Bragi is known in Norse religion as the bard of Valhalla and was considered the god of poetry. But it is also possible that Bragi was once a man, a famous skald called Bragi Boddason, and that he was defied for his talent.
The Bard of Valhalla
Bragi is known as a master of skaldic poetry that lives in Asgard among the gods. But Bragi is almost always associated with Valhalla in Norse mythology. Valhalla is Odin‘s great hall in Asgard. He chooses the bravest fallen warriors from the battlefield to live in Valhalla after death. There they train and feast, preparing for Ragnarok, when they will fight alongside the gods against their enemies.
The deceased warriors are called the Einherjar, which means “warriors who fight alone”. The best of the Viking ancestors were believed to be among their number and earning a place in Valhalla was the dream of every Norse warrior in the Viking Age.
The Norse god Bragi is frequently described as greeting a dead hero when he arrives in Valhalla and composing poems about the brave deeds of the inhabitants of the hall.
The god Bragi is said to be so eloquent that he has runes carved on his tongue. The Vikings believed that their runes were not just a script for writing, but also a magical toolkit. Odin learned the secrets of the runes by hanging himself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nights while pierced by his own spear. He then shared that knowledge with mankind. In the Viking Age, warriors would carve runes of victory on their weapons. This description of Bragi’s tongue suggests that it was like a weapon for the god of poetry.
The god Bragi was also one of the few beings that was welcome in all Nine worlds of the Norse cosmos because his talent meant that he could earn respect wherever he went.
Bragi was already considered a god in Old Norse religion by the 10th century, as indicated by a reference to him in the Eiriksmal, which was written in AD 954. In the poem, Odin hears that the Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe is dead and commands that he be brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries. Odin sends the two heroes Sigmund and Sinfjotli to meet Erik. While they wait, Bragi asks Odin why he let such a valiant king die. Odin tells Bragi that it is because no one knows when Ragnarok will begin, and he needs warriors like Erik among his troops.
Bragi Boddason
Some sources suggest that the Norse god Bragi may have been a living man before he became the god of poetry. He is sometimes associated with Bragi Boddason, a 9th-century Norwegian skaldic poet who served important leaders, such as the infamous and semi-legendary Ragnar Lothbrok.
Bragi Boddason is also often called the first Skaldic poet, suggesting that he had a role in developing the practice of composing poetry about the deeds of great men and reciting them in the great halls for both entertainment and political capital.
The famous recorded of Viking history and Norse mythology, the 13th-century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, claims to quote Bragi’s original works several times in his texts, such as the Prose Edda. He says that Bragi wrote a poem about Ragnar Lothbrok and quotes portions of it. He also refers to Bragi when telling the Norse myths of Thor’s fishing trip, Gefjun plowing Zealand, and a few other tales. This suggests that Bragi Boddason wrote about the gods as well as mortal heroes.
If Bragi Boddason is indeed the god Bragi, then Odin must have chosen him to bring to Asgard in the same way that he chose dead warriors from the battlefield. But this would have been exceptional, as the Vikings believed that you had to die bravely in battle to even be considered for Valhalla. Old warriors dying of illness were sometimes stabbed to make it appear as though they had died in battle in the hopes of tricking the Valkyries, the divine female warriors that assist Odin in choosing the dead, into believing that they died in battle.
For Bragi to have been chosen for his skaldic abilities would have been a unique and special honor.
The Norse God Bragi
But many other sources for Norse mythology make it clear that Bragi was considered a fully-fledged god. It is worth noting that these are mostly later Christian sources, which might suggest that the idea of apotheosis for a skald was considered implausible to them, but not necessarily to the pagan Vikings.
In some sources, Bragi is described as one of the sons of Odin, as with many of the Norse gods. He is also identified as the husband of the goddess Idun, who tends the orchards of magical golden apples that keep the gods youthful and strong.
A few crumbs of information about Bragi’s potential backstory are included in the Lokasenna, one of the poems in the Poetic Edda in which Loki, now an outcast due to his role in the death of Balder, turns up at an Asgardian dinner that he was not invited to and insults everyone.
None of the gods want Loki at the feast, but Bragi is the first to try and deny entrance to the feast. But Loki reminds Odin of the pact between the two that they will never eat unless it is together, and Odin overrules Bragi and lets Loki remain. However, this suggests that just as Bragi was often responsible for greeting new Einherjar when they arrived in Asgard, he may also have been the welcoming voice for the gods, which is why Bragi thought turning Loki away was his responsibility.
When Loki subsequently enters the feast, he greets all of the gods and goddesses, except for Bragi. This could be because the two had already exchanged words, or a slight because Bragi tried to deny him entry. But it may also be a sign that there was something different about the god Bragi and that Loki did not consider him worthy to be counted among the other Aesir gods present. This might make sense if Bragi was a human who had undergone apotheosis.
Bragi seems to feel the insult or to feel Odin’s words as a reprimand for trying to block his entry because Bragi then offers Loki his sword, his horse, and his arm ring as gifts. Loki refuses them all and accuses Bragi of being a coward.
Bragi’s wife Idun then tries to defuse the situation, though this prompts Loki to state that she is embracing her brother’s slayer. This seems to be a reference to a story from Norse mythology that has been lost. But it would be interesting to know if the story of Bragi slaying the brother of Idun also has something to do with his presence in Asgard.
In a different source, when Hakon the Good is taken to Valhalla, Odin sends Hermodr and Bragi to greet the fallen king. While this might suggest that Bragi is a god and a son of Odin, just like Hermodr, this too is not clear. This is because there is a Hermodr, god, son of Odin, and divine messenger. Their pairing may suggest that Bragi had a similar character. But a deceased warrior called Hermodr is also mentioned in a few stories. There is no way of knowing which is mentioned in the same breath as Bragi.
God of Poetry
Whether Bragi was one of the Aesir or a mortal man deified, there is no evidence that he was ever worshipped by the Vikings in any capacity. Bragi appears to be more of a literary than a cult figure. The god associated with Skaldic talent was Odin, not Bragi.
Mead of Poetry
The story of the Mead of Poetry is a complicated epic recorded by Snorri Sturluson in his Skaldskaparmal, which is part of the Prose Edda.
It begins at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir gods, which ended in a stalemate and a peace deal. As they made their truce, the gods all spat into a vat to seal the deal. This liquid, mixing the saliva of the Aesir and Vanir gods, was highly potent, so the gods used it to create a new being, called Kvasir.
According to Norse mythology, Kvasir was so wise that there was no question that he could not answer. He traveled the nine worlds of the Norse cosmos and was welcome everywhere he went as he shared his knowledge freely.
When two dwarves named Fjalar and Galar encountered Kvasir, they realized that he was special. The dwarves were the craftsmen of the Norse cosmos and they were always looking for magical ingredients to imbue into their work with magical properties. So, the dwarves kidnapped and killed Kvasir to obtain his blood.
They mixed Kvasir’s blood with honey to make a mead, which became the Mead of Poetry. This potent liquid would give the drinker the powers of a poet or scholar.
These two not-very-nice dwarves went on to kill a giant couple, which understandably angered their son, the giant Suttungr. He went to avenge himself on the dwarves, but they begged for their lives, offering him the Mead of Poetry in exchange. The giant accepted.
Suttungr took the mead home and hid it in a mountain called Hnitbjorg and charged his daughter Gunnlod with its protection.
Odin’s Quest
It is well known that Odin would do anything to obtain knowledge. So, when he heard about the Mead of Poetry, he immediately had to pursue it.
Odin disguised himself as a being called Bolverk and made his way into the confidence of Suttungr’s brother Baugi. Through him, he was able to sneak into the mountain where the mead was held.
There he encountered Gunnlod and pretended to be in love with her. This enabled him to stay with her in the mountain for three nights. On the third night, he professed his frustration at not having the words to properly explain to Gunnlod his feelings. So, she agreed to give him a sip from the Mead of Poetry. But when he got to the barrel, he drank the entirety of the mead and held it all in his stomach.
His mission complete, Odin transformed himself into an eagle and flew away. But Suttungr, hearing what happened, also transformed himself into a bird and chased Odin.
When Odin returned to Asgard, just ahead of the giant who was killed by the Aesir, he spat the mead out into three great drinking horns so that he could share it with the gods. It is said that while Odin was flying between Jotunheim and Asgard, over Midgard, the world of men, he either let some of the mead fall out of his mouth or released some through urine (he was quite full). It is this small amount that was responsible for the mortal skalds.
The three horns in which the mead was held may have been linked with the horned Triskelion, a three-horned symbol associated with Odin..
Some suggest that Bragi was the son of Odin with Gunnlod, conceived during those three nights of trickery, and then sent to Asgard to live with his father.
Bragi Among the Norse Gods
Bragi is a fascinating case in Norse mythology, as we seem to know a lot about him, but also very little. If he was a mortal skald who was deified, then the story of Bragi would reveal important information about what the Vikings thought about divinity and the nature of life after death.
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