Bragr

Old Norse Dictionary - bragr

Meaning of Old Norse word "bragr" in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

bragr Old Norse word can mean:

bragr: ar, m. [akin to bragð, braga, bragi, etc.]

bragr: I. best, foremost; b. kvenna, best of women, Skv. 2. 15; Ása b., best of Ases, Skm. 34; b. karla eðr kvenna, Edda 17: only used in poetry or poët. language, cp. the A. S. brego (princeps) Egypta, Norðmanna, Israelita, Gumena, Engla, etc.:—hence the compd bragar-full or braga-full, n. a toasting cup, to be drunk esp. at funeral feasts; it seems properly to mean the king’s toast (cp. Bragi = princeps), i. e. the toast in the memory of the deceased king or earl, which was to be drunk first; the heir to the throne rose to drink this toast, and while doing so put his feet on the footstool of his seat and made a solemn vow (stíga á stokk ok strengja heit); he then for the first time took his father’s seat, and the other guests in their turn made similar vowS. For a graphic description of this heathen sacred custom, vide Yngl. S. Hkr. i. 49, Hervar. S. FaS. i. 417 and 515, Hkv. Hjörv. 32, Ragn. S. FaS. i. 345. It is likely that the b. was mostly used at funeral banquets, though the passages in the Ragn. and Hervar. S. (cp. also Hænsaþ. S. ch. 12) seem to imply its use at other festivals, as weddings; cp. also the description of the funeral banquet, Hkr. i. 231, where ‘minni hans’ (the toast of the dead king) answers to bragarfull; cp. also the funeral banquet recorded in Jómsvik. S., where the Danish king Sweyn made the vow ‘at bragarfulli’ to conquer England within three winterS. This is said to have been the prelude to the great Danish invasion A. D. 994, Fagrsk. 44, and Hkr. to l. c. The best MSS. prefer the reading bragar- (from bragr, princeps), not braga-.

bragr: II. nearly like Lat. mos, a fashion, habit of life, in compds as, bæjar-bragr, heimilis-bragr, híbýla-bragr, house life; sveitar-bragr, country life; bónda-bragr, yeoman life; héraðs-bragr, lands-bragr, etc. Icel. say good or bad bæjarbragr, Bb. I. 15.

bragr: III. poetry; gefr hann (viz. Odin) brag skáldum, Hdl. 5, Edda 17: in mod. usage chiefly melody or metre.

bragr: COMPDS: bragarbót, bragarfræði, bragarlaun, bragarmál.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᚱᛅᚴᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

etc.: et cetera.

m.: masculine.

A. D.: Anno Domini.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

ch.: chapter.

cp.: compare.

esp.: especially.

gl.: glossary.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

l. c.: loco citato.

n.: neuter.

poët.: poetically.

S.: Saga.

v.: vide.

þ.: þáttr.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

Lat.: Latin.

mod.: modern.

viz.: namely.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fagrsk.: Fagrskinna. (K. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Hervar. S.: Hervarar Saga. (C. II.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Hkv. Hjörv.: Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)

Hænsaþ.: Hænsa-Þóris Saga. (D. II.)

Ragn. S.: Ragnars Saga. (C. II.)

Skm.: Skírnis-mál. (A. I.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

Yngl. S.: Ynglinga Saga. (C. II.)

Bb.: Búnaðar-bálkr.

Hdl.: Hyndlu-ljóð. (A. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.