Post by GaratJax on Jun 1, 2005 12:49:54 GMT -5
Njord
Old Norse Njörð variant Niord.
God of the wind and sea, also called god of chariots and the giving god. It was to him that those wishing for protection on travels or desiring a good catch while fishing were supposed to pray. He was said to be so rich that he could bestow wealth on any who prayed to him for it.
A member of the Vanir, he was sent with his son to the Aesir as a hostage after the war between the two races of deities and was to return to the Vanir at Ragnarok. After becoming a member of the Aesir, Odin made Njord a priest of sacrifices according to the Ynglinga Saga. It further states that the Swedish people believed Njord ruled over the growth of seasons and prosperity.
His home was called Noatun [harbour] and his wife was the giantess Skadi who married him because he had beautiful feet. She later left him because they couldn't decide in whose dwelling they should live.
Njord was the father of Frey and Freya, we are never directly given their mother's name, however, Leach states Ingun was their mother - maybe he does so because Frey is referred to as Ingunar-Frey. In Lokasenna Loki taunts Njord by saying that he fathered Frey on his own sister. We again hear that Frey and Freya were the children of Njord and his sister in the Ynglinga Saga and that sibling marriage was allowed amongst the Vanir but prohibited by the Aesir.
Snorri tells us that Frey and Freya were born after Skadi left Noatun for Thrymheim. However, in the Poetic Edda Skadi is frequently called Njord's wife even when Frey and Freya are grown. Snorri's Edda has Njord as the one who sends for Skirnir to ask Frey why he is angry yet in the Skírnismál, Skadi is the one who calls Skirnir. She also refers to Frey as her son.
We hear about an older aspect of Njord (as the opposite sex) in Tacitus' Germania where he describes the worship of Nerthus by the Danish. Nerthus is the latin equivalent of the Old Norse word Njord.
Tacitus calls her Mother Earth and relates the ritual surrounding her. Nerthus' sanctuary was in a sacred grove on an island and within the grove was a cart under a covering. When the goddess came to her sanctuary the priest was aware of it and would walk alongside her cart pulled by cows as Nerthus visited places.
While the goddess was among people no war was allowed and all weapons were put away. Once the goddess was brought back to her shrine, she, her cart, and its covering, were all washed in a lake by slaves (maybe this is the origin of the Norwegians using wash day in place of Saturn's day - see the section on Loki regarding Sataere). The slaves were supposedly "swallowed" by the lake afterwards.
Since Skadi is a gender neutral name and even given in the Volsunga Saga as a masculine name, one wonders if Njord was originally the wife and Skadi the husband; note the similarities between she and Ull.
Even into Viking times the worship of Njord was widely spread in Norway as evident by the number of place names which incorporated his name - over twice as many as those for Odin.
Old Norse Njörð variant Niord.
God of the wind and sea, also called god of chariots and the giving god. It was to him that those wishing for protection on travels or desiring a good catch while fishing were supposed to pray. He was said to be so rich that he could bestow wealth on any who prayed to him for it.
A member of the Vanir, he was sent with his son to the Aesir as a hostage after the war between the two races of deities and was to return to the Vanir at Ragnarok. After becoming a member of the Aesir, Odin made Njord a priest of sacrifices according to the Ynglinga Saga. It further states that the Swedish people believed Njord ruled over the growth of seasons and prosperity.
His home was called Noatun [harbour] and his wife was the giantess Skadi who married him because he had beautiful feet. She later left him because they couldn't decide in whose dwelling they should live.
Njord was the father of Frey and Freya, we are never directly given their mother's name, however, Leach states Ingun was their mother - maybe he does so because Frey is referred to as Ingunar-Frey. In Lokasenna Loki taunts Njord by saying that he fathered Frey on his own sister. We again hear that Frey and Freya were the children of Njord and his sister in the Ynglinga Saga and that sibling marriage was allowed amongst the Vanir but prohibited by the Aesir.
Snorri tells us that Frey and Freya were born after Skadi left Noatun for Thrymheim. However, in the Poetic Edda Skadi is frequently called Njord's wife even when Frey and Freya are grown. Snorri's Edda has Njord as the one who sends for Skirnir to ask Frey why he is angry yet in the Skírnismál, Skadi is the one who calls Skirnir. She also refers to Frey as her son.
We hear about an older aspect of Njord (as the opposite sex) in Tacitus' Germania where he describes the worship of Nerthus by the Danish. Nerthus is the latin equivalent of the Old Norse word Njord.
Tacitus calls her Mother Earth and relates the ritual surrounding her. Nerthus' sanctuary was in a sacred grove on an island and within the grove was a cart under a covering. When the goddess came to her sanctuary the priest was aware of it and would walk alongside her cart pulled by cows as Nerthus visited places.
While the goddess was among people no war was allowed and all weapons were put away. Once the goddess was brought back to her shrine, she, her cart, and its covering, were all washed in a lake by slaves (maybe this is the origin of the Norwegians using wash day in place of Saturn's day - see the section on Loki regarding Sataere). The slaves were supposedly "swallowed" by the lake afterwards.
Since Skadi is a gender neutral name and even given in the Volsunga Saga as a masculine name, one wonders if Njord was originally the wife and Skadi the husband; note the similarities between she and Ull.
Even into Viking times the worship of Njord was widely spread in Norway as evident by the number of place names which incorporated his name - over twice as many as those for Odin.