Giantess who became goddess of skiing, hunting, and winter. Daughter of Thjazi.
Skadi (Old Norse Skaði) is the daughter of the giant Thjazi. After the Aesir killed her father, she traveled to Asgard in full armor and demanded compensation. The gods offered her a husband from among them, but she could only choose by the appearance of their feet. She chose Njord, whose feet she mistook for Baldr's.
The marriage to Njord proved unhappy: she preferred the mountains at Thrymheim while he wanted to live by the sea at Noatun. They tried living at each other's homes in turns but eventually separated. Skadi is associated with skiing, hunting, and the winter landscape. In Lokasenna she fastens the serpent above Loki's face as punishment.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 23, 51
- Snorri's account of Skadi's compensation demand, the foot-selection, and the failed marriage to Njord.
- Lokasenna, prosa-epilogen
- Skadi fastens the serpent that drips venom onto Loki's face as part of his punishment.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Skadi is Thjazi's daughter who demanded compensation from the Aesir and married Njord, attested in Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál.
B What we think we know
Whether Skadi had an independent cult linked to the etymology of Scandinavia is a disputed question.