"
OF BALDUR.
23. "I would rather," said Gangler, "hear something about the other
AEsir."
"The second son of Odin," replied Har, "is Baldur, and it may be truly
said of him that he is the best, and that all mankind are loud in his
praise. So fair and dazzling is he in form and features, that rays of
light seem to issue from him; and thou mayst have some idea of the
beauty of his hair, when I tell thee that the whitest of all plants is
called Baldur's brow. Baldur is the mildest, the wisest, and the most
eloquent of all the AEsir, yet such is his nature that the judgment he
has pronounced can never be altered. He dwells in the heavenly mansion
called Breidablik, in which nothing unclean can enter."
OF NJORD.
24. "The third god," continued Har, "is Njord, who dwells in the
heavenly region called Noatun. He rules over the winds, and checks the
fury of the sea and of fire, and is therefore invoked by sea-farers
and fishermen. He is so wealthy that he can give possessions and
treasures to those who call on him for them. Yet Njord is not of the
lineage of the AEsir, for he was born and bred in Vanaheim. But the
Vanir gave him as hostage to the AEsir, receiving from them in his
stead Hoenir. By this means was peace re-established between the AEsir
and Vanir. Njord took to wife Skadi, the daughter of the giant
Thjassi.
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