Njord’s Second Son?

When reading Lokasenna [1], I had a bit of a surge of inspiration, and felt a very strong possibility that Njord may have a second, well-known son. This son’s name is Heimdall. Now, how do I get from the daughters of Hymir using Njord’s mouth as a privy, to Njord being father of Heimdall? The process is an interesting one, I assure you, and begins with understanding the symbolism involved in Loki’s insults.

First, though, I’d like to discuss Hymir and his daughters. They are named in Hyndluljod [2], and are described as coming from the world’s edge in stanza 37. Hymir is also known to us from the poem, Hymiskvida [3], as possessing the kettle Thor and Tyr must fetch so that Ægir can brew mead for the gods. What we know of Hymir from this poem is that he is quite fierce: Thor and Tyr both consent to being hidden by a woman, until Hymir is appeased and introduced to his guests; his very glance is enough to crack heavy beams; and his head is harder than the stone wall Thor tried smashing a magical goblet against (Thor had to instead throw the goblet against Hymir’s head to smash it). The hard head seems to be a family trait that survived in Heimdall, as Heimdall is associated with the ram, and a kenning for the head is sword of Heimdall [4].

Hymir also bears strong association with the sea – seemingly a good representation of the sea’s wrath or fury. Along with Ægir, Hymir possesses many kettles, and has nine daughters. The nine daughters are seen as representations of the waves, as they are said to come in groups of nine. Just as the names for the nine daughters of Ægir are said to be descriptions of different qualities of waves, the names for the nine daughters of Hymir can also describe more violent qualities of waves. Oddly enough, another of Ægir’s names is Gymir [5]. These things, taken together, indicate a strong – if not direct – relationship between Hymir and Gymir / Ægir.

If Hymir is the sea, then there is a relationship already between Njord and Hymir. Njord’s area of influence is between the deep sea and the fertile, coastal land…you could say that Njord is either a border or buffer between these two things. You could also, if you look at the way a fjord is structured, understand that the waves of the sea empty into the mouths of coastal areas associated with Njord. We are told in Lokasenna that Njord was defiled by the nine daughters of Hymir, a relationship between Hymir and Ægir is established, and Heimdall was born from the nine daughters of Ægir. Although hardly proof of anything, it should be pointed out that in Lokasenna, directly after Loki insults Njord for his time among Hymir’s daughters, Njord tells us that he had a son, hated by none, and is foremost among the gods. This son is typically understood to be Freyr…but in re-reading this passage from Lokasenna, Njord could be talking about his son as a result of his time among Hymir’s daughters.

Since these relationships are not concrete, and since there is nothing saying that the nine daughters of Ægir / Hymir bore Heimdall as a result of the encounter with Njord even if the relationships are accepted, we have to look at family traits to provide more evidence. Such traits do tend to show up in our lore – Odin and Thor both have a relationship to storms, and Njord and Freyr are both associated with fertility and prosperity, for example. So what things might Heimdall and Njord have in common with one another?

Both are border gods. Njord, as stated before, represents the border between land and the deep sea. Heimdall guards the border to Asgard, with his home and station of Himinbjörg, at the bridge Bilröst. Njord is associated with calm weather, and among Heimdall’s names is Vindhlér (Wind Shelter) [6]. Both gods, for obvious reasons, are associated with the sea. Another of Heimdall’s names is Gullintani, which refers to his golden teeth – while this could be another ram reference, it could just as easily be a reference to prosperity or wealth. While talking about animals, it should also be pointed out that both gods have associations with seals, Heimdall actually having taken the form of a seal to fight Loki for Brisingamen [7]. A final connection between Heimdall and Njord stems from Thrymskvida, where we are told that Heimdall, like the Vanir, knows the future well [8].

The common associations / traits of Heimdall and Njord, though in my opinion compelling, do not prove the relationship between Heimdall and Njord. Neither does the connection between Hymir (father of the infamous daughters who defiled Njord), and Ægir (the established grandsire of Heimdall). But in the absence of proof, the remaining evidence seems to point toward Njord as father of Heimdall. If this is the case, then perhaps understanding Njord and the Vanir might also help us to further understand this somewhat enigmatic god, who is described in terms of foremost, mighty, and wise.

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[1] Lokasenna (stanza 34)
[2] Hyndluljod (stanza 38)
[3] Hymiskvida
[4] Wikipedia’s entry for Heimdall, second paragraph under the Characteristics heading
[5] Skáldskaparmal (XXV) tells us both that Ægir and Gymir are the same, and also gives us a description of waves and mouths (in this case, waves coming from Rán’s mouth)
[6] see footnote [4]
[7] Skáldskaparmal (VIII) – it might also be of interest that Heimdall is named in this directly after Freyr, who is in turn named directly after Njord
[8] Thrymskvida (stanza 14) – although the cited stanza in the Wikipedia entry is off by one, the debate about the actual translation of the stanza should be remembered

This article was originally published on 25. November, 2006, in Noatún