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End times in Norse mythology

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök ('/r//æ//ɡ//n//ə/,/r//ɒ//k//, /'/r//ɑː//ɡ// //audio=En us Ragnarok. ogg/; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, and Loki); it will entail a catastrophic series of natural disasters, including the burning of the world, and culminate in the submersion of the world underwater. After these events, the world will rise again, cleansed and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors, Líf and Lífþrasir. Ragnarök is an important event in Norse mythology and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of Germanic studies. The event is attested primarily in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In the Prose Edda and in a single poem in the Poetic Edda, the event is referred to as , a usage popularised by 19th century composer Richard Wagner with the title of the last of his Der Ring des Nibelungen operas, Götterdämmerung (1876), which is "Twilight of the Gods" in German.

The Old Norse compound word ragnarok has a long history of interpretation. Its first element is clear: ragna, the genitive plural of regin (n. pl.) 'the ruling powers, gods.' The second element is more problematic, as it occurs in two variants, rök and røkkr. Writing in the early 20th century, philologist Geir Zoëga treats the two forms as two separate compounds, glossing ragnarök as 'the doom or destruction of the gods' and ragnarøkkr as 'the twilight of the gods.' The plural noun rök has several meanings, including 'development', 'origin', 'cause', 'relation', 'fate.' The word ragnarök as a whole is then usually interpreted as the 'final destiny of the gods.' 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 (spelled ǫ) and (spelled ø) in Old Icelandic after c. 1200
(nevertheless giving rise to the calque Götterdämmerung 'Twilight of the Gods' in the German reception of Norse mythology). 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 Vafþrúðnismál, tíva rök from two stanzas of Vafþrúðnismál, þá er regin deyja ('when the gods die') from Vafþrúðnismál, unz um rjúfask regin ('when the gods will be destroyed') from Vafþrúðnismál, Lokasenna, and Sigrdrífumál, aldar rof ('destruction of the age') from Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, regin þrjóta ('end of the gods') from Hyndluljóð, and, in the Prose Edda, þá er Muspellz synir herja ('when the sons of Muspell move into battle') can be found in chapters 18 and 36 of Gylfaginning.

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.

In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, various references are made to Ragnarök. Ragnarök is first mentioned in chapter 26, where the throned figure of High, king of the hall, tells Gangleri (King Gylfi in disguise) some basic information about the goddess Iðunn, including that her apples will keep the gods young until Ragnarök. 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." 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.

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 Fimbulwinter, during which time three winters will arrive without a summer, and the sun will be useless. High details that, before these winters, three earlier winters will have occurred, marked with great battles throughout the world. During this time, greed will cause brothers to kill brothers, and fathers and sons will suffer from the collapse of kinship bonds. High then quotes stanza 45 of Völuspá. Next, High describes that the wolf will swallow the sun, then his brother will swallow the moon, and mankind will consider the occurrence as a great disaster resulting in much ruin. The stars will disappear. The earth and mountains will shake so violently that the trees will come loose from the soil, the mountains will topple, and all restraints will break, causing Fenrir to break free from his bonds. High relates that the great serpent Jörmungandr, also described as a child of Loki in the same source, will breach land as the sea violently swells onto it. The ship Naglfar, described in the Prose Edda as being made from the human nails of the dead, is released from its mooring and sets sail on the surging sea, steered by a jötunn named Hrym. At the same time, Fenrir, eyes and nostrils spraying flames, charges forward with his mouth wide open, his upper jaw reaching to the heavens, and his lower jaw touching the earth. At Fenrir's side, Jörmungandr sprays venom throughout the air and the sea. 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. High relates that the Æsir and the Einherjar dress for war and head to the field. Odin, wearing a gold helmet and an intricate coat of mail, carries his spear Gungnir and rides before them. Odin advances against Fenrir, while Thor moves at his side, though Thor is unable to assist Odin because he has engaged Jörmungandr in combat. According to High, Freyr fights fiercely with Surtr, but falls because he lacks the sword he once gave to his messenger, Skírnir. The hound Garmr (described here as the "worst of monsters") breaks free from his bonds in front of Gnipahellir, and fights the god Týr, resulting in both of their deaths. 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).

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?" 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." 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. 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. 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.

Various objects have been identified as depicting events from Ragnarök.

Thorwald's Cross, a partially surviving runestone erected at Kirk Andreas on the Isle of Man, depicts a bearded human holding a spear downward at a wolf, his right foot in its mouth, while a large bird sits at his shoulder. Rundata dates it to 940, while Pluskowski dates it to the 11th century. This depiction has been interpreted as Odin, with a raven or eagle at his shoulder, being consumed by Fenrir at Ragnarök. On the other side of the stone is a depiction of a large cross and another image parallel to the Odin figure that has been described as Christ triumphing over Satan. These combined elements have led to the cross as being described as "syncretic art," a mixture of pagan and Christian beliefs.

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, even by a scholar as cautious of such interpretations as David M. Wilson. The Ragnarök battle itself may be depicted on the north side. 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.

The 11th century Ledberg stone in Sweden, similarly to Thorwald's Cross, features a figure with his foot at the mouth of a four legged beast, and this may also be a depiction of Odin being devoured by Fenrir at Ragnarök. Below the beast and the man is a depiction of a legless, helmeted man, with his arms in a prostrate position. The Younger Futhark inscription on the stone bears a commonly seen memorial dedication, but is followed by an encoded runic sequence that has been described as "mysterious," and "an interesting magic formula which is known from all over the ancient Norse world."

Rudolf Simek theorizes that the survival of Líf and Lífþrasir at the end of Ragnarök is "a case of reduplication of the anthropogeny, understandable from the cyclic nature of the Eddic eschatology." Simek says that Hoddmímis holt "should not be understood literally as a wood or even a forest in which the two keep themselves hidden, but rather as an alternative name for the world tree Yggdrasill. Thus, the creation of mankind from tree trunks (Askr, Embla) is repeated after the Ragnarök as well." Simek says that in Germanic regions, the concept of mankind originating from trees is ancient, and additionally points out legendary parallels in a Bavarian legend of a shepherd who lives inside a tree, whose descendants repopulate the land after life there has been wiped out by plague (citing a retelling by F. R. Schröder). In addition, Simek points to an Old Norse parallel in the figure of Örvar Oddr, "who is rejuvenated after living as a tree man (Ǫrvar Odds saga 24–27)."

Theories have been proposed about the relation between Ragnarök and the 9th century Old High German epic poem Muspilli about the Christian Last Judgment, where the word Muspille appears, and the 9th century Old Saxon epic poem Heliand about the life of Christ, where various other forms of the word appear. In both sources, the word is used to signify the end of the world through fire. Old Norse forms of the term also appear throughout accounts of Ragnarök, where the world is also consumed in flames, and, though various theories exist about the meaning and origins of the term, its etymology has not been solved.

Parallels have been pointed out between the Ragnarök of Norse religion and the beliefs of other related Indo European peoples. Subsequently, theories have been put forth that Ragnarök represents a later evolution of a Proto Indo European belief along with other cultures descending from the Proto Indo Europeans. These parallels include comparisons of a cosmic winter motif between the Norse Fimbulwinter, the Iranian Bundahishn and [[Jamshid. Víðarr's stride has been compared to the Vedic god Vishnu in that both have a "cosmic stride" with a special shoe used to tear apart a beastly wolf. Larger patterns have also been drawn between "final battle" events in Indo European cultures, including the occurrence of a blind or semi blind figure in "final battle" themes, and figures appearing suddenly with surprising skills.

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. Bertha Phillpotts theorizes that the figure of Surtr was inspired by Icelandic eruptions and that he was a volcano demon. 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.

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. 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. 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 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok, at whose climax the demon Surtur destroys Asgard as its people flee into space under the guidance of Thor, Valkyrie, Loki, Heimdall, Hulk, and Korg. 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. 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.

Rundata 2.0 for Windows.