Njord

In Norse mythology there were two groups of gods; the Aesir and the Vanir.

The Aesir were the dominating gods.

The Vanir were older gods. The Vanir were especially famous for their knowledge of magic, sorcery and spells. The two groups of gods had been fighting. During their peace negotiations, they agreed to exchange gods to seal the truce.

The Aesir sent Honir and Mimir to the Vanir. They were pleased and made Honir their chief.

The Vanir sent Njord and his two children to the Aesir. The two children of Njord were the twins named Freyja and Frey.

The Aesir were equally pleased and soon decided that these three Vanir would enjoy equal rights as all the other gods living in Asgard.

Njord was the sea god

Njord was the god of the sea and the wind. He was extremely rich. His home was named Noatun.

The story of how Njord was married to Skadi started with a dramatic event.

The Goddess Idunn is kidnapped

In Asgard the goddess named Idunn was the keeper of the magical apples.

Idunn was married to Bragi, the god of poetry.

These apples were the reason the gods did not grow old. Whenever they spotted a strand of grey hair, they took a bite from one of Idunn’s apples and the aging would reverse.

The apples kept the gods from growing old and dying. In that respect apples belonging to Idunn were most precious.

One horrible day a frost giant named Thiassi managed to kidnap Idunn and her apples.

He did this with help from Loki. Earlier he had held Loki captive and made Loki promise to assist him in the kidnapping plot in return for his freedom. Loki agreed.

The gods were devastated. They started to age and grow weak. Odin was naturally upset. He threatened Loki with putting chilling spells on him if he did not bring Idunn back to Asgard.

Loki transformed himself into a falcon and flew to Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants. He found Idunn and changed her into a nut and carried her back to Asgard.

Thiassi discovered what had happened and was not about to lose Idunn and her apples without a fight. He transformed himself into an eagle and pursued Loki.

The gods noticed Thiassi in the far distance flying at an amazing speed. They quickly built a fire and as Thiassi flew over he was unable to slow down. He caught on fire and died.

Odin threw Thiassi’s eyes up in the sky and they became stars. Idunn was transformed safely back to herself and all the gods eagerly ate the apples of youth.

Skadi wants revenge

The daughter of Thiassi named Skadi came to seek revenge.

She was offered to choose a husband among the gods as compensation for her father’s death.

There was only one condition; she was only allowed to see the feet of the gods.

She chose the most beautiful feet she could find, believing them to be the feet of the handsome god named Baldur.

Skadi chooses Njord by mistake

To her great astonishment the feet did not belong to Balder, but to Njord. The salt water had kept his feet healthy and beautiful.

In Norse mythology the marriage between Njord and Skadi failed miserably.

Skadi was devoted to the mountains and Njord was the sea god. They could not agree where to live.

The couple spent nine days living in mountain home of Skadi. Njord could not stand it. He grumbled he could not sleep, because the cry of the wolves kept him awake.

The couple also spent nine days at Noatun, by the sea. Noatun was the home of Njord. Skadi refused to live by the sea. She complained the seagulls kept her awake.

After spending nine days in the mountains and nine days by the sea, the couple decided to break up.

The marriage failed. They separated. Skadi moved back to her mountain home and Njord stayed by the sea.