In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja.

Along with her brother Freyr ( Old Norse the " Lord "), her father Njörðr, and her mother ( Njörðr's sister, unnamed in sources ), she is a member of the Vanir.

Njörðr interjects — he says that a woman having a lover other than her husband is harmless, and he points out that Loki has borne children, and calls Loki a pervert.

Examples of goddesses attested in Norse mythology include Frigg ( wife of Odin, and the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is namesake of the modern English weekday Friday ), Skaði ( one time wife of Njörðr ), Njerda ( Scandinavian name of Nerthus ), that also was married to Njörðr during Bronze Age, Freyja ( wife of Óðr ), Sif ( wife of Thor ), Gerðr ( wife of Freyr ), and personifications such as Jörð ( earth ), Sól ( the sun ), and Nótt ( night ).

Kennings of the type AB, where B routinely has the characteristic A and thus this AB is tautological, tends to mean " like B in that it has the characteristic A ", e. g. " shield-Njörðr ", tautological because the god Njörðr by nature has his own shield, means " like Njörðr in that he has a shield ", i. e. " warrior ".

Njörðr ( Freyja and Freyr's father ) says that it is harmless for a woman to have a lover or " someone else " beside her husband, and that what is surprising is a " pervert god coming here who has borne children.

Njörðr responds that this was his reward when he was sent as a hostage to the Æsir, and that he fathered his son ( Freyr ), whom no one hates, and is considered a prince of the Æsir.

In Norse mythology, Njörðr is a god among the Vanir.

Njörðr is father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by his unnamed Van sister, was in an ill-fated marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún and is associated with sea, seafaring, wind, fishing, wealth, and crop fertility.

Njörðr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, in euhemerized form as a beloved mythological early king of Sweden in Heimskringla, also written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, as one of three gods invoked in the 14th century Hauksbók ring oath, and in numerous Scandinavian place names.

Veneration of Njörðr survived into 18th or 19th century Norwegian folk practice, where the god is recorded as Njor and thanked for a bountiful catch of fish.

Njörðr is sometimes modernly anglicized as Njord, Njoerd, or Njorth.

It has been suggested that the change of sex from the female Nerthus to the male Njörðr is due to the fact that feminine nouns with u-stems disappeared early in Germanic language while the masculine nouns with u-stems prevailed.

Additionally, in Old Icelandic translations of Classical mythology the Roman god Saturn's name is glossed as " Njörðr.

Njörðr is attested in the following works:

In stanza 16 of the poem Grímnismál, Njörðr is described as having a hall in Nóatún made for himself.

The stanza describes Njörðr as a " prince of men ," that he is " lacking in malice ," and that he " rules over the " high-timbered temple.

" In stanza 43, the creation of the god Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir is recounted, and Freyr is cited as the son of Njörðr.

In this chapter, Njörðr is described by the enthroned figure of High as living in the heavens at Nóatún, but also as ruling over the movement of the winds, having the ability to calm both sea and fire, and that he is to be invoked in seafaring and fishing.

Njörðr originates from Vanaheimr and is devoid of Æsir stock, and he is described as having been traded with Hœnir in hostage exchange with between the Æsir and Vanir.

For their part, the Vanir send to the Æsir their most " outstanding men "; Njörðr, described as wealthy, and Freyr, described as his son, in exchange for the Æsir's Hœnir.

In the saga, Njörðr is described as having once wed his unnamed sister while he was still among the Vanir, and the couple produced their children Freyr and Freyja from this union, though this custom was forbidden among the Æsir.

The toasts begin with Odin's toasts, described as for victory and power for the king, followed by Njörðr and Freyr's toast, intended for good harvests and peace.

Njörðr is often identified with the goddess Nerthus, whose reverence by various Germanic tribes is described by Roman historian Tacitus in his 1st CE century work Germania.

As reference, a poem by the 11th century skald Þórðr Sjáreksson is provided where Njörðr is described as a Vanr.

In Heimskringla, Skaði is described as having split up with Njörðr and as later having married the god Odin, and that the two produced many children together.

In the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Vanaheimr is described as the location where the Van god Njörðr was raised.

Vanaheimr are described as having sent to Asgard their best men: Njörðr — described as wealthy — and his son Freyr in exchange for Asaland's Hœnir — described here as large, handsome, and thought of by the people of Vanaheimr well suited to be a chieftain.

In addition, when the world ends ( Ragnarök ), Njörðr " will return to the wise Vanir.

In contrast, continuing the same journal thread, Leszek P. Słupecki argues that the Vanir remained distinct from the Æsir — except for Freyja and Freyr, whom he follows Snorri in seeing as having been born after Njörðr became a hostage among the Æsir, and thus regards as Æsic — and therefore that Ragnarök " no importance for their world ".

In addition, Vafþrúðnir comments that, when the world ends ( Ragnarök ), Njörðr will return to the " wise Vanir " ( Bellows here anglicizes Vanir to Wanes ):

In the prose introduction to the poem Skírnismál, Freyr is mentioned as the son of Njörðr, and stanza 2 cites the goddess Skaði as the mother of Freyr.

After Loki has an exchange with the goddess Freyja, in stanza 33 Njörðr states:

" In stanza 35, Njörðr responds that:

Njörðr is referenced in stanza 22 of the poem Þrymskviða, where he is referred to as the father of the goddess Freyja.

In the Saga of Harald Graycloak, a stanza is given of a poem entitled Vellekla (" Lack of Gold ") by the 10th century Icelandic skald Einarr skálaglamm that mentions Njörðr in a kenning for " warrior.

In stanza 17, Egill writes that all others watch in marvel how Arinbjörn gives out wealth, as he has been so endowed by the gods Freyr and Njörðr.

The god Njörðr asks Freyr's servant Skírnir to talk to Freyr, and in the first stanza of the poem, Skaði also tells Skírnir to ask Freyr why he is so upset.

Further in the poem, Njörðr is again mentioned as the father of Freyr in stanzas 38, 39, and 41.

In the late flyting poem Lokasenna, an exchange between Njörðr and Loki occurs in stanzas 33, 34, 35, and 36.

In the poem, the jötunn Þrymr mistakenly thinks that he will be receiving the goddess Freyja as his bride, and while telling his fellow jötunn to spread straw on the benches in preparation for the arrival of Freyja, he refers to her as the daughter of Njörðr of Nóatún.

Towards the end of the poem Sólarljóð, Njörðr is cited as having nine daughters.

In the prose introduction to the poem Lokasenna, Skaði is referred to as the wife of Njörðr and is cited as one of the goddesses attending Ægir's feast.

The prose prologue to the poem says that the god Freyr, the son of Njörðr, sits in Odin's throne, Hliðskjálf and looked over all the worlds.

The poem itself starts with the wife of Njörðr, bidding Skírnir to ask of Freyr why he is so sad.