Introduction
Bragi is the Norse god of poetry, eloquence and skaldic craft, son of Odin and husband of Idunn, keeper of the apples of youth. He welcomes worthy dead warriors to Valhalla with poetry, and his name is closely tied to the Old Norse word for poetry itself.
Family
God of poetry
Bragi is associated with the composition and performance of skaldic verse, the complex, formal court poetry of medieval Scandinavia, and is sometimes described as having runes carved on his tongue, a symbol of his gift for eloquent speech.
Possible historical origin
Some scholars have suggested that Bragi as a god may have originated from, or been influenced by, the historical ninth-century skald (court poet) Bragi Boddason, whose surviving verses are among the oldest attributed skaldic poetry in Old Norse, though the relationship between the poet and the god, if any, remains debated.
Marriage to Idunn
Bragi's wife is Idunn, the keeper of the golden apples of youth; the pairing of the god of poetry with the goddess who preserves the gods' vitality is a fitting one, as poetry itself was understood in Norse tradition as something that could confer lasting fame and, in a sense, immortality of memory.