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
| Name | Bragi |
| Nickname | A 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 |
| Sex | Male |
| Current city | Asgard |
Work & Education
| Occupation | God of poetry and skald extraordinaire |
| Education | Asgard School of the Arts, concentration in creative writing |
Beliefs
| Political views | I 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!) |
| Friends | Aegir, a faithful student of my poetic teachings! |
| Enemies | Loki, 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 status | Married to Idunn |
| Interested in | Goddesses |
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 |
| Books | The 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 |
| Music | Hey 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 |
| Movies | Dead Poets Society Bright Star Shakespeare in Love Total Eclipse Howl Rowing with the Wind (Remanda al viento) Wilde The Postman (Il Postino) |
| TV Shows | Once Upon a Time Glee A Game of Thrones |
Activities & Interests
| Likes | Harps Art museums Stories Dictionaries Thesauruses Grammars Libraries Poetry slams |
| Activities | Writing poetry Reading Listening to music Skalding (being a Scandinavian courtly poet) Impressing people with my knowledge of obscure poetic terms |
| Interests | Literature Poetry Music Art history |
| Groups | National Poetry Slam Asgard School of the Arts Alumni Poetry Foundation |