Iðunn

Norse keeper of the golden apples that keep the gods from growing old

Iðunn (Idunn, Iduna) is the Norse goddess of youth and renewal. Her name is read as "ever young" or "the rejuvenator", though its origin is uncertain. In Snorri Sturluson's 13th-century Prose Edda she keeps the golden apples that stop the Æsir from growing old, carried in a small box of ash wood. In the Poetic Edda's Lokasenna she is the wife of Bragi, god of poetry.

Her abduction by the giant Þjazi is the subject of the skaldic poem Haustlǫng, composed around 900 CE. In the tale as retold, the gods turn grey and weary until Loki brings her home as a nut in a falcon's claws. Today she is honoured in modern Heathenry, including by Iceland's Ásatrúarfélagið and The Troth, whose journal Idunna carries her name.

Iðunn

No. 275

How to recognise Iðunn

Long fair hairLook for long, golden or fair hair falling over her shoulders, the most common feature in her art.
Golden applesRound, golden apples are her defining attribute, the fruit the gods must eat to stay young.
Ash-wood boxShe keeps the apples in an eski, a small lidded box of ash wood, though 19th-century artists often show a basket or bowl instead.
Long modest gownA sleeved gown with a belt or girdle, in the style 19th-century artists such as Doepler and Blommér gave to the Viking age.
Gentle, radiant bearingShe stands or sits beside her apples, youthful, calm and caring, a figure of renewal.
Bragi and his harpHer husband Bragi, god of poetry, may sit beside her with a harp, as in Blommér's 1846 and Frølich's 1895 images.
Small bird or nutIn story scenes an eagle (Þjazi) or a falcon (Loki) may appear in a corner, or a nut recalling her rescue, while she keeps her woman's form.

Names and titles

Keeper of the ApplesHer traditional title: she guards and hands out the apples of youth
She Who RenewsA reading of her name, Iðunn, as 'the rejuvenating one'
Wife of BragiA skaldic kenning for her, as the wife of the god of poetry
Carried Home as a NutLoki turned her into a nut and carried her back to Asgard in falcon form
The Gods Grew Grey Without HerWhen she was taken, the Æsir aged until she returned