Myths of the Norsemen Part 16

"Niord, the G.o.d of storms, whom fishers know; Not born in Heaven--he was in Van-heim rear'd, With men, but lives a hostage with the G.o.ds; He knows each frith, and every rocky creek Fringed with dark pines, and sands where sea-fowl scream."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

He also extended his special protection over commerce and fishing, which two occupations could be pursued with advantage only during the short summer months, of which he was in a measure considered the personification.

The G.o.d of Summer

Niord is represented in art as a very handsome G.o.d, in the prime of life, clad in a short green tunic, with a crown of sh.e.l.ls and seaweed upon his head, or a brown-brimmed hat adorned with eagle or heron plumes. As personification of the summer, he was invoked to still the raging storms which desolated the coasts during the winter months. He was also implored to hasten the vernal warmth and thereby extinguish the winter fires.

As agriculture was practised only during the summer months, and princ.i.p.ally along the fiords or sea inlets, Niord was also invoked for favourable harvests, for he was said to delight in prospering those who placed their trust in him.

Niord's first wife, according to some authorities, was his sister Nerthus, Mother Earth, who in Germany was identified with Frigga, as we have seen, but in Scandinavia was considered a separate divinity. Niord was, however, obliged to part with her when summoned to Asgard, where he occupied one of the twelve seats in the great council hall, and was present at all the a.s.semblies of the G.o.ds, withdrawing to Noatn only when his services were not required by the aesir.

"Noatn is the eleventh; There Niord has Himself a dwelling made, Prince of men; Guiltless of sin, He rules o'er the high-built fane."

Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).

In his home by the seash.o.r.e, Niord delighted in watching the gulls fly to and fro, and in observing the graceful movements of the swans, his favourite birds, which were held sacred to him. He spent many an hour, too, gazing at the gambols of the gentle seals, which came to bask in the sunshine at his feet.

Skadi, G.o.ddess of Winter

Shortly after Idun's return from Thrym-heim, and Thia.s.si's death within the bounds of Asgard, the a.s.sembled G.o.ds were greatly surprised and dismayed to see Skadi, the giant's daughter, appear one day in their midst, to demand satisfaction for her father's death. Although the daughter of an ugly old Hrim-thurs, Skadi, the G.o.ddess of winter, was very beautiful indeed, in her silvery armour, with her glittering spear, sharp-pointed arrows, short white hunting dress, white fur leggings, and broad snowshoes; and the G.o.ds could not but recognise the justice of her claim, wherefore they offered the usual fine in atonement. Skadi, however, was so angry that she at first refused this compromise, and sternly demanded a life for a life, until Loki, wishing to appease her wrath, and thinking that if he could only make her cold lips relax in a smile the rest would be easy, began to play all manner of pranks. Fastening a goat to himself by an invisible cord, he went through a series of antics, which were reproduced by the goat; and the sight was so grotesque that all the G.o.ds fairly shouted with merriment, and even Skadi was forced to smile.

Taking advantage of this softened mood, the G.o.ds pointed to the firmament where her father's eyes glowed like radiant stars in the northern hemisphere. They told her they had placed them there to show him all honour, and finally added that she might select as husband any of the G.o.ds present at the a.s.sembly, providing she were content to judge of their attractions by their naked feet.

Blindfolded, so that she could see only the feet of the G.o.ds standing in a circle around her, Skadi looked about her and her gaze fell upon a pair of beautifully formed feet. She felt sure they must belong to Balder, the G.o.d of light, whose bright face had charmed her, and she designated their owner as her choice.

When the bandage was removed, however, she discovered to her chagrin that she had chosen Niord, to whom her troth was plighted; but notwithstanding her disappointment, she spent a happy honeymoon in Asgard, where all seemed to delight in doing her honour. After this, Niord took his bride home to Noatn, where the monotonous sound of the waves, the shrieking of the gulls, and the cries of the seals so disturbed Skadi's slumbers that she finally declared it was quite impossible for her to remain there any longer, and she implored her husband to take her back to her native Thrym-heim.

"Sleep could I not On my sea-strand couch, For screams of the sea fowl.

There wakes me, When from the wave he comes, Every morning the mew."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

Niord, anxious to please his new wife, consented to take her to Thrym-heim and to dwell there with her nine nights out of every twelve, providing she would spend the remaining three with him at Noatn; but when he reached the mountain region, the soughing of the wind in the pines, the thunder of the avalanches, the cracking of the ice, the roar of the waterfalls, and the howling of the wolves appeared to him as unbearable as the sound of the sea had seemed to his wife, and he could not but rejoice each time when his period of exile was ended, and he found himself again at Noatn.

"Am weary of the mountains; Not long was I there, Only nine nights; The howl of the wolves Methought sounded ill To the song of the swans."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

The Parting of Niord and Skadi

For some time, Niord and Skadi, who are the personifications of summer and winter, alternated thus, the wife spending the three short summer months by the sea, and he reluctantly remaining with her in Thrym-heim during the nine long winter months. But, concluding at last that their tastes would never agree, they decided to part for ever, and returned to their respective homes, where each could follow the occupations which custom had endeared to them.

"Thrym-heim it's called, Where Thja.s.se dwelled, That stream-mighty giant; But Skade now dwells, Pure bride of the G.o.ds, In her father's old mansion."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

Skadi now resumed her wonted pastime of hunting, leaving her realm again only to marry the semi-historical Odin, to whom she bore a son called Saeming, the first king of Norway, and the supposed founder of the royal race which long ruled that country.

According to other accounts, however, Skadi eventually married Uller, the winter-G.o.d. As Skadi was a skilful marksman, she is represented with bow and arrow, and, as G.o.ddess of the chase, she is generally accompanied by one of the wolf-like Eskimo dogs so common in the North. Skadi was invoked by hunters and by winter travellers, whose sleighs she would guide over the snow and ice, thus helping them to reach their destination in safety.

Skadi's anger against the G.o.ds, who had slain her father, the storm giant, is an emblem of the unbending rigidity of the ice-enveloped earth, which, softened at last by the frolicsome play of Loki (the heat lightning), smiles, and permits the embrace of Niord (summer). His love, however, cannot hold her for more than three months of the year (typified in the myth by nights), as she is always secretly longing for the wintry storms and for her wonted activities among the mountains.

The Worship of Niord

Niord was supposed to bless the vessels pa.s.sing in and out of port, and his temples were situated by the seash.o.r.e; there oaths in his name were commonly sworn, and his health was drunk at every banquet, where he was invariably named with his son Frey.

As all aquatic plants were supposed to belong to him, the marine sponge was known in the North as "Niord's glove," a name which was retained until lately, when the same plant has been popularly re-named the "Virgin's hand."

CHAPTER IX: FREY

The G.o.d of Fairyland

Frey, or Fro, as he was called in Germany, was the son of Niord and Nerthus, or of Niord and Skadi, and was born in Vana-heim. He therefore belonged to the race of the Vanas, the divinities of water and air, but was warmly welcomed in Asgard when he came thither as hostage with his father. As it was customary among the Northern nations to bestow some valuable gift upon a child when he cut his first tooth, the aesir gave the infant Frey the beautiful realm of Alf-heim or Fairyland, the home of the Light Elves.

"Alf-heim the G.o.ds to Frey Gave in days of yore For a tooth gift."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

Here Frey, the G.o.d of the golden sunshine and the warm summer showers, took up his abode, charmed with the society of the elves and fairies, who implicitly obeyed his every order, and at a sign from him flitted to and fro, doing all the good in their power, for they were pre-eminently beneficent spirits.

Frey also received from the G.o.ds a marvellous sword (an emblem of the sunbeams), which had the power of fighting successfully, and of its own accord, as soon as it was drawn from its sheath. Frey wielded this princ.i.p.ally against the frost giants, whom he hated almost as much as did Thor, and because he carried this glittering weapon, he has sometimes been confounded with the sword-G.o.d Tyr or Saxnot.