Norse mythology; or, The religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpretedAnderson, Rasmus Björn
Religion
Norse mythology; or, The religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted
Anderson, Rasmus Björn
Mythology, Norse; Northmen -- Religion; Old Norse literature; Tales, Medieval
Thrymheim it’s called
Where Thjasse dwelled,
That stream-mighty giant;
But Skade now dwells,
Skee-bride of the gods,
In her father’s old mansion.
Njord is the god of the sea; that is to say, of that part of the sea
which is immediately connected with the earth, that part of the sea
which is made serviceable to man, where fishing and commerce carried on.
His dwelling is Noatun, which means land of ships (_nór_, ship; _tún_,
yard, place). Njord’s realm is bounded on the one side by the earth, the
land, and on the other by the raging ocean, where Æger with his
daughters reigns. Njord’s wife is Skade (harm), the wild mountain
stream, which plunges down from the high rocks, where she prefers to
dwell, and pours herself into the sea. Her dwelling is Thrymheim, the
_roaring home_, at the thundering waterfall. Taken as a whole, the myth
is very clear and simple.
The compromise between Njord and Skate, to dwell nine nights in
Thrymheim (home of uproar, storms) and three nights in Noatun, of course
has reference to the severe northern latitudes, where rough weather and
wintry storms prevail during the greater part of the year.
SECTION II. ÆGER AND RAN.
These do not belong to the vana-divinities, but are given here in order
to have the divinities of the sea in one place. As Njord is the mild,
beneficent sea near the shore, so Æger is the wild, turbulent, raging
sea far from the land, where fishing and navigation cannot well be
carried on; the great ocean, and yet bordering on the confines of then
asas. Hence Æger’s twofold nature; he is a giant, but still has
intercourse with the gods. Thus in Mimer, Æger and Njord, we have the
whole ocean represented, from its origin, Mimer, to its last stage of
development, to Njord, in whom, as a beneficent divinity, it unites
itself with the gods; that is to say, blesses and serves the enterprises
of men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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