A Hostage with the Gods
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Guerber, H. A. (Hélène Adeline)
We have already seen how the Æsir and Vanas exchanged hostages after the terrible war they had waged against each other, and that while Hoenir, Odin’s brother, went to live in Vana-heim, Niörd, with his two children, Frey and Freya, definitely took up his abode in Asgard.
“In Vana-heim
Wise powers him created,
And to the gods a hostage gave.”
Lay of Vafthrudnir (Thorpe’s tr.).
As ruler of the winds, and of the sea near the shore, Niörd was given the palace of Nôatûn, near the seashore, where, we are told, he stilled the terrible tempests stirred up by Ægir, god of the deep sea.
“Niörd, the god of storms, whom fishers know;
Not born in Heaven—he was in Van-heim rear’d,
With men, but lives a hostage with the gods;
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.