ORIGIN: Nordic [Icelandic] and possibly Germanic
TYPE: Goddess, Keeper of the apples of Immortality
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Viking period (circa CE 700) and earlier until Christianization (circa CE 1100).
SYNONYMS: Idun (German), Iduna.
CENTER(S) OF CULT: none known though possibly the subject of anonymous carvings.
LITERARY SOURCES: Icelandic Codices; Prose Edda (Snorri).
INFORMATION: Little is recorded in mythology. Idunn is the consort of Bragi, the poet got, and she guards the golden apples of eternal youth for the gods of Asgard. She was abducted by Loki and handed over to the giant Thiassi as payment for the building of Valhalla. When the gods began to age, Loki assisted in recovering Idunn with her vital fruit. She reflects a northern version of the ancient symbolism of a deity who guards the life-sustaining fruit of heaven.