Note to Þul Ása I 1III
[10] Bragi: The Old Norse god of poetry whose name coincides with that of the first historical Norwegian skald, Bragi Boddason, with whom this god was probably identified. In Gylf (SnE 2005, 25) Bragi is characterised as a wise god especially renowned for his eloquence and poetic ability, and it is said that the word bragr m. ‘poetry’ derives from his name (af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr ‘from him bragr is called poetry’). It is more likely, however, that the name Bragi is derived from bragr (ÍO: Bragi; for another interpretation see S-G I, 209-10). Cf. Grí 44/7, Sigrdr 16/2 and Lok 8, 11-16. On the relationship between god and skald, see Lindow (2006). In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 1-5, 13-4, 19-20, 24), Bragi is the narrator who talks about the language of poetry and relates the myth of its origin. See also Anon Eirm 4I and Note to Hermóðr in l. 6 above.
References
- Bibliography
- ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
- SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- S-G = Gering, Hugo. 1927-31. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. Nach dem Tode des Verfassers herausgegeben von B. Sijmons. I: Götterlieder. II: Heldenlieder. Halle: Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
- Lindow, John. 2006. ‘Narrative Worlds, Human Environments, and Poets: The Case of Bragi’. In Andrén et al. 2006, 21-5.
- Internal references
- R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Eiríksmál 4’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1009.
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 14 April 2025)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 14 April 2025)
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