Njörd

Njord is the Norse god of Wind, Sea, Fire and crop fertility and is one of the Vanir race of Gods.  He can grant good fortune at sea and in the hunt as well as wealth in land and valuables to those who request his aid. Njord’s sea-side abode in Asgaard was named Noatun.

His first marriage, which occurred while he was living in Vanaheim, (home of the Vanir), was with his own sister, the Goddess Nerthus with whom he had two children, Frey and Freya.  His second wife was the Giantess Skadi, daughter of Thiassi, the wealthiest of the giants in Jotunheim.

After the Vanir-Aesir war, Njord and his children, during the peace between the two races of Gods, were exchanged as hostages in order to keep the peace.  However Njord and his children were later offered places within the Aesir.

One of the most significant stories about Njord is about how his short marriage to Skadi occurred.  As compensation for the death of her father, Skadi was allowed to choose a husband from among the Aesir.  She had to pick her new husband based only on the appearance of his feet.  She chose Njord by mistake, believing his feet belonged to Balder.

When Njord and Skadi could not agree on where to live as Njord preferred to live by the sea, while Skadi liked to live in the mountains.  They settled on spending equal parts of the year living in one location at a time.  Skadi began spending more and more time in her own home.  It said she also refused intercourse with Njord.  Eventually they called the marriage off and Skadi left Njord for Odin.

Njord is one of the very few Gods who was not fated to die during Ragnarok.  He had returned to Vanaheim before the gods began to fight.  Whether Njord actually survived or not does not seem to be recorded anywhere but in the short passage in the Lay of Vafthrudnir, it is implied that he did.