Bragi

Bragi (/ˈbrɑːɡi/; Old Norse: [ˈbrɑɣe]) is the Norse god of poetry in Norse mythology.

Etymology

The name Bragi likely derives from the masculine noun bragr, which in Old Norse translates to "poetry" (cf. Icelandic bragur "poem, melody, wisdom") or "the first, the noblest" (cf. poetic Old Norse bragnar "chieftains, men", bragningr "king"). It is unclear whether the theonym semantically derives from the first or second meaning.

A connection with the Old Norse bragarfull, the cup used during solemn occasions for making oaths, has also been suggested. It is usually assumed that the word semantically derives from the second meaning of bragr ('first, noblest'). A connection to the Old English word brego ('lord, prince') remains uncertain.

Bragi frequently appears in Old Norse and Old Swedish sources as a personal name, which, according to the linguist Jan de Vries, might indicate the secondary nature of the god's name.

Attestations

Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson writes in Gylfaginning, after describing Odin, Thor, and Baldr:

One is called Bragi: He is known for his wisdom and especially for his eloquence and skill with words. He knows most about the art of the skald, and after him, the art of the skald is called bragr, and the one who possesses an eloquence that surpasses all others, whether men or women, is called a bragr-man or bragr-woman. His wife is Iðunn.

In Skáldskaparmál, Snorri writes:

How should one ken Bragi? By calling him the husband of Iðunn, the first creator of poetry, the long-bearded god (after his name, a man with a large beard is called Bart-Bragi), and the son of Odin.

That Bragi is Odin's son is only clearly mentioned here and in some versions of a list of Odin's sons (see Sons of Odin). But "desired son" in Stanza 16 of the Lokasenna could mean "son of Odin" and is translated by Hollander as "Odin's kinsman". Bragi's mother may be the giantess Gunnlod. If Frigg is Bragi's mother, then Frigg in the Lokasenna in Stanza 27 seems somewhat dismissive of Bragi, complaining that Loki would have to fight for his life if she had a son in Ægir's hall who was as brave as Baldr.

In this poem, Bragi initially forbids Loki from entering the hall, but is overruled by Odin. Loki then greets all the gods and goddesses in the hall, except for Bragi. Bragi generously offers his sword, horse, and arm-ring as a peace offering, but Loki responds only by accusing Bragi of cowardice, claiming he is the most afraid of combat among all the Æsir and elves in the hall. Bragi responds that he would decapitate Loki if they were outside the hall, but Loki repeats the accusation. When Bragi's wife Iðunn tries to calm Bragi, Loki accuses her of embracing the murderer of her brother, a hint at things that have not survived. It could be that Bragi had killed Iðunn's brother.

A passage in the Poetic Edda, in the poem Sigrdrífumál, describes how runes were inscribed on the sun, on the ear of one of the sun's horses, on the hooves of the other, on Sleipnir's teeth, on the paw of a bear, on the beak of an eagle, on the claw of a wolf, and on various other things, including Bragi's tongue. The runes are then scraped off, and the shavings are mixed with mead and sent out into the world so that the Æsir have some of it, the elves have some of it, the Vanir have some of it, and humans have some of it, namely the runes of speech and birth, beer runes, and magic runes. The meaning of these runes is unclear.

The first part of Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál is a dialogue between Ægir and Bragi about the nature of poetry, especially skaldic poetry. Bragi tells how the mead of poetry came from the blood of Kvasir and how Odin obtained this mead. He then discusses various poetic metaphors known as kennings.

Snorri Sturluson clearly distinguishes between the god Bragi and the mortal skald Bragi Boddason, whom he often mentions separately. The appearance of Bragi in the Lokasenna suggests that, if these two Bragis were originally the same, they were separated for this author, or that the chronology is very confused, and Bragi Boddason was moved into mythological time. Compare the appearance of the Welsh Taliesin in the second branch of the Mabinogi. The chronology of the legends is sometimes confused. Whether the god Bragi originally developed as a deified version of Bragi Boddason was discussed in the 19th century, primarily by scholars Eugen Mogk and Sophus Bugge.

In the poem Eiríksmál, Odin hears of the arrival of the dead Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe and his retinue in Valhalla and asks the heroes Sigmund and Sinfjötli to rise to greet him. Then Bragi is mentioned, wondering how Odin knows it is Eric and why Odin allowed such a king to die. In the poem Hákonarmál, Hákon the Good is brought to Valhalla by the Valkyrie Göndul, and Odin sends Hermóðr and Bragi to greet him. In these poems, Bragi could either be a god or a dead hero in Valhalla. The attempt to make a decision is further complicated by the fact that Hermóðr sometimes appears as the name of a god and sometimes as that of a hero. That Bragi was also the first to speak with Loki in the Lokasenna, when he tried to enter the hall, might be a parallel. It may have made sense and been customary for an eloquent man, skilled in poetry, to greet those who entered the hall. In 10th-century court poetry, he is also depicted as helping prepare Valhalla for newcomers and welcoming the slain kings of battle into Odin’s hall.

Skalds named Bragi

Bragi Boddason
In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson quotes many stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason the Old (Bragi Boddason inn gamli), a Norwegian court poet who served several Swedish kings, including Ragnar Lodbrok, Östen Beli, and Björn of Hauge, who ruled in the first half of the 9th century. This Bragi was regarded as the first skaldic poet and was certainly the first skaldic poet whose verses are remembered.

Snorri quotes mainly passages from Bragi's Ragnarsdrápa, a poem allegedly written in honor of the famous legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrók ("Hairy Breeches"), describing the images on an ornate shield that Ragnar had given to Bragi. The images included Thor’s fishing for Jörmungandr, Gefjun’s plowing of Zealand from Swedish soil, the attack of Hamdir and Sorli on King Jörmunrekk, and the never-ending battle between Hedin and Högni.

Bragi, son of Hálfdan the Old
Bragi, the son of Hálfdan the Old, is only mentioned in Skjáldskaparmál. This Bragi is the sixth from the second of two groups of nine sons that King Hálfdan the Old fathered with Alvig the Wise, daughter of King Eymund of Hólmgard. These second group of sons are all namesakes of legendary northern families. Snorri says:

Bragi, from whom the Bragnings are descended (that is, the lineage of Hálfdan the Generous).

Nothing else is known about the Bragnings as a race or about Hálfdan the Generous. Bragning is, however, often used in poetry as a general term for "king" or "ruler".

Bragi Högnason
In the Poetic Edda, in the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, Bragi Högnason, his brother Dag, and his sister Sigrún are children of Högni, the king of East Götaland. The poem tells how Sigmund’s son Helgi Hundingsbane agreed to take Sigrún, daughter of Högni, as his wife, although she did not want to be betrothed to Hodbrodd, the son of Granmar, king of Södermanland. In the ensuing battle of Frekastein (likely one of Södermanland's 300 hill forts, as stein meant "hill fort") against Högni and Granmar, all the chieftains on Granmar’s side, including Bragi, except for Bragi’s brother Dag, were killed.

In Popular Culture

Bragi appears in the digital card game Mythgard (2019) as a mythical servant of the Northern faction, whose full name is Bragi Runesinger.
Bragi is portrayed by Dean O'Gorman in the New Zealand comedy The Almighty Johnsons.
In the game Age of Mythology by Ensemble Studios (2002), Bragi is one of nine Norse minor gods that players can worship.