Bragi (;
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
: ) is the
skald
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...
ic
god
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
of
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...
in
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...
.
Etymology
The
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...
Bragi probably stems from the masculine noun ''bragr'', which can be translated in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
as 'poetry' (cf.
Icelandic ''bragur'' 'poem, melody, wise') or as 'the first, noblest' (cf. poetic Old Norse ''bragnar'' 'chiefs, men', ''bragningr'' 'king'). It is unclear whether the theonym
semantically derives from the first meaning or the second.
A connection has been also suggested with the Old Norse ''
bragarfull
Symbel ( OE) and sumbl ( ON) are Germanic terms for "feast, banquet".
Accounts of the ''symbel'' are preserved in the Anglo-Saxon ''Beowulf'' (lines 489-675 and 1491–1500), ''Dream of the Rood'' (line 141) and '' Judith'' (line 15), Old Saxon ...
'', the cup drunk in solemn occasions with the taking of vows. The word is usually taken to semantically derive from the second meaning of ''bragr'' ('first one, noblest'). A relation with the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
term ''brego'' ('lord, prince') remains uncertain.
''Bragi'' regularly appears as a personal name in Old Norse and Old Swedish sources, which according to linguist
Jan de Vries might indicate the secondary character of the god's name.
Attestations
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
writes in the ''
Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with t ...
'' after describing
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
,
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...
, and
Baldr
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was ...
:
In ''
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''.
The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...
'' Snorri writes:
That Bragi is Odin's son is clearly mentioned only here and in some versions of a list of the sons of Odin (see
Sons of Odin
Various gods and men appear as sons of Odin or sons of Wodan/Wotan/Woden in old Old Norse and Old High German and Old English texts.
Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli
Four gods, Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli, are explicitly identified as sons ...
). But "wish-son" in stanza 16 of the ''
Lokasenna'' could mean "Odin's son" and is translated by Hollander as ''Odin's kin''. Bragi's mother is possibly the giantess
Gunnlod. If Bragi's mother is
Frigg
Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...
, then Frigg is somewhat dismissive of Bragi in the ''Lokasenna'' in stanza 27 when Frigg complains that if she had a son in
Ægir
Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...
's hall as brave as
Baldr
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was ...
then
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...
would have to fight for his life.
In that poem Bragi at first forbids Loki to enter the hall but is overruled by Odin. Loki then gives a greeting to all gods and goddesses who are in the hall save to Bragi. Bragi generously offers his sword, horse, and an arm ring as peace gift but Loki only responds by accusing Bragi of cowardice, of being the most afraid to fight of any of the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...
and
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...
within the hall. Bragi responds that if they were outside the hall, he would have Loki's head, but Loki only repeats the accusation. When Bragi's wife Iðunn attempts to calm Bragi, Loki accuses her of embracing her brother's slayer, a reference to matters that have not survived. It may be that Bragi had slain Iðunn's brother.
A passage in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''
Sigrdrífumál
(also known as ) is the conventional title given to a section of the ''Poetic Edda'' text in .
It follows without interruption, and it relates the meeting of Sigurðr with the valkyrie Brynhildr, here identified as ("driver to victory").
Its ...
'' describes runes being graven on the sun, on the ear of one of the sun-horses and on the hoofs of the other, on
Sleipnir
In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse: ; "slippy"Orchard (1997:151). or "the slipper"Kermode (1904:6).) is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier tradition ...
's teeth, on bear's paw, on eagle's beak, on wolf's claw, and on several other things including on Bragi's tongue. Then the runes are shaved off and the shavings are mixed with mead and sent abroad so that Æsir have some, Elves have some,
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
have some, and Men have some, these being speech runes and birth runes, ale runes, and magic runes. The meaning of this is obscure.
The first part of Snorri Sturluson's ''
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''.
The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...
'' is a dialogue between
Ægir
Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...
and Bragi about the nature of poetry, particularly skaldic poetry. Bragi tells the origin of the mead of poetry from the blood of
Kvasir and how Odin obtained this mead. He then goes on to discuss various poetic metaphors known as ''
kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English ...
s''.
Snorri Sturluson clearly distinguishes the god Bragi from the mortal skald
Bragi Boddason, whom he often mentions separately. The appearance of Bragi in the ''Lokasenna'' indicates that if these two Bragis were originally the same, they have become separated for that author also, or that chronology has become very muddled and Bragi Boddason has been relocated to mythological time. Compare the appearance of the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the court ...
in the second branch of the
Mabinogi. Legendary chronology sometimes does become muddled. Whether Bragi the god originally arose as a deified version of Bragi Boddason was much debated in the 19th century, especially by the scholars
Eugen Mogk and
Sophus Bugge
Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runi ...
. The debate remains undecided.
In the poem ''
Eiríksmál'' Odin, in
Valhalla
In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...
, hears the coming of the dead
Norwegian king
Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
and his host, and bids the heroes
Sigmund
In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the d ...
and
Sinfjötli
Sinfjötli ( non, Sinfjǫtli ) or Fitela (in Old English) in Norse mythology was born out of the incestuous relationship between Sigmund and his sister Signy. He had the half-brothers Sigurd, Helgi Hundingsbane and Hamund.
Etymology and ortho ...
rise to greet him. Bragi is then mentioned, questioning how Odin knows that it is Eric and why Odin has let such a king die. In the poem ''
Hákonarmál
''Hákonarmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Song of Hákon') is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. This poem emulates ' ...
'', Hákon the Good is taken to Valhalla by the
valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
Göndul and Odin sends
Hermóðr and Bragi to greet him. In these poems Bragi could be either a god or a dead hero in Valhalla. Attempting to decide is further confused because ''Hermóðr'' also seems to be sometimes the name of a god and sometimes the name of a hero. That Bragi was also the first to speak to Loki in the ''Lokasenna'' as Loki attempted to enter the hall might be a parallel. It might have been useful and customary that a man of great eloquence and versed in poetry should greet those entering a hall. He is also depicted in tenth-century court poetry of helping to prepare Valhalla for new arrivals and welcoming the kings who have been slain in battle to the hall of Odin.
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,
Ragnar Lodbrok,
Östen Beli and
Björn at Hauge who reigned in the first half of the 9th century. This Bragi was reckoned as the first skaldic poet, and was certainly the earliest skaldic poet then remembered by name whose verse survived in memory.
Snorri especially quotes passages from Bragi's ''
Ragnarsdrápa'', a poem supposedly composed in honor of the famous legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok ('Hairy-breeches') describing the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had given to Bragi. The images included Thor's fishing for
Jörmungandr,
Gefjun's ploughing of
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
from the soil of Sweden, the attack of
Hamdir and Sorli
Hamdir (Old Norse: ), Sörli (O.N.: ), and Erpr (O.N.: ) were three brothers in Germanic heroic legend who have a historic basis in the history of the Goths.
Legend
According to the Edda and ''Völsunga saga'', Hamdir and Sörli were the sons of ...
against King
Jörmunrekk, and the never-ending battle between
Hedin and Högni.
Bragi son of Hálfdan the Old
Bragi son of Hálfdan the Old is mentioned only in the ''Skjáldskaparmál''. This Bragi is the sixth of the second of two groups of nine sons fathered by King Hálfdan the Old on Alvig the Wise, daughter of King Eymund of
Hólmgard. This second group of sons are all eponymous ancestors of legendary families of the north. Snorri says:
Bragi, from whom the Bragnings are sprung (that is the race of Hálfdan the Generous).
Of the Bragnings as a race and of Hálfdan the Generous nothing else is known. However, ''Bragning'' is often, like some others of these dynastic names, used in poetry as a general word for 'king' or 'ruler'.
Bragi Högnason
In the eddic poem ''
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', Bragi Högnason, his brother Dag, and his sister Sigrún were children of
Högne
''For other people named Högne, see Haguna.''
Högne was a king of Östergötland who appears in sources of Norse mythology.
''Heimskringla''
Snorri Sturluson wrote that he was the king of Östergötland and that he had a son named Hildur and ...
, the king of
East Götaland
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
. The poem relates how
Sigmund
In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the d ...
's son
Helgi Hundingsbane agreed to take Sigrún daughter of Högni as his wife against her unwilling betrothal to Hodbrodd son of
Granmar the king of
Södermanland
Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västm ...
. In the subsequent battle of Frekastein (probably one of the 300
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
s of Södermanland, as ''stein'' meant "hill fort") against Högni and Granmar, all the chieftains on Granmar's side are slain, including Bragi, except for Bragi's brother Dag.
In popular culture
Bragi is featured in the digital card game Mythgard (2019) as a mythic minion in the Norden faction, whose full name is Bragi Runesinger.
Bragi is portrayed by Dean O'Gorman in the New Zealand comedy The Almighty Johnsons.
In the 2002
Ensemble Studios
Ensemble Studios was an American video game developer. It was founded by Tony Goodman in 1994 and incorporated the following year. It borrowed the name of Ensemble Corporation, a consulting firm founded by Goodman in 1990. It was acquired by Mi ...
game ''
Age of Mythology
''Age of Mythology'' (''AoM'') is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 30, 2002, in North America and a week later in Europe.
A spin-off from the ''A ...
'', Bragi is one of nine minor gods Norse players can worship.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
* DuBois, Thomas A. ''Nordic Religions in the Viking Age''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. .
* Dumézil, Georges. ''Gods of the Ancient Northmen''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. .
* Munch, P. A. ''Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes''. London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
*
External links
*
{{Norse mythology
Æsir
Knowledge gods
Norse gods
Arts gods