In this, the sixth in a recurring series of blogs concerning the Norse heritage of Viking River Cruises’ Longships and the figures which lend their names to the line’s state-of-the-art vessels,
I take a look at the history of Bragi.
Who was Bragi?
Bragi was the Norse god of poetry and music.
More about Bragi
Not only a wordsmith, Bragi could play the harp too and was renowned throughout Odin’s court for his eloquence. 
Indeed, he was one of Odin’s numerous sons and could often be found in his father’s palace – Valhalla. Whether you’re an expert on Norse mythology or not, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Valhalla as a sort of ‘heaven’ where Norse heroes would end up when they died in battle. So, if you’d died heroically, you could look forward to arriving there to be greeted by Bragi and his many songs and tales.
Bragi’s wife was naturally a goddess – Idun – whose golden apples ensured that the Norse gods continued to be immortal and his mother was Frigga – wife of Odin. This made him brother to one of the figures I covered in one of the previous blogs – Baldur, the Norse god of light.
Interesting facts
Bragr is the Norse word for ‘poetry’ and Vikings were known to refer to their poets as bragamen and bragawomen in honour of the god of all things verse.
Interestingly, if you were to trace the etymology of the English word ‘brag’, you’d find that like most English words which end in ‘ag’, it has Scandinavian origins. It’s possible then, that considering his skill for stories, Bragi is responsible for the word – ensuring that his name lives on beyond mythology.
The name ‘Bragi’ lived on in ancient Norse accounts, particularly in the respected ancient text Snorri Edda, which contains many entries by Bragi Boddason – a Norwegian court poet who served a number of Swedish kings in the 9th century.
The Longship Viking Bragi operates both a Grand European Tour itinerary which takes river cruisers along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers and also a Tulips and Windmills cruise, which explores the Dutch Belgian waterways.
