Ragnarök
In
The event is attested primarily in the
Etymology
The
The singular form ragnarøk(k)r is found in a stanza of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, and in the Prose Edda. The noun røk(k)r means 'twilight' (from the verb røkkva 'to grow dark'), suggesting a translation 'twilight of the gods.' This reading was widely considered a result of folk etymology, or a learned reinterpretation of the original term due to the merger of /ɔ/ (spelled ǫ) and /ø/ (spelled ø) in Old Icelandic after c. 1200[9] (nevertheless giving rise to the calque Götterdämmerung 'Twilight of the Gods' in the German reception of Norse mythology[10]).
Other terms used to refer to the events surrounding Ragnarök in the Poetic Edda include aldar rök (aldar means age, 'end of an age') from a stanza of
Presence in literature
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda contains various references to Ragnarök:
Völuspá
In the Poetic Edda poem
Fylliz fiǫrvi feigra manna, |
It sates itself on the life-blood of fated men, |
—Normalized Old Norse[11] | —Ursula Dronke translation[11] |
The völva then describes three
After these stanzas, the völva further relates that the hound Garmr produces deep howls in front of the cave of Gnipahellir. Garmr's bindings break and he runs free. The völva describes the state of humanity:
Brœðr muno beriaz ok at bǫnom verða[z] |
Brothers will fight and kill each other, |
—Normalized Old Norse[14] | —Ursula Dronke translation[14] |
The "sons of
The völva continues that
The gods then do battle with the invaders: Odin is swallowed whole and alive fighting the wolf Fenrir, causing his wife Frigg her second great sorrow (the first being the death of her son, the god Baldr).[18] Odin's son Víðarr avenges his father by rending Fenrir's jaws apart and stabbing it in the heart with his spear, thus killing the wolf. The serpent Jörmungandr opens its gaping maw, yawning widely in the air, and is met in combat by Thor. Thor, also a son of Odin and described here as protector of the earth, furiously fights the serpent, defeating it, but Thor is only able to take nine steps afterwards before collapsing dead from the Serpent's venom. The god Freyr fights Surtr and loses. After this, people flee their homes, and the sun becomes black while the earth sinks into the sea, the stars vanish, steam rises, and flames touch the heavens.[19]
The völva sees the earth reappearing from the water and an eagle over a waterfall hunting fish on a mountain. The surviving Æsir meet together at the field of
The völva says that the god Hœnir chooses wooden slips for divination and that the sons of two brothers will widely inhabit the windy world. She sees a hall thatched with gold in Gimlé, where nobility will live and spend their lives pleasurably.[20] Stanzas 65, found in the Hauksbók version of the poem, refers to a "powerful, mighty one" that "rules over everything" and who will arrive from above at the court of the gods (Old Norse regindómr),[21] which has been interpreted as a Christian addition to the poem.[22] In stanza 66, the völva ends her account with a description of the dragon Níðhöggr, corpses in his jaws, flying through the air. The völva then "sinks down."[23] It is unclear if stanza 66 indicates that the völva is referring to the present time or if this is an element of the post-Ragnarök world.[24]
Vafþrúðnismál
The Vanir god Njörðr is mentioned in relation to Ragnarök in stanza 39 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál. In the poem, Odin, disguised as Gagnráðr, faces off with the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir in a battle of wits. Vafþrúðnismál references Njörðr's status as a hostage during the earlier Æsir–Vanir War, and that he will "come back home among the wise Vanir" at "the doom of men."[25]
In stanza 44, Odin poses the question to Vafþrúðnir as to who of mankind will survive the "famous"
In stanza 51, Vafþrúðnir states that, after Surtr's flames have been sated, Odin's sons Víðarr and Váli will live in the temples of the gods, and that Thor's sons Móði and Magni will possess the hammer Mjolnir. In stanza 52, the disguised Odin asks the jötunn about his fate. Vafþrúðnir responds that "the wolf" will consume Odin, and that Víðarr will avenge him by sundering its cold jaws in battle. Odin ends the duel with one final question: what did Odin say to his son before preparing his funeral pyre? With this, Vafþrúðnir realizes that he is dealing with none other than Odin, whom he refers to as "the wisest of beings," adding that Odin alone could know this.[28] Odin's message has been interpreted as a promise of resurrection to Baldr after Ragnarök.[29]
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II
Ragnarök is briefly referenced in stanza 40 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. Here, the valkyrie Sigrún's unnamed maid is passing the deceased hero Helgi Hundingsbane's burial mound. Helgi is there with a retinue of men, surprising the maid. The maid asks if she is witnessing a delusion since she sees dead men riding, or if Ragnarök has occurred. In stanza 41, Helgi responds that it is neither.[30]
Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda quotes heavily from Völuspá and elaborates extensively in prose on the information there, though some of this information conflicts with that provided in Völuspá.
Gylfaginning chapters 26 and 34
In the Prose Edda book
In chapter 34, High describes the binding of the wolf Fenrir by the gods, causing the god Týr to lose his right hand, and that Fenrir remains there until Ragnarök. Gangleri asks High why, since the gods could only expect destruction from Fenrir, they did not simply kill Fenrir once he was bound. High responds that "the gods hold their sacred places and sanctuaries in such respect that they chose not to defile them with the wolf's blood, even though the prophecies foretold that he would be the death of Odin."[32]
As a consequence of his role in the death of the god Baldr, Loki (described as father of Fenrir) is bound on top of three stones with the internal organs of his son Narfi (which are turned into iron) in three places. There, venom drops onto his face periodically from a snake placed by the jötunn Skaði. Loki's wife Sigyn collects the venom into a bucket, but whenever she leaves to empty it, the drops reach Loki's face, and the pain he experiences causes convulsions, resulting in earthquakes. Loki is further described as being bound this way until the onset of Ragnarök.[33]
Gylfaginning chapter 51
Chapter 51 provides a detailed account of Ragnarök interspersed with various quotes from Völuspá, while chapters 52 and 53 describe the aftermath of these events. In Chapter 51, High states that the first sign of Ragnarök will be
High relates that the great serpent
During all of this, the sky splits into two. From the split, the "sons of Muspell" ride forth. Surtr rides first, surrounded by flames, his sword brighter than the sun. High says that "Muspell's sons" will ride across Bifröst, described in Gylfaginning as a rainbow bridge, and that the bridge will then break. The sons of Muspell (and their shining battle troop) advance to the field of Vígríðr, described as an expanse that reaches "a hundred leagues in each direction," where Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Loki (followed by "Hel's own"), and Hrym (accompanied by all frost jötnar) join them. While this occurs, Heimdallr stands and blows the Gjallarhorn with all his might. The gods awaken at the sound, and they meet. Odin rides to Mímisbrunnr in search of counsel from Mímir. Yggdrasil shakes, and everything, everywhere fears.[35]
High relates that the Æsir and the
Thor kills Jörmungandr but is poisoned by the serpent, and manages to walk only nine steps before falling to the earth dead. Fenrir swallows Odin, though immediately afterwards his son Víðarr kicks his foot into Fenrir's lower jaw, grips the upper jaw, and rips apart Fenrir's mouth, killing the great wolf. Loki fights Heimdallr and the two kill each other. Surtr covers the earth in fire, causing the entire world to burn. High quotes stanzas 46 to 47 of Völuspá, and additionally stanza 18 of Vafþrúðnismál (the latter relating information about the battlefield Vígríðr).[37]
Gylfaginning chapters 52 and 53
At the beginning of chapter 52, Gangleri asks "what will be after heaven and earth and the whole world are burned? All the gods will be dead, together with the Einherjar and the whole of mankind. Didn't you say earlier that each person will live in some world throughout all ages?"[38]
The figure of Third, seated on the highest throne in the hall, responds that there will be many good places to live, but also many bad ones. Third states that the best place to be is Gimlé in the heavens, where a place exists called Okolnir that houses a hall called Brimir—where one can find plenty to drink. Third describes a hall made of red gold located in Niðafjöll called Sindri, where "good and virtuous men will live."[38] Third further relates an unnamed hall in Náströnd, the beaches of the dead, that he describes as a large repugnant hall facing north that is built from the spines of snakes, and resembles "a house with walls woven from branches"; the heads of the snakes face the inside of the house and spew so much venom that rivers of it flow throughout the hall, in which oath breakers and murderers must wade. Third here quotes Völuspá stanzas 38 to 39, with the insertion of original prose stating that the worst place of all to be is in Hvergelmir, followed by a quote from Völuspá to highlight that the dragon Níðhöggr harasses the corpses of the dead there.[39]
Chapter 53 begins with Gangleri asking if any of the gods will survive and if there will be anything left of the earth or the sky. High responds that the earth will appear once more from the sea, beautiful and green, where self-sown crops grow. The field Iðavöllr exists where Asgard once was, and, there, untouched by Surtr's flames, Víðarr and Váli reside. Now possessing their father's hammer Mjölnir, Thor's sons Móði and Magni will meet them there, and, coming from Hel, Baldr and Höðr also arrive. Together, they all sit and recount memories, later finding the gold game pieces the Æsir once owned. Völuspá stanza 51 is then quoted.[40]
High reveals that two humans, Líf and Lífþrasir, will have also survived the destruction by hiding in the wood Hoddmímis holt. These two survivors consume the morning dew for sustenance, and from their descendants, the world will be repopulated. Vafþrúðnismál stanza 45 is then quoted. The personified sun, Sól, will have a daughter at least as beautiful as she, and this daughter will follow the same path as her mother. Vafþrúðnismál stanza 47 is quoted, and so ends the foretelling of Ragnarök in Gylfaginning.[41]
-
A depiction of Líf and Lífthrasir (by Lorenz Frølich, 1895)
Archaeological record
Various objects have been identified as depicting events from Ragnarök.
Thorwald's Cross
Gosforth Cross
The Gosforth Cross (920–950), in Cumbria, England, is a standing cross of a typical Anglo-Saxon form, carved on all sides of the long shaft, which is nearly square in section. Apart from panels of ornament, the scenes include a Christian crucifixion, and possibly another scene in Hell, but the other scenes are generally interpreted as narrative incidents from the Ragnarök story,[46] even by a scholar as cautious of such interpretations as David M. Wilson.[42][47] The Ragnarök battle itself may be depicted on the north side.[48] The cross features various figures depicted in Borre style, including a man with a spear facing a monstrous head, with one foot thrust into the beast's forked tongue and on its lower jaw, and the other is against its upper jaw, a scene interpreted as Víðarr fighting Fenrir.[42]
Ledberg stone
The 11th-century
Skarpåker stone
On the early 11th-century Skarpåker Stone, from Södermanland, Sweden, a father grieving his dead son used the same verse form, fornyrðislag, as in the Poetic Edda in the following engraving:
Iarð skal rifna |
Earth shall be riven |
Jansson (1987) notes that at the time of the inscription, everyone who read the lines would have thought of Ragnarök and the allusion that the father found fitting as an expression of his grief.[50]
Theories and interpretations
Cyclic time and Hoddmímis holt
Muspille, Heliand, and Christianity
Theories have been proposed about the relation between Ragnarök and the 9th-century
Proto-Indo-European basis
Parallels have been pointed out between the Ragnarök of
Volcanic eruptions
Hilda Ellis Davidson theorizes that the events in Völuspá occurring after the death of the gods (the sun turning black, steam rising, flames touching the heavens, etc.) may be inspired by the volcanic eruptions on Iceland. Records of eruptions in Iceland bear strong similarities to the sequence of events described in Völuspá, especially the eruption at Laki that occurred in 1783.[54] Bertha Phillpotts theorizes that the figure of Surtr was inspired by Icelandic eruptions and that he was a volcano demon.[55] Surtr's name occurs in some Icelandic place names, among them the lava tube Surtshellir, a number of dark caverns in the volcanic central region of Iceland.[56]
Bergbúa þáttr
Parallels have been pointed out between a poem spoken by a jötunn found in the 13th-century þáttr Bergbúa þáttr ("the tale of the mountain dweller"). In the tale, Thórd and his servant get lost while travelling to church in winter, and so take shelter for the night within a cave. Inside the cave they hear noises, witness a pair of immense burning eyes, and then the being with burning eyes recites a poem of 12 stanzas. The poem the being recites contains references to Norse mythology (including a mention of Thor) and also prophecies (including that "mountains will tumble, the earth will move, men will be scoured by hot water and burned by fire"). Surtr's fire receives a mention in stanza 10. John Lindow says that the poem may describe "a mix of the destruction of the race of giants and of humans, as in Ragnarök" but that "many of the predictions of disruption on earth could also fit the volcanic activity that is so common in Iceland."[57]
Modern influences
The events of Ragnarok are dramatized, albeit briefly, in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Marsh King's Daughter".
In late 2013 and early 2014, English-language media outlets widely reported that Ragnarök was foretold to occur on 22 February 2014.[58] Apparently patterned after the 2012 phenomenon, the claim was at times attributed to a "Viking Calendar". No such calendar is known to have existed, and the source was a "prediction" made to media outlets by the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, England, intended to draw attention to an event that the institution was to hold on that date. The Jorvik Viking Centre was criticized for misleading the public to promote the event. In a 2014 article on the claims, philologist Joseph S. Hopkins perceives the media response as an example of a broad revival of interest in the Viking Age and ancient Germanic topics.[59]
The Norwegian fantasy adventure film Gåten Ragnarok was released in 2013 and centres on the discovery of the mythical serpent in contemporary Finnmark.
The myth is central to the 2017
A. S. Byatt published a novel entitled Ragnarok: The End of the Gods in 2011.
Ragnarök is set up at the end of the 2018 video game God of War, which is rooted in Norse mythology, after the protagonist Kratos kills Baldr. The 2022 sequel, God of War Ragnarök, deals with the aftermath of this event and covers the in-game version of Ragnarök.
Norse mythology and climate change inspired the eponymous TV series Ragnarok.[61] The town of Edda in Western Norway is plagued by climate change and industrial pollution caused by the factories owned by the Jutul family, a group of jötunn. They are challenged by a teenage boy, Magne, the reincarnation of Thor. Thus begins the event Ragnarok ("twilight of the gods"), the fight against those who are destroying the planet.
In the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which is partially inspired by Norse mythology, the Æsir are depicted as members of the Isu, who within the series' fictional lore, are an advanced civilization that predate humanity, and Ragnarök refers to a series of events revolving around the Toba Catastrophe, or the "Great Catastrophe", which was a solar flare that hit the Earth, killing most of the Isu. In one of the game's story arcs, the protagonist Eivor Varinsdottir assumes the role of Odin (later revealed to be her previous life), who searches for a way for himself and the other Æsir to survive beyond Ragnarök, during which they are all foretold to perish. One of the game's downloadable content packs, titled Dawn of Ragnarök, builds upon this, as it follows Odin just as the events of Ragnarök are about to begin.
Citations
- ^ Fazio, Moffett & Wodehouse 2003, p. 201.
- ^ "ragnarok". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Ragnarök". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Ragnarök" (US) and "Ragnarök". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.[dead link]
- ^ Mark, Joshua J. "Ragnarök". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ Zoëga 2004, p. 345.
- ^ "reason, ground, origin," "wonder, marvel," tíva rök 'the life and doings of the gods,' þjóða rök 'origin, creation of mankind,' í aldar rök 'at the end of the world' (Zoëga 2004, p. 345); Proto-Germanic: *rakō (Bjordvand & Lindeman 2007, pp. 856–857).
- ^ a b Simek 2007, p. 259.
- ^ Bjordvand & Lindeman 2007, pp. 856–857, for example.
- ^ Lindow 2001, p. 254.
- ^ a b Dronke 1997, p. 18.
- ^ Orchard 1997, p. 43.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 9.
- ^ a b c Dronke 1997, p. 19.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 265.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 10.
- ^ Bellows 2004, p. 22.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 266.
- ^ Bellows 2004, p. 23.
- ^ a b Larrington 1999, p. 12.
- ^ Simek 2007, p. 262.
- ^ Lindow 2001, p. 257.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 13.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 3.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 46.
- ^ Lindow 2001, p. 115.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 47.
- ^ Larrington 1999, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 269.
- ^ Larrington 1999, p. 139.
- ^ Byock 2005, p. 36.
- ^ Byock 2005, p. 42.
- ^ Byock 2005, p. 70.
- ^ Byock 2005, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b Byock 2005, p. 72.
- ^ Byock 2005, p. 73.
- ^ Byock 2005, pp. 73–75.
- ^ a b Byock 2005, p. 76.
- ^ Byock 2005, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Byock 2005, p. 77.
- ^ Byock 2005, pp. 77–78.
- ^ a b c d e f Pluskowski 2004, p. 158.
- ^ Entry Br Olsen;185A in Rundata 2.0
- ^ a b c d Jansson 1987, p. 152.
- ^ Hunter & Ralston 1999, p. 200.
- ^ Bailey 2002, pp. 15–23.
- ^ Wilson 1984, p. 149–150.
- ^ Orchard 1997, p. 13.
- ^ MacLeod & Mees 2006, p. 145.
- ^ Jansson 1987, p. 141.
- ^ Simek 2007, p. 189. For Schröder, see Schröder (1931).
- ^ a b Simek 2007, pp. 222–224.
- ^ a b c Mallory & Adams 1997, pp. 182–183.
- ^ Davidson 1990, pp. 208–209.
- ^ Phillpotts 1905, pp. 14 ff., in Davidson (1990, p. 208)
- JSTOR 26348924.
- ^ Lindow 2001, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Richards, Chris (17 February 2014). "Will the world END next week? Viking apocalypse 'Ragnarok' due to arrive on February 22". Daily Mirror.
- ^ Hopkins 2014, pp. 7–12.
- Marvel.com. Archivedfrom the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ Thorvik, Hannah Bull (28 January 2020). "Like dårlig som det høres ut". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 3 February 2020.
General references
- Bailey, Richard N. (2002). "Scandinavian Myth on Viking-period Stone Sculpture in England". In Barnes, Geraldine; Ross, Margaret Clunies (eds.). Old Norse Myths, Literature, and Society (PDF). Sydney: University of Sydney. ISBN 1-86487-316-7. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ISBN 0-486-43710-8.
- Bjordvand, Harald; Lindeman, Fredrik Otto (2007). Våre arveord. Novus. ISBN 978-82-7099-467-0.
- Jesse Byock (Trans.) (2005). The Prose Edda. ISBN 0-14-044755-5.
- ISBN 0-19-811181-9.
- ISBN 0-14-013627-4.
- Fazio, Michael W.; Moffett, Marian; Wodehouse, Lawrence (2003). A World History of Architecture. ISBN 0-07-141751-6.
- Bernharðsson, Haraldur (2007). "Old Icelandic Ragnarök and Ragnarökkr". In Nussbaum, Alan J. (ed.). Verba Docenti. Beech Stave Press. pp. 25–38. ISBN 978-0-9747927-3-6.
- Hopkins, Joseph S. (2014). "The 'Viking Apocalypse' of 22nd February 2014: An Analysis of the Jorvik Viking Center's Ragnarök and Its Media Reception". ISSN 2324-0636.
- Hunter, John; Ralston, Ian (1999). The Archaeology of Britain: An Introduction from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Industrial Revolution. ISBN 978-0-415-13588-7.
- Jansson, Sven B. (1987). Runes in Sweden. Stockholm, Gidlund. ISBN 91-7844-067-X.
- Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). The Poetic Edda. ISBN 0-19-283946-2.
- ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
- MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. ISBN 1-84383-205-4.
- ISBN 1-884964-98-2.
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. ISBN 0-304-34520-2.
- Phillpotts, Bertha (1905). "Surt". Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi. 21: 14 ff.
- Pluskowski, Aleks (2004). "Apocalyptic Monsters: Animal Inspirations for the Iconography of Medieval Northern Devourers". In Bildhauer, Bettina; Mills, Robert (eds.). The Monstrous Middle Ages. ISBN 0-8020-8667-5.
- Rundata 2.0 for Windows.
- ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.
- ISBN 978-0-87951-976-6.
- Zoëga, Geir (2004) [1910]. A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. University of Toronto. ISBN 0-8020-8659-4.