Bragi- Norse GodDeity"God of Poetry"

The God of Skalds

Snorri names Bragi among the Æsir in the Gylfaginning and praises him as foremost in málsnild and orðfimi, the arts of eloquent speech and ready words. His name is connected to the Old Norse bragr, meaning both "poetry" and "the foremost." Snorri notes his exceptionally long beard, which gave rise to the kenning inn langbarðr. His wife is Iðunn, keeper of the apples that grant the gods their eternal youth.

Loki's Challenge

Bragi's sharpest moment in the Eddic poems comes in the Lokasenna. When Loki forces his way into Ægir's feast after being banished for killing a servant, Bragi is the first to confront him, declaring the trickster unwelcome at the bench. Loki calls Bragi the most cowardly of the Æsir: "bravest on the bench" but a man who would flee from real conflict. Bragi offers to settle the matter outside. Iðunn intervenes, urging her husband not to trade insults with Loki in the hall.

Welcomer of the Fallen

In the Eiríksmál, composed after the death of the Norwegian king Eiríkr Bloodaxe around 954, a great noise approaches Odin's hall. Odin asks what tumult this is. Bragi identifies the arriving king and greets him with praise. A similar scene appears in Hákonarmál, composed by the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir for King Hákon the Good: Bragi rises to welcome the dead king into Valhöll. The god of poetry receives the slain and turns their deaths into verse.