Learnings: Divinities of the Sea

A longship leaving the coast to embrace the sea, concept art by Martin Deschambault / Contemporary

Many divinities oversaw the seas and oceans; one of the most important was Njörd, a god from the Vanir tribe. Father of the twin fertility gods Freyr and Freyja, Njörd looked after the sea, the wind, and fishermen like those aboard this ship.

Another sea divinity was Aegir. He was not a god but a giant, and the embodiment of the sea itself; his named even meant "sea". Legend said that Aegir sat at the head of a great underwater hall where all those lost at sea would join together and fest beneath the waves.

Aegir's wife, the goddess Rán of the Aesir tribe, was not as kindly as her husband. She would stalk reckless sailors and shipwreck victims, trap them in her nets and drag them into the watery depths to drown.