(Polomé: Njord and Nerthus)
Other ideas, which McKinnell mentions, is that Njord is connected either to the idea of contentment, as in Old English geneorð ‘contented’ and neorxnawang ‘paradise’ (literally ‘field of contentment’), or to the word ‘north’ (i.e. ‘deity of the northern people’, cf. Greek νερτερος ‘belonging to the underworld’).[51]
Further to Polomé's assertion that the two are different deities, with different names, Dumézil has a way of reconciling the two, names, gender, and all:
As for the difference of sexes -- Nerthus goddess, Njord god -- it has been explained in many, rather unsatisfactory ways. Perhaps this simply further testimony, and a very ancient one, of a common fact in Scandinavian marine mythology: most of the stories that tell of a sea spirit are known in variants where the spirit is masculine as well as in others where the spirit is feminine.
(Dumézil: Gods Northmen 76)
So we may well have two different cults, one with a goddess and one with a god. Another theory is that the place-names found in Sweden, which are mainly coastal, reflect a cult of Njord, while those in Norway are mainly inland, and might belong to Nerthus. Simek thinks that the two are a pair based on grammar: "The usage of the plural of the god's name, Njordr, which occurs in several skaldic poems, points to [that] solution."[52] If so, we have another pair, like Freyr - Freya, and possibly Fjorgyn - Fjorgynn, a feminine personification of earth, and the father of the goddess Frigg[53].
I cannot leave this section without mentioning another theory, which Richard North puts forward: that Nerthus and Njord are the same person, and the masculine ending is no mistake, because Njord and Nerthus are the same god, who marries Terra Mater. He ties this to Njord's later marriage to Skadi by endorsing the Skadi = Scandinavia theory (see next section), which would make Skadi a version of the Terra Mater figure whose wedding with Njord was the object of a cult celebration.[54] I can't say that I find this a particularly convincing theory, but it does get full points for ingenuity.
Wagon-God
How shall Niord be referred to? By calling him god of chariots or descendant of Vanir or a Van and father of Freyr and Freyia, the giving god.
The "wagon-god" (vagna guđ) reference is often used to connect Njord and the ancient Germanic goddess Nerthus. Part of her cult involved her statue being paraded around in a wagon. There is no need for it to be connected to Nerthus, however, since we also know from Olaf Tryggvarsson's saga in Flateyjarbok that a statue of Freyr received similar treatment, only accompanied by a priestess rather than a priest.
One problem with this reading is that some versions of the Edda, including the original Codex Regius manuscript have vana guđ, Vanir god. I can see how a translator might feel that since the manuscript goes on to refer to him as a Van and a descendant of the Vanir, vagna guđ would make more sense. It would make the manuscript very repetitious, however.
Perhaps one solution is found in not focussing so closely on the Nerthus/Freyr issue, and noting that Thor is also designated "wagon-god", and possibly Odin (Reiðartyr).[55] We know that Thor rides in a wagon drawn by two goats, while Odin, like Njord, is a bit more of a puzzle.
Odin usually rides Slepnir, his magical horse, while Njord does not have any animal that we know of. You imagine him travelling in a boat, but perhaps like his son he had two transports, one for land and one for sea. Once again, we're probably missing some bit of myth, although it's tempting to speculate as to what sort of animals would draw Njord's chariot if he had one.
Skadi
We know that Skadi is the giant Thiazi's daughter, which makes her a giantess, and we know that she marries Njord as part of her settlement with the gods. (She is the only giant who achieves this; whether the story explained Skadi's anomalous status or merely reflected it, to some extent she succeeded where her father failed.) We also know that the marriage didn't work; while she kept her status as a goddess, she does not live with Njord, but rather in her father's old home at Thrymheim. In fact, as Welshbach points out, nowhere in the sources is Skadi actually called a giantess[56], although since she is Thiazi's daughter, and referred to as "Morn", which is a common name for a giantess, there is little doubt that she is of jotunn stock.
Her relationship with her father is emphasized in Hst. Two kennings for Thiazi call him the father of the "bow-string Var" or "ski-goddess", and another refers to Thiazi as Mörn's father. It may be, too, that the poet is gesturing towards the sequel to his story - Skadi's trip to Asgard. (While some think that the Njord - Skadi myth isn't very old, these references to Skadi would suggest that Thiazi's daughter at least was a well-established concept by the 800s.)
I have already quoted the passage from Gylf about Skadi and Njord's marriage. After Snorri tells that story, he finishes the 23rd chapter (on Njord) by telling us a little more about Skadi, quoting Grimnismal:
'Thrymheim the sixth is called, where Thiazi lives,
the terrible giant;
but now Skadi, the shining bride of the gods,
lives in her father's ancient courts.
(Grim. 11)
It is in Gylf that we also learn of Skadi's final revenge on Loki after the gods bind him under the earth:
'Then Skadi took a poisonous snake and fastened it above Loki so that its poison drips down onto his face...'
(Gylf ch.. 50)
This is also mentioned in the prose section at the end of Lks, which also tells how the gods bound Loki as punishment for his part in Baldr's death: "Skadi took a poisonous snake and fastened it over Loki's face; poison dripped down from it." She may have had reason to be so angry, after she and Loki exchanged words earlier in the poem:
Skadi said:
'You're light-hearted, Loki; you won't for long
play with your tail wagging free,
for on a sharp rock, with your ice-cold son's guts,
the gods shall bind you.'
Loki said:
'You know, if on for on a sharp rock, with your ice-cold son's guts,
the gods shall bind me,
first and foremost I was at the killing
when we attacked Thiazi.'
Skadi said:
'You know, if first and foremost you were at the killing
when you attacked Thiazi,
from my sanctuaries and plains shall always come
baneful advice to you.'
Loki said:
'Gentler in speech you were to the son of Laufey
when you invited me to your bed;
we have to mention such things if we're going to reckon up
our shameful deeds.'
(Lksn. 49-52)
Apart from this, Skadi appears twice more in relation to family. In Skr, she features in the prose introduction. In fact, she also speaks the first lines:
'Get up now, Skirnir, and go and ask to speak
with the young man
and ask this: with whom the wise, fertile one
is so terribly angry.'
(Skr. 1)
This has always puzzled scholars, since Skadi isn't Frey's actual mother, but presumably she's doing step-motherly duty. She does not appear further in the story, having launched the plot.
The other reference occurs in the poem Hynd. As you might expect from a poem about a young man learning his lineage, the reference is to Skadi's family:
'Baldr's family was heir to Bur,
Freyr married Gerd, she was Gymir's daughter,
of the giant race, and Aurboda's;
though Thiazi was their kinsman,
the giant who loved to shoot; Skadi was his daughter...
(Hynd. 30)
We know that Skadi was considered a goddess from Snorri Sturluson, who tells us in the story of Aegir's feast that all the gods were invited, "and likewise the Ásynjur: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Skadi, Idunn, Sif." (Skld 56)
According to Hkr, Skadi also had sons for Odin, after she left Njord:
"To Asa's son Queen Skade bore
Saeming, who dyed his shield in gore, --
The giant-queen of rock and snow,
Who loves to dwell on earth below,
The iron pine-tree's daughter, she
Sprung from the rocks that rib the sea,
To Odin bore full many a son,
Heroes of many a battle won."
(Eyvind Skaldaspiller, in Heim.)
Some scholars regard this as a late effort, however, probably to gain a pedigree for the Jarls of Norway.[57]
This poem is part of Háleygjatál, which is written in the same meter as Yt, and like it, traces the lineage of the poet's patron back to the gods, in this case Odin and Skadi. What the Yt did for the rulers of the Oslo fjord region, this poem was intended to do for the rulers of the Trondheim area.[58]
Another translation of this poem gives us some interesting geographical information (read down, not across):
Hail, lord! Was Skadi's mate
The chief was begottenIn the Manheims,
By the kin of the godAnd the fell-sliding
With the giantessSki-goddess
In those days of oldBegot with Odin
When the prince's friendMany sons.
(Monson and Smith)
Apparently the Manheims were a part of Sweden; according to the Hkr, Greater Sweden was known as the Godheims.[59] Lindow says that according to the Yt, Njord and Skadi lived in Manheims[60], so either Eyvind changed the lore to suit himself or there were different traditions about Skadi.
Another reference to Thiazi and Skadi comes from a poem by Kormak. This reference to Thiazi is rather enigmatic, not helped by the fact that we only have part of Kormak's poem, composed in praise of Earl Sigurd of Hladir, who died in 962.[61] The poem was composed after Sigurd, who was a generous man, had a great feast at Lade (the earls' seat) and paid for it himself:
No man bore cupWho would not with joy
Or basket with himGo to the blood offering
To the jarl's feastWhich the generous prince gave.
(The gods betrayed Tjassi)(The king fought for gold.)[62]
(Hkr - History of Hacon the Good)
It is assumed that this was another reference to Skadi and Odin's son Saeming, who founded the Hladir line.
Another, odder mention of Skadi is in the Saga of Harald Hardrade, the section of Hkr which tells the story of Harald Hard-Ruler (or Stern-Counsel). Chapter 84 tells of the dream of Thord, who sees the armies of England arrayed against Harald's, and leading the English:
a huge witch- wife upon a wolf; and the wolf had a man's carcass in his mouth, and the blood was dropping from his jaws; and when he had eaten up one body she threw another into his mouth, and so one after another, and he swallowed them all. And she sang thus: --
"Skade's eagle eyes
The king's ill luck espies:
Though glancing shields
Hide the green fields,
The king's ill luck she spies.
To bode the doom of this great king,
The flesh of bleeding men I fling
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!"[63]
The dream was not inaccurate; Harald Hardrada fell at Stamford Bridge in 1066. (Although Harold Goodwinson did not have long to enjoy his victory - William the Conqueror wasn't far behind the Norwegian king. Some have blamed the forced march to Stamford Bridge and back down south for the English defeat at Hastings.)
Dark Goddess from the Dark Island: Etymology
There is a contradiction in what we know about Skadi. We are told that she is the shining bride of the gods, and apart from her initial appearance at Asgard, she does not seem unfriendly towards the gods. Her name, however, hints at a rather darker persona:
The origin of Skadi's name has not been found, although many suggestions have been offered. Some have identified it with the Old Norse noun skadi (harm, injury) while others have related it to the Gothic skadus and Old English sceadu (shade, shadow). In either case, it could be implied that Skadi was a goddess of destruction, or perhaps of darkness and death. [64]
Many people have instanced the binding of Loki episode, in which Skadi hangs a poisonous serpent over Loki's head, as justifying her name. Considering the amount of violence and revenge in the Eddic and saga literature, however, Skadi's actions seem quite restrained.
Considering that not only did he lure her father to his death, but then boasted about it to her, he got off pretty lightly. (Compare the Morrigan's harassment of Cuchullain, or Artemis' punishment of Actaeon for what seems like an honest mistake.) Other than that, however, it is hard to justify seeing her as a dark goddess. Deities usually get the names they deserve, however. For example, Odin definitely lives up to the odr, "furious" root of his name, with his patronage of battle and poetry, as well as his involvement in possibly shamanic activity.
Coming at this from a slightly different angle, we can see from Lotte Motz's paper on giantess names that Skadi is not alone. Under the category "Aggressiveness", we have Skadi, and Greip "grasp, grip", Hremsa "to clutch, to seize with claws", and Sleggja, "sledgehammer".[65] In a related category we have words to do with noise, especially animal or battle noise, which would connect with Skadi's home, Thrymheim, rendered as Noisy-Home or Crash-home[66].
Throughout this book we are confronted with the dual nature of giantesses: deformed and ugly, or else beautiful and sexually attractive. Sometimes they alternate between one and the other, although some of these stories may have been influenced by the Loathly Lady motif that appears in Irish and Arthurian stories. (Vargeisa is one of these. She suffers under an enchantment until Hjálmþér kisses her, when she transforms into a beautiful maiden. She has a marvellous sword for him as well; everything a young hero could want.)
Staying with the giantess angle for a moment, another name for a giantess is Morn, and Skadi is referred to by that name in Hst. There is a rather odd tale in Olafs saga helga (in Flateyjarbok) of a ritual involving a preserved horse's penis which was supposedly offered to "Mornir". I will discuss this in more detail further along, but many people have seen a remnant of the darker side of fertility-cults in this and Loki's tug-of-war with the goat.
There is another theory about the origin of the name Skadi. As Georges Dumézil put it:
I do not believe that Scadin-avia is etymologically “the Island of the goddess Skaði”: the first term of the word must have, or have had, a more positive content, alluding to “darkness” or something else that we cannot be sure of. I believe that the name of the goddess Skaði was abstracted from the geographical name, which was no longer fully understood...[67]
Dumézil thinks that the identification came afterwards, but others have been more bullish. Gro Steinsland is among them, since if Skadi = Scandinavia it bolsters her sacred marriage theory. Sorn Skald surveys the main proponents of this theory:
One of the more lively etymological controversies involving Skadi has to do with origins of the name Scandinavia. Pliny the Elder in his Naturalia Historia describes the land in the north as consisting of many islands, the best-known of which is Scatinavia. One prominent theory whose acceptance has waxed and waned over time (currently, its popularity is rather low) is that Scandinavia comes from *Skadin-awjô, "Skaði's island" or "the island in the shadow." Other scholars prefer an interpretation of "the dangerous island," referring to hazardous reefs around Scania.
Proponents of "Skadi's island" include F.R. Schroder and Gro Steinsland. Schroder in his Skadi und die Gotter Skandinaviens argues that the name is a dim survival of a very early importance of the cult of Skadi; though she once ruled the land, her worship was eventually supplanted by worship of the Aesir. Steinsland, on the other hand, claims that Skadi, a giant, represents the earth; the gods she marries represent mortal kings. Their union reflects the bond between land and lord (and incidentally creates a dynasty of Norse chieftains). The views of Schroder and Steinsland are very popular with those heathens who wish to create an identification between Skadi and Nerthus, thereby cle
aning up the question of the parentage of Freyr and Freyja and giving Skadi a strong fertility aspect; it also enjoys some popularity with those neo-pagans who subscribe to the idea of a prehistoric matriarchal goddess-oriented utopia that was eventually destroyed by the rise of war gods and their worshippers.[68]
As Sorn Skald points out, this solves a lot of problems, and once more the neo-pagans rush in where scholars would fear to tread. To see Skadi and Nerthus as the same goddess, however, makes a nonsense of much of what we know about her.
John McKinnell brings together both theories about Skadi's name in a very elegant synthesis, in his book Meeting the Other:
The name Skadi (and Sca(n)dinavia and Skåney, Skåne) may be related to Gothic skadus, Old English sceadu, Old Saxon scado, Old High German scato 'shadow'. She may thus have originated as either a personification of the land-mass of Scandinavia or an underworld figure.[69]
If Skadi was an underworld figure, that would bring her close to Hel. Régis Boyer in particular seems to see Hel as an emanation of Skadi, and Idunn as the same for Freyja, with all of them being included in a Great Goddess Freyja-Frigga-Skadi. I suppose Hel and Skadi could have things in common, such as being giantesses, and perhaps both having a dark and light aspect (quite literally in Hel's case), and both are described as "brides".
Also, some have seen Skadi as the dark death-dealing aspect of Freyja, whom I would have thought was quite capable of manifesting her own dark side, claiming half the slain and being a sort of Valkyrie goddess. (In an interesting twist, Kvilhaug sees Skadi and Idunn as two halves of an earlier life and death goddess, in the form of Nehellenia.[70])
The Scandinavia theory rests on the account of Pliny the Elder, who in his Naturalis Historia refers to “Scadinavia/Scatinavia” (Naturalis historia book IV paragraph 96, book VIII paragraph 39). This led to a hypothesis that there was a form:
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