Working with the gods: Bragi

Bragi is one of the gods that i feel more connected too than all others, he is the lord of skalds, god of poetry, music, eloquence and the speaker of peace, however, these aren't the reasons that lead me to be connected with him, although i was a musician, but that is another subject, the reasons that lead me to be connected with him, are of private matter. Bragi is one of the sons of Odin, the eldest after Thor, he may not be as famous as his brother is around us humans, but certainly he is known throughout all the nine realms.

Who is Bragi?
A long time ago, the giant Suttung guarded the Mead of Poetry in a cave under his house, and his daughter, Gunnlod was its guardian. This mead has a long history, a bloody one, for the mead was made of the very blood of the Vanir god, Kvasir, maybe sacrificed on purpose for this event. The powerful and sacred mead was a subject of conversations all over the nine worlds, and this got to the ears of Odin. After many adventures, Odin finally reached Suttung's cave, and he stole the mead by becoming the lover of Gunnlod. She kept him for three nights, and Odin drank from the sacred mead and gave a son to Gunnlod. Odin returned home with the mead and kept it there safe, after some years, Gunnlod sent their son, Bragi, to live with his father in Asgard, and Odin made him the skald of Asgard, for Bragi was very eloquent, with a great talent for music and a beautiful singing voice, his very presence was pleasant and enchanting. However, Bragi doesn't stay in Asgard all the time, it is said that he is one of the few gods to be welcomed anywhere in the nine realms by any people, this is due to the fact that he isn't a warlike god, he is the symbol of the opposite of that. Bragi is the bringer of peace and a diplomat. There are many reasons why all welcome him so happily and joyfully, in their halls, his voice is beautiful and he sings and tells stories when he his welcomed by his hosts and all take pleasure by hearing him, after living the places to wander off, he leaves people with words of wisdom, of peace and cooperation. Bragi is married with Idunn, the goddess of orchards.
It is interesting to know that Kvasir was very much the same as Bragi, a peacemaker, loved by all, welcomed in every hall, and some say that the spirit of Kvasir himself entered the mead of poetry, and by doing so, when Odin drank from it, Kvasir spirit entered in Gunnlod's womb, and so Bragi is in fact Kvasir reborn, there is no way to know if this is true but the coincidences are interesting nonetheless.

Bragi is the only god of Poetry, but also of inspiration and creativity, the god of Bards and Skalds, so obviously he will help all those who work with the power of words, if they ask for it, he will also help singers and musicians, to get inspiration but also the strength to continue the hard work to become better, not only with the words but also to make the kind of music that doesn't touch  the mind, but it touches the heart. His name comes from the Norse word "Bragr" the art of poetry, and the word "bragarfull" which is the cup of mead passed in the hall, probably came from him and his connections to the story of the mead of poetry.

Note: The artwork to illustrate this post is a drawing of Bragi made by me. If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger