Editing Æsir (section)

====Distinctions between "áss", "goð" and "vanr"====
{{see also|Vanir#Rudolf Simek's "Vanir Obituary"}}
[[Image:Æsir-Vanir war by Frølich.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Óðinn throws his spear in the Æsir-Vanir war, illustration by [[Lorenz Frølich]] (1895)]]
It has been proposed that in Old Norse poetry, the term "{{lang|non|áss}}" was typically chosen over "{{lang|non|goð}}" for metrical reasons, fitting better with the required alliteration or rhyme, rather than so as to create a semantic distinction between the two terms.{{sfn|Frog|2021|p=150-151}} Following from this, it has been argued that the term "{{lang|non|æsir}}" acts as a synonym to "{{lang|non|goð}}" and is inclusive of [[Njörðr]] and his descendants, typically referred to as the [[Vanir]]. Examples of this are seen in the [[þulur]], where Njöðr and [[Freyr]] are listed in the {{lang|non|ása [[heiti]]}} ("Poetic equivalents for áss") and [[Freyja]] in that for the {{lang|non|ásunjur}}.{{sfn|Frog|2021|p=150-151}}

The main tales that present the Æsir and Vanir as distinct family groups are those concerning the [[Æsir-Vanir war]], which are contained within [[Völuspá]], [[Ynglinga saga]] and [[Skáldskaparmál]]. This conflict between the gods occurred long in the past and in Ynglinga saga ends with the exchange of [[Hœnir]] and [[Mímir]] as hostages from the Æsir with [[Njörðr]], [[Freyr]] and [[Kvasir]] from the Vanir. Skáldskaparmal alternatively says that at the end of the war, the two groups mixed their spit in a vat and created Kvasir from it.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=352-353}} The inclusion of gods typically referred to as Vanir as Æsir is that the Vanir may have been seen as fully integrated into the Æsir after the resolution of this war between the two groups.{{sfn|Simek|2008}}