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Idunn



 Bragi sitting playing the harp, Iðunn standing behind him (1846) by Nils Blommér



  Idunn, her name means "ever young", "rejuvenator", or "the rejuvenating one". Idunn is the Aesir Goddess of youth and springtime and is the wife of Bragi, the god of poetry. Idunn features prominently in the story, “Kidnapping of Idunn”. This tale comes to us from the skaldic poem Haustlöng and the Prose Edda. In this story she was the keeper of the golden apples that maintain the eternal youthfulness of the gods. Since the gods are not immortal, the apples are considered very precious.

 

  The Prose Edda relates that Loki was once forced by the jötunn Thiassi to lure Idunn out of Asgard and into the woods, promising her interesting apples. Once there she and her apples were seized by the giant Thiassi and taken to the realm of the Jotuns, the gods quickly began to grow old. They then forced Loki to rescue Idunn, which he did by taking the form of a falcon, changing Idunn into a nut and flying off with her in his claws.

 

  Idunn also appears in the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna where Loki insults her husband and accuses Idunn of infidelity and other dishonorable acts. Sadly, these are the only sources that mention Idunn.

 

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