92 sindri
S indri (Sparky,
Slag) The name of the mag-
nificent golden hall that will stand shining upon a
mountain after Ragnarok, the final battle between
the gods and the giants at the end of time. Sindri
also refers to the good and righteous people who will
dwell within this splendid palace.
S jofn A female goddess named by 13th-century
Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson in his prose
work G ylfaginning . Very little is known of Sjofn
except that, according to Sturlusor, she had the job of
influencing people to fall in love with each other.
S kade (S kadi ; Destruction) Daughter of the
Hrimthurssar Thjazzi and wife of Njord, the Vanir
god of the sea and of sailors and fishermen. Skade
was the goddess of winter, skiers, and hunters. After
her father’s death, she went to Asgard, the home of
the gods, to choose a husband from among them.
She chose Njord, but she and Njord found that they
could not live happily together, for Skade did not like
Njord’s seashore home, Noatun, and Njord did not
like the bleak cold of Thrymheim, Skade’s home.
In the story “Loki’s Punishment” (see under
Loki), Skade placed a venomous serpent over the
head of the trickster god. She is the personification
of the cold-hearted northern winter that can be
touched only briefly by the warmth of the summer
sun (Njord) and the cheerful hearth fire (Loki).
Skade and Njord In Snorri Sturluson’s
P rose E dda , the story of the marriage between
Skade, goddess of winter, and Njord, the god associ-
ated with the seas and seafarers, immediately fol-
lows “Idunn’s Apples” (see under Idunn), in which
Thjazzi, Skade’s father, is killed by the gods after
stealing the apples. At the news of his death, Skade
was full of rage. She put on her shining armor and
her weapons and strode across Bilrost to Asgard,
the home of the Aesir.
The gods were at peace, glad to feel young again
now that Idunn was back with her magic apples of
youth. They asked Skade if she would take gold
in payment for her father’s death, for such was the
custom of the Norse.
Skade scornfully replied that she had all the
gold she needed. When Olvaldi had died, he had
left much gold to his sons, Thjazzi, Gang, and Idi,
and now she had all of Thjazzi’s share. Instead, she
demanded a husband from among the gods.
The gods conferred and agreed it would be wise
to let the icy giantess have her way. There was one
condition: Skade must choose her husband by the
look of his feet, not by his face. Skade agreed, but she,
too, had a condition. The gods must make her laugh,
for she was full of rage and her heart was cold.
The strange bargain was struck, and the gods
stood barefoot behind a curtain that hid all but their
feet. One pair of feet at once struck Skade as more
beautiful than the rest. They must belong to the
beautiful god Balder, she thought. She announced
her choice.
Out stepped Njord, the Vanir god, lord of the seas
and of seafarers, and the father of Frey and Freya.
Skade was disappointe