5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.
The gods of Asgard were worshipped by the Norse peoples of Scandinavia and by the Germanic tribes, especially during the Viking Age. Warriors sought to die in battle to reach Odin's Valhalla, and the myths were preserved in the Icelandic Eddas. The cult declined with the region's Christianization around the year 1000.
The Norse celebrated blóts, seasonal sacrifices with feasts of meat and mead, such as the Yule of the winter solstice. The great temple at Uppsala, in Sweden, hosted every nine years one of the largest sacrificial festivals of the Viking world.
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At a glance
Bragi is the Norse Aesir deity venerated as the divine personification of verbal wisdom, skaldic craft (skáldskapr), and eloquent speech in celestial assemblies. In chapter 26 of Gylfaginning within Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, he is celebrated for his supreme understanding, fluent linguistic mastery, and poetic ingenuity, dwelling in Asgard beside his consort Iðunn, the goddess who preserves the golden apples granting eternal youth to the deities. Throughout the Skáldskaparmál treatise, Bragi serves as the principal instructor and narrator to the visiting sea-giant Ægir during a banquet in Asgard, recounting the foundational myth of the mead of poetry produced from the blood of Kvasir, its theft by the dwarves Fjalar and Galar, its hoarding by the giant Suttungr, and its cunning recovery by Odin transformed into an eagle. In tenth-century panegyric skaldic poems such as Eiríksmál and Eyvindr skáldaspillir's Hákonarmál, Bragi appears in Valhalla alongside Odin, greeting slain warrior-kings entering the divine halls. In the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, Bragi attempts to bar Loki from the banquet and offers gifts of a steed, sword, and arm-ring to preserve peace, only to be taunted by Loki for alleged reluctance in physical combat. Bragi's mythic profile is deeply linked with the Old Norse noun bragr ('poetry' or 'foremost chieftain'), the historical ninth-century Norwegian skald Bragi Boddason (author of Ragnarsdrápa), and the traditional bragafull, the ceremonial toast sworn at memorial feasts and royal succession assemblies.
Genealogy according to Edda em Prosa (Gylfaginning 26, Skáldskaparmál 1, 2, 8, 10); Edda Poética (Lokasenna 8–18, Grímnismál 44, Sigrdrífumál 16); Eiríksmál; Hákonarmál; Heimskringla (Ynglinga saga 36); John Lindow (2001); Rudolf Simek (1993); Gabriel Turville-Petre (1964)
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Sources and further reading
Primary sources
Snorri Sturluson, The Prose Edda: Gylfaginning (ch. 26) and Skáldskaparmál (chs. 1–10). translation: English translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), digital edition at Sacred Texts. read
Anonymous Icelandic Skalds, The Poetic Edda: Lokasenna (8–18), Grímnismál (44), and Sigrdrífumál (16). translation: English translation with textual commentary by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), Sacred Texts. read
Anonymous Skald and Eyvindr skáldaspillir, Eiríksmál and Hákonarmál: Tenth-Century Encomiastic Praise Poems. translation: Preserved text and critical historical overview on Wikipedia. read
Bragi Boddason (Bragi inn gamli), Ragnarsdrápa: Ninth-Century Skaldic Shield Poem. translation: Historical skaldic corpus and critical analysis documented on Wikipedia. read
Studies
Lindow, John, Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press, 2001. open
Simek, Rudolf, Dictionary of Northern Mythology: Academic Handbook of Norse Deity and Cult Terminology. D.S. Brewer, 1993.
Davidson, H. R. Ellis, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe: Classical Synthesis of Germanic and Scandinavian Religion. Penguin Books, 1964. open
Turville-Petre, E. O. G., Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia and the Skaldic Tradition. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964. open
Bugge, Sophus, The Home of the Eddic Poems with Especial Reference to the Helgi Lays. David Nutt, 1899. open
Name and epithets
The Old Norse theonym Bragi is etymologically rooted in the word family of the neuter noun bragr ('poetry', 'verse craft') and the masculine noun bragr ('prince', 'foremost leader').
In the ancient sources
The Prose Edda (Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál), C. 1220 CE. Primary narrative corpus preserving Bragi's role as divine interlocutor, recounting the mead of poetry and canonical skaldic kennings.
The myths
Recounting the Origin of the Mead of Poetry to Ægir. In Skáldskaparmál, Bragi sits beside the visiting sea-giant Ægir at a divine banquet in Asgard.
Worship and archaeology
Unlike major deities such as Odin, Thor, and Freyr, Bragi lacks archaeological evidence of dedicated temples (hofs), sacred groves (lundrs), or dedicated idol statues in pre-Christian Scandinavia.
How the god was depicted
Textual evidence characterizes Bragi as a mature, dignified deity with a notably long beard (skeggbragi in Skáldskaparmál) and runes etched upon his tongue (Sigrdrífumál).
What scholars debate
. A longstanding scholarly debate in Old Norse studies concerns the historical connection between the god Bragi and the ninth-century Norwegian court skald Bragi Boddason (Bragi inn gamli), the author of Ragnarsdrápa.
After antiquity
During the nineteenth-century Scandinavian Romantic movement, Bragi was revived in Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian literature and fine art as the noble embodiment of Nordic poetic genius.
Did you know?
The Old Norse term bragafull denoted both the cup honoring Bragi and the solemn toast drunk at feasts before an heir assumed the throne.
Codex relic
Harp of Runes. A harp with runes carved upon the tongue that turns any word into immortal poetry.
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