ORIGIN: Icelandic
TYPE: God of the sea and winds
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Viking period circa 700 CE and earlier, until Christianization (Circa 1100 CE).
SYNONYMS: Possibly Nerthus, though with change of sex from female to male.
CENTER(S) OF CULT: None known, but many place names along the Norwegian coast and inland by lakes and fjords suggest a widespread devotion.
ART REFERENCES: None known, but probably the subject of anonymous carvings.
LITERARY SOURCES: Icelandic codices; Prose Edda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); runic inscriptions.
INFORMATION: Njord originates as a vanir deity, but during the war between Vanir and Aesir he is handed over as a hostage and becomes the pledge of truce between the two races. He is a god of seafarers and fishermen, and brings the wealth of the sea to mankind. He also controls the winds and storms. Consort of Skadi, the daughter of the giant Thiassi, he is the father of Freyr and Freyja. According to one poem, he lives among an enclosure of ships, Noatun. The use of ships as burial chambers was probably closely associated with Njord, and further links between ships and fertility seem well established, strengthening the connection with this Vanir deity.