Bragi

Bragi

Bragi certainly has a way with words. When the giant Aegir asks him about the origin of poetry at an Asgard feast, Bragi gives him the long answer: a whole 50,000-word book about poetry's beginnings as the spit of the gods (yep, you read that right). Along with that comes a whole thesaurus of poetry, spoken by the Norse god of poetry himself. (How'd you like to have this guy as a dinner companion?)

In fact, Bragi is so closely associated with poetry that the Old Norse word for it, bragr, may actually be derived from his name. In other words, poetry is "what Bragi does." In his list of the Norse gods, Snorri Sturluson tells us that Bragi a very wise guy. He knows more than anyone about being a "skald," or court poet. Maybe that's why he has the ultimate tattoo: runes (mysterious, magical word-symbols) carved right on his tongue (ouch!).

Basic Information

NameBragi
NicknameA poet who knows it and whose tongue shows it; "Husband of Idunn," the "Long-bearded God," "First Maker of Poetry," "Son of Odin" (all nicknames given him in Skáldskaparmál, book 10); The Wordinator, Bragster
SexMale
Current cityAsgard

Work & Education

OccupationGod of poetry and skald extraordinaire
EducationAsgard School of the Arts, concentration in creative writing

Beliefs

Political viewsI support all endowments and initiatives to fund the arts, especially poetry!

Family & Friends (& Enemies)

Parents(probably) Odin and (possibly) Frigg
Siblings(probably) the other children of Odin:
From Odin's wife Frigg, brothers Balder, Hod, and Hermod
From Odin's lover Jord, a half-brother, Thor
From Odin's lover, the giantess Grid, a half-brother, Vidar
From Odin's lover Rind, a half-brother, Vali
(A motley crew, I know!)
FriendsAegir, a faithful student of my poetic teachings!
EnemiesLoki, who insults my battle skills when I refuse to let him enter Aegir's feast (come on, dude!)
My wife Idunn's brother, whom I may possibly have killed for reasons that are a bit unclear

Relationships

Relationship statusMarried to Idunn
Interested inGoddesses

Favorites

Quotations"I mean, when it's time to rhyme rhyme, I can get down for mine."
– Missy Elliot

"I'm the interpreter. I'm the one who takes your words and brings them to life."
– Aaliyah

"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language."
– W.H. Auden

"Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that. Poetry is as precise as geometry."
– Gustave Flaubert

"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all."
– Winston Churchill

"Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary."
– Khalil Gibran
BooksThe Aeneid by Virgil
Beowulf
The Iliad by Homer
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
The Metamorphoses by Ovid
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
MusicHey Jack Kerouac by 10,000 Maniacs
Dragostea din Tei (Numa numa, English version) by O-Zone
Sun in My Mouth by Björk
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden
Rave on John Donne by Van Morrison
Piano Man by Billy Joel
Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
Storytime by Nightwish
Thank You for the Music by ABBA
MoviesDead Poets Society
Bright Star
Shakespeare in Love
Total Eclipse
Howl
Rowing with the Wind (Remanda al viento)
Wilde
The Postman (Il Postino)
TV ShowsOnce Upon a Time
Glee
A Game of Thrones

Activities & Interests

LikesHarps
Art museums
Stories
Dictionaries
Thesauruses
Grammars
Libraries
Poetry slams
ActivitiesWriting poetry
Reading
Listening to music
Skalding (being a Scandinavian courtly poet)
Impressing people with my knowledge of obscure poetic terms
InterestsLiterature
Poetry
Music
Art history
GroupsNational Poetry Slam
Asgard School of the Arts Alumni
Poetry Foundation