadingus is a Danish king who has similarities to the Norse god. For example, his future wife chooses him by only gazing at the lower legs of several men at a banquet. Handingus and his wife also are incompatible in a way that mirrors Njord and Skadi. He wants to live by the sea, but she does not.

The character of Njord is sometimes depicted in fine art, such as in the black-and-white illustration Njord’s Desire for the Sea (1903) by English artist W.G. Collingwood. This image depicts Njord’s unhappiness in his marriage to Skadi. He sits up in bed beside his sleeping wife in their home in the mountains. Njord rests his chin on his hand, staring plaintively into the distance. The Norse deity has had few appearances in modern literature or popular culture, however. This could be due to his limited appearances in the mythology.

Bibliography

Anderson, Rasmus B. Norse Mythology; or, the Religion of our Forefathers. 7th ed. Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1901. Print.

Andrews, Tamra. A Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

Daly, Kathleen N. Norse Mythology: A to Z. Rev. ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2010, Print.

Højbjerg, Martin. "Vanir in Norse Mythology." Viking Mythology. Viking-Mythology.com, 2016. Web.

McCoy, Dan. "Njord." Norse Mythology for Smart People. Dan McCoy, 2016. Web. 18 Feb 2016.

"Njǫrd." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016. Web. 18 Feb 2016.