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.
God of summer.
Niörd is represented in art as a very handsome god, in the prime of life, clad in a short green tunic, with a crown of shells and seaweed upon his head, or a broad-brimmed hat adorned with eagle or heron plumes. As personification of the summer, he was invoked to still the raging storms which desolated the coasts during the winter months. He was also implored to hasten the vernal warmth and thereby extinguish the winter fires.
As agriculture was practiced only during the summer months, and principally along the fiords or sea inlets, Niörd was also invoked for favorable harvests, for he was said to delight in prospering those who placed their trust in him.
Niörd’s first wife, according to some authorities, was his sister Nerthus, Mother Earth, who in Germany was identified with Frigga, as we have seen, but in Scandinavia was considered a separate divinity. He was, however, obliged to part with her when summoned to Asgard, where he occupied one of the twelve seats in the great council hall, and was present at all the assemblies of the gods, withdrawing to Nôatûn only when his services were not required by the Æsir.
“Nôatûn is the eleventh;
There Niörd has