Njord and Skadi
Page 16
This paper, republished in the RMN Newsletter (available online) drew two responses. One, by Frog and Jonathan Roper[259], essentially agreed with Simek, adding that the Eddic mentions of "wise vans" may have owed more to alliteration (vinir vanir) than any real idea of a group of gods called Vanir. Clive Tolley's paper[260] sets out the contrary argument, pointing out that there is much that we don't know about Norse myth, and the Vanir's connection to shameful magic and sex makes it likely that a post-Christian society would not record a lot of their lore.
He also argues that based on place-name evidence, the cults of Njord, Freyja and Frey were popular, whether they were known as Vanir or not. He also wonders why a post-Christian author would choose to make up the Vanir, thus inventing a cult. Neither he nor Simek think that Snorri invented the kennings using the word vanir, although they can't be dated:
...the 11th century Þórðr Særeksson mentions Njǫrðr as a vanr in a lausavísa (Skj B1 304); Freyja is referred to as vana brúðr [‘bride of the vanir’], by the 12th century Einarr Skúlason in Øxarflokkr 5 (Skj B1 450). However, kennings presented by Snorri that mention the vanir are unlikely to be anything other than genuine, though undatable as he does not cite his sources (except Þórðr): he records “vana goð/guð” [‘god of the vanir’] (Njǫrðr, Freyr, Freyja), “vana niðr” [‘offspring of the vanir’] (Njǫrðr, Freyr), “vanr” (Njǫrðr, from Þórðr Særeksson; Freyr), “vana dís” [‘dís of the vanir’] (Freyja) (Skáldskaparmál, Ch. 6, 7, 20).[261]
These alone would establish that the Vanir were known as a distinct group. However, there is also evidence from the Eddic verses themselves, as well as skaldic poetry, as discussed above.
One good point Tolley makes is that since Norse myth never had a centralized pantheon, there's never going to a completely tidied-up mythology that answers all our questions. Another theory about the Vanir rests of this untidiness.
Schjodt agrees with this, and further argues that whether or not the term "Vanir" referred to a specific group of deities, the three we do know about share common characteristics: wealth, sexuality, and abundance.[262] While the Aesir and Vanir do overlap, there is enough evidence to show that they also were distinctive enough that no one was likely to mistake Njord and Freyr for Odin and Thor. He also points out that a living religion is rarely precise, so we shouldn't expect Norse myth to be too coherent.
Simon Nygaard[263] suggests that the vagueness of the Vanir comes from an older conception of deity: one that does not have a formalized pantheon, but rather a collective of beings that might not be sharply differentiated. This would reflect social arrangements: in a more tribal society, a looser pantheon would make sense, while the rise of chieftains would bring about a more hierarchical religion, with a clearly defined chief god and associated deities. This would explain why only the Vanir who were closely associated with the central, Aesir, religion would be defined personalities.
Nygaard sees the Vanir in general as more like the alfar (elves), who also give fruitfulness and prosperity, but who are not individual beings. You don't have to go all the way with the historical argument to see that the alfar and Vanir have a lot in common, and Freyr as god of the alfar could be seen as a personification of their benign powers. (Many writers have pointed out the continuities between alfar and Vanir, but I'm not sure how many have mentioned the undifferentiated nature of both.)
Other writers, especially modern Heathens and Pagans, have refused to allow the Vanir to go unnamed, and have proposed all manner of candidates for Vanir-dom. Some are obvious, like Nerthus, while others like Idunn, Frigg and Sif seem to reflect a gendered idea of the Vanir - Aesir divide.
To be fair, I can understand the urge to fill in gaps in the mythology, and if we accept the story of Mimir, we have to assume there were more Vanir than just the three we know. I leave you with this thought, from an article by Alfgeir Freyjasgodhi: if Njord and Frey are "honorary Aesir" now that they are hostages in Asgard, Hoenir and Mimir (before they killed him) were "honorary Vanir".[264] Further, this may explain why Hoenir survives Ragnarok. If the Vanir are not involved, then he, like Baldr, is conveniently on the sidelines until the new world arises.[265]
Chapter 11
Who is Njord's sister?
All we know of the goddess Nerthus, whom Tacitus refers to as Mother Earth (Latin Terram matrem) is to be found in his Germania, chapter 40:
By contrast, the Langobardi are distinguished by being few in number. Surrounded by many mighty peoples they have protected themselves not by submissiveness but by battle and boldness. Next to them come the Ruedigni, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suarines, and Huitones, protected by river and forests. There is nothing especially noteworthy about these states individually, but they are distinguished by a common worship of Nerthus, that is, Mother Earth, and believes that she intervenes in human affairs and rides through their peoples. There is a sacred grove on an island in the Ocean, in which there is a consecrated chariot, draped with cloth, where the priest alone may touch. He perceives the presence of the goddess in the innermost shrine and with great reverence escorts her in her chariot, which is drawn by female cattle. There are days of rejoicing then and the countryside celebrates the festival, wherever she deigns to visit and to accept hospitality. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms, all objects of iron are locked away, then and only then do they experience peace and quiet, only then do they prize them, until the goddess has had her fill of human society and the priest brings her back to her temple. Afterwards the chariot, the cloth, and, if one may believe it, the deity herself are washed in a hidden lake. The slaves who perform this office are immediately swallowed up in the same lake. Hence arises dread of the mysterious, and piety, which keeps them ignorant of what only those about to perish may see.
(Birley's trans.)
There is no mention of Nerthus at all in the Eddas, or indeed in any later writing. However, a mythos has sprung up around this figure, mainly based on etymology and the lore about Njord.
So we can imagine that most people's mental file for Nerthus goes something like this: fertility goddess, called Terra Mater, sacred procession, sister/wife of Njord or maybe a hermaphroditic deity, same name but one Germanic, one Norse, and parents of Freyja and Frey. Further information might include an idea of Nerthus looking after the earth's fertility, while Njord did the same for the seas.
Unfortunately, most of this is supposition, not truth. We don't even know her name for sure. The original manuscript of Tacitus' Germania is long lost, and all we have are various copies of copies made in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The source manuscript, from Fulda, was not an original itself, but a copy from the time of Charlemagne. This too was lost, and is known to us only from copies made in the 15th and 16th centuries. So it's not surprising that variations crept in.[266] As Lotte Motz puts it:
There are, in fact, reasons why the equation Nerthus-Njord should be questioned. Nerthus, i.e. nertun, is only one of several forms transmitted by the manuscripts: the others are necthum, neithum, herthum, Nerherthum, Verthum. The variant nertum was chosen by Grimm because it corresponds to Njord.[267]
I suppose Grimm must have thought he solved a problem, because while some Norse deities have Germanic counterparts - Woden, Donar, Ziu, and Frowe - the Vanir don't. There is no Germanic Njord, Frey or Freyja. (Friday is named for Frigga.) The Vanir appear to have been Scandinavian deities, and very popular there. When Grimm found the version nertun, he must have felt quite pleased. After all, as Gardenstone points out,
Njord's place-names in Scandinavia [are] predominantly in three areas: in East Sweden (Ostergotland), in the east of Norway and in the coastal areas of West Norway. In Denmark there are at Funen (Fyn) and Zealand (Sjaelland) only three indications for one of the Njord names.[268]
He thinks these few southern ones are more likely to come from the Viking age. So we still have to explain how a god and goddess separated by a thousand years and in two separate places can be one deity.
but Freyr is altogether like his father, and he again like his namesake the goddess Nerthus.[269]
So Frey = Njord, and since Njord = Nerthus, everything is okay. Now all we need to do is say that Freyja is the same as Frey, and there's the Vanir done and we can all go home early. It also doesn't answer the objection that Njord isn't a god of earth's fertility, and we have no record of his statue travelling about.[270] (One contra-argument is that the Codex Regius, the original version of the Edda, describes Njord once as Vagna-Gud. Most others, however, read it as Vana-Gud, or Vanir God. Of my two copies of the Prose Edda, Byock says "wagon" and Faulkes says "Vanir".)[271]
However, it seems that some deities, both male and female, did occasionally go out among the public in the manner still practiced by Catholic saints and Hindu deities. In Hauks þáttr hábrókar, which is part of the 14th Century manuscript of Flateyjarbók, there are two different accounts of such perambulations, one by Frey, and another by another being called Lýtir. We don't know much about Lýtir, but:
King Eric of Sweden is said to have led the god's wagon to a certain place, and waited until it became heavy, the sign that the god was present within. Then the wagon was drawn to the king's hall, and Eric greeted the god, drank a horn in his honour, and put various questions to him.[272]
Prophecy may have been Lýtir's main function, since one interpretation of his name is "lot, share, foretell", from the Swedish liuta, "cast lots". (The other is "blemish".)[273] His priests may have been spámaðar, or seers. Some Swedish place-names such as Lytisberg and Lytislunda suggest cult centres. Some have suggested that he is a variant of Frey; but if he is a god of prophecy, he must be a separate entity, since Freyr is never credited with foresight.
The account of Freyr's statue, and the cult attached to it, is more interesting. In Ögmundar þáttr dytts ok Gunnars helmings, also in Flateyjarbók, we are told:
Great heathen sacrifices were held there at that time, and for a long while Frey had been the god who was worshipped most there — and so much power had been gained by Frey’s statue that the devil used to speak to people out of the mouth of the idol, and a young and beautiful woman had been obtained to serve Frey. It was the faith of the local people that Frey was alive, as seemed to some extent to be the case, and they thought he would need to have a sexual relationship with his wife; along with Frey she was to have complete control over the temple settlement and all that belonged to it.[274]
In the story a young man named Gunnar escapes to Sweden after being suspected of manslaughter, and he meets the priestess and ends up driving Frey's wagon for her. He goes on to reveal that the pagan idol is nothing but a demon and takes over as Frey's image himself. (This story is one of a set of conversion narratives, so not from a pagan point of view.) In the story, however, the Swedes are delighted with their god, who now can eat food, accepts their gifts, and gets the priestess pregnant. (In the Flateyjarbók, Sweden is the place for all things pagan.[275])
The priest/ess of opposite gender, the wagon, and the idol that represents the deity, as well as its travels, are similar to the account Tacitus gives us of Nerthus. Like Lýtir, Nerthus signalled her presence (in the same manner?) and this was the cue for their travels. [276]
So far there hasn't been much evidence for Njord and Nerthus as similar deities. What about their names? Edgar Polomé throws cold water on this, with a rather impatient air:
a) Nerthus and Njorđr are two separate divine entities, whatever similarity their names show; as Dumézil (1959) had already recognized, the latter is a sea god [which also explains his particular wealth], and the former is typically a fertility goddess; b) in spite of the similarity of their names, they reflect different derivations: Njorđr belongs to the root *ner- "plunge and emerge" with the suffix *-tu-; Nerthus is rather to be linked to Celtic *nerto.[277]
Polomé tells us that *nerto- means, "force, strength".
Hopkins, on the other hand, thinks that the similarities of Njord and Nerthus, on the basis of "associations with wagons, bodies of water, and fertility"[278] can overcome this objection. (Presumably Hopkins is going with the "wagon-god" interpretation of the Eddic phrase.)
A more fruitful area of inquiry might be to consider goddesses that are similar to Nerthus herself, Germanic earth-goddesses. Here there are several theories which strike me as promising. Gardenstone sees links between Nerthus and Hertha, while Lotte Motz thinks that the travelling goddess is like Frau Holle and the rest, who visit households and reward or punish. This seems to me to make a lot more sense. The variant name "Herthum" would fit in here, too.
As for the mysterious sister of Njord, a new candidate has been proposed. In the December 2012 issue of RME Newsletter, Joseph S. Hopkins offers up Njǫrun for the job[279]. As he points out, she's somewhat underemployed, as she only appears a few times in the sources, mainly as kennings. In Skld she appears in a list of goddesses:
[Now are called the Ásynjur (Goddesses) by these names:]
Frigga and Freyja
Fulla and Snotra
Gerða and Gefjon
Gná, Lofn, Skaði
Jörð and Iðunna
Ilm, Bil, Njörun[280]
and in Alvissmal, in a kenning for night:
'Night it's called among men, and darkness by the gods,
the masker by the mighty Powers,
unlight by the giants, joy-of-sleep by the elves,
the dwarves call it dream-goddess.' [Draum-Njörun]
(Larrington's translation)
Snorri also mentions Draum- Njǫrun in his Nafnaþulur, or lists of poetic names for various things, at the end of Skáldskaparmál.
Njǫrun is used as a kenning for a woman in poetry by Kormákr Ögmundarson, Hrafn Önundarson and Rögnvaldr Kali, and also in verses in in Íslendinga saga, Njáls saga and Harðar saga. Also, eid-Njorun or fire-Njǫrun as a kenning for woman appears in verses by Gísli Súrsson and Björn Breiðvíkingakappi, and hól-Njǫrun in a stanza by Björn hítdælakappi. In Gislis saga Súrssonar he relates a dream where a woman appeared to him, whom he uses many kennings for, including eid-Njǫrun:
I thought in my sleep that the Sjofn of the silverband [woman, good dreamwoman] stood weeping over me, this Gerdr of the robe [woman, good dreamwoman] had wet eyelashes, and the noble Njorun of the wave-fire [woman, good dreamwoman] bound my wounds very quickly. What do you think was in that for me?
(ch. 38)
In light of this, some have seen Njǫrun as a goddess of dream and night. One website posits that she is a goddess of dream, especially honoured by the dark-elves in Svartalfheim, and that her hall is a good place for prophetic dreamwork.[281] Of course, this is UPG, but it could connect up to the general feeling in Norse and Germanic cultures about the prophetic and intuitive abilities of women.
The name Njǫrun sounds a lot like Njord, and there have been attempts to link them before. Jan de Vries thought Njǫrun might be the Scandinavian version of Nerthus. Finnur Johnsson thought it might be a name for the earth-goddess, and Alfred Morey Sturtevant posited "a possible link among Njǫrun, *Nerþuz, and Njǫrðr by way of *ner-."[282]
The connection Njǫrun - Nerthus is an easy one to make, because it "sounds alike" and it would solve a lot of problems. Some have made the jump already; in Boar, Birch and Bogby Nicanthiel Hrafnhild presents Njǫrun as one of the faces of Nerthus, perhaps even her real name. A lot of his information is UPG, of course, although he does make some interesting points (quoted from p. 16):
The common Njör- stem fits the naming conventions seen elsewhere among the Vanir (Frey/Freyja, Ullr/Ullin, Njörð/Jörð).
The -un (-n) ending is common among the names of th
e Ásynjur – c.f. Gefn/Gefjun (also Gefjon), Lofn, Sjöfn, Iðunn (with a doubling of the final consonant), Sigyn and Syn.
There is a possible connection with the Etruscan/Latin goddess Nerio, who was the personification of valour. If so, it would line up with the other references to the Vanir being able warriors (though non-aggressive).
The first point is the weakest, and to be fair, Hrafnhild doesn't insist on it, but admits that *Ullin is a reconstructed form and Njord/Jord not generally accepted.
The other three points are more interesting, especially the connection with Nerio, an equally obscure Roman goddess of battle. She was a personification of valour who was partnered with Mars, and occasionally equated to Bellona or Minerva. She sometimes received offerings of war booty.[283] I find it hard to imagine any Roman war-goddess being non-aggressive, but it's the name not the manner we're comparing here, and we already know that Nerthus comes from the Celtic -nert, "force, strength".
As Hopkins says, in Norse myth all beings and objects have names, and it would be nice to finally put a name to Njord's sister.
Chapter 12
What about Gerdr and Freyr?
It is a curious fact that the male Vanir feature mainly in two myths about marriage and wooing – both of which are highly questionable from our point of view. Njord’s myth is the subject of this book; his son’s Frey’s wooing of Gerdr is a parallel story. In Skr, our main source of this myth, the author seems to be very aware of this parallel, bringing Skadi in at the beginning to emphasize the Vanir – giantess theme.
Frey, in fact, has three main myths: his appearance amongst the Aesir, marriage, and death. As John Lindow suggests, there is very little else for a god of peace and fruitfulness to do in the warlike world of the Aesir.[284] (The same applies to his father, for that matter.)