Associated with abundance and fertility.

Name(s): The name Nerthus is believed to be cognate with the name Njord, and thus a number of modern heathens use it to refer to the otherwise unnamed sister/wife of Njord mentioned in the lore. I do that here, but wanted to make sure to point out that this is not a lore-based interpretation.

The name Nerthus is actually attested in Tacitus’ Germania, which describes a procession as part of her worship. Again, I wanted to point out that there is an intellectual leap taking place here by equating Tacitus’ Nerthus with Njord’s sister/wife.

Parents: Unknown.

Spouse: Njord.

Children: Freyja and Frey (with Njord).

Affiliations: She is one of the Vanir.

Tales: The only mention of Njord’s sister/wife has to do with her existence and that she is the mother of Freyja and Frey.

Tacitus does not discuss any mythology related to Nerthus.

Literary sources: In his Germania Tacitus describes the worship of the goddess Nerthus as involving a cart in which her statue is carried, covered in a white cloth; no one but a priest may touch it. The cart is drawn by only female cattle, and when the priest believes the goddess is present, it is taken across the land to visit worshipers; during this time, there is peace in the land and much rejoicing.