Ragnarök

File:Faroe stamp 436 The Death of Odin.jpg

The Death of Odin, on a Faroese stamp

In mythology, Ragnarök ("fate of the gods") is the eschatological end-point of the current cosmic order. It will be waged between the Æsir, led by Odin, and the forces of chaos (Loki and his monstrous children, as well as, among others, the Jötnar). Not only will most of the gods, giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the universe will be torn asunder.

Exactly what will happen, who will fight whom, and the fates of the participants in this battle are well known to the Norse peoples from the sagas and skaldic poetry. The Völuspá — prophecy of the völva (sybil), the first lay of the Poetic Edda, dating from about the year 1000C.E. — spans the history of the old gods, from the beginning of time to Ragnarök, in 65 stanzas. The Prose Edda, put in writing some two centuries later by Snorri Sturluson, describes in detail what takes place before, during, and after the battle.

What seems eschatologically unique about Ragnarök is that the gods know through prophecy what is going to happen: when the event will occur, who will be slain by whom, and so forth. They even realize that they are powerless to prevent Ragnarök. But they still bravely and defiantly face their bleak destiny. This is thought by many scholars to represent the ordered world (the Æsir) eventually succumbing to the unavoidable forces of chaos and entropy (the giants). This is similar to the representation of the monstrous children of Uranus in Greek mythology and the monstrous creations of Tiamat in the Enuma Elish as the primordial forces of chaos.

Ragnarök in a Norse Context

The world-sundering battle of Ragnarök belongs to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E.. The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.

Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of primary deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Aesir had finally won. In fact, the most significant divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth. The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir. Over and above these three, there also existed races of secondary supernatural spirits, including the alfár (elves) and the dwarves (craftsmen for the Aesir).

Ragnarök likely holds such an exalted place in Norse mythology because of the Scandinavian/Germanic cultural focus on conflict, warfare and martial valor. On one hand, this perspective supports an oppositional world-view, where the forces of order (represented by the Aesir) must, at some point, violently contend with the forces of chaos. On the other, this warlike stance also extended to their cosmological vision, where the best possible afterlife for Viking males was to be selected from the battlefield dead by the Valkyries and ushered off to Odin's hall, Valhalla. Once there, the deceased warriors "were to feast on board and mead, engaging in battle every day and healing miraculously afterward." However, the purpose of this constant struggle was not simply to engage in never-ending conflict. Instead, these human heroes (the einherjar ("lone fighters")) were training to fight alongside the All-Father in the final cataclysm. Thus, the fates of individual human warriors were intimately connected to the ultimate fate of the universe. In both cases, the general tenor of Norse culture can be seen to have intimately colored their eschatological beliefs.

Mythic Accounts

Prelude

Given that the events of Ragnarök were foreseen by Odin (in at least two mythic accounts), it is not surprising that the tradition contained descriptions of various portents that would foreshadow the eventual demise of the world-order. Three of the most important include:

• The birth of three monstrous offspring to Loki and Angrboda (his giantess wife): Jörmungandr (the Midgard Serpent), Fenrir (the supernaturally potent wolf) and Hel (the goddess of the underworld). Commenting on their births, the Gylfaginning states: "But when the gods learned that this kindred was nourished in Jotunheim [(the realm of the Giants)], and when the gods perceived by prophecy that from this kindred great misfortune should befall them; and since it seemed to all that there was great prospect of ill - (first from the mother's blood, and yet worse from the father's) - then Allfather sent gods thither to take the children and bring them to him." Once this foul brood was collected, each was imprisoned (and would remain so until the advent of the end times).

• The unjust death of Baldr and the binding of Loki. Rather overtly, the Prose Edda notes that, after he is bound under the surface of the earth, the trickster god shall lay "in bonds till the Weird of the Gods [Ragnarök]." Likewise, in one of his consultations with the revenant of a sibyl, Odin is informed that Loki's imprisonment will further set the stage for the apocalypse:

"For no one of men | shall seek me more

Till Loki wanders | loose from his bonds,

And to the last strife | the destroyers come."

• The arrival of Fimbulvetr (Fimbulwinter - the "terrible winter"). While the previous two events occurred in the mythic past, this third will take place sometime in the mythic future. The term refers to an frigid and unending winter, whose dreadful impact will cause human society to collapse:

There shall come that winter which is called the Awful Winter: in that time, snow shall drive from all quarters; frosts shall be great then, and winds sharp; there shall be no virtue in the sun. Those winters shall proceed three in succession, and no summer between; but first shall come three other winters, such that over all the world there shall be mighty battles. In that time brothers shall slay each other for greed's sake, and none shall spare father or son in manslaughter or and in incest; so it says in Völuspá:

Brothers shall strive |and slaughter each other;

Own sisters' children | shall sin together;

Ill days among men, | many a whoredom:

An axe-age, a sword-age | shields shall be cloven;

A wind-age, a wolf-age, | ere the world totters.

Portents

Ragnarök will be preceded by the Fimbulwinter, the winter of winters. Three successive winters will follow each other with no summer in between. As a result, conflicts and feuds will break out, and all morality will disappear.

The wolf Skoll and his brother Hati will finally devour Sol (the Sun) and her brother Mani (the Moon) respectively, after a perpetual chase. The stars will vanish from the sky, plunging the earth into darkness.

The earth will shudder, so violently that trees will be uprooted, and mountains will fall, and every bond and fetter will snap and sever, freeing Loki, the God of Mischief, and his ferocious son Fenrir. This terrible wolf's slavering mouth will gape wide open, so wide that his lower jaw scrapes against the ground and his upper jaw presses against the sky. He will gape even more widely if there is room. Flames will dance in his eye and leap from his nostrils.

Faroese stamp depicting the begining of Ragnarök

Eggther, watchman of the Jotuns, will sit on his grave mound and strum his harp, smiling grimly. The red cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the Gods. A third cock, rust red, will raise the dead in Hel.

Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent, and Loki's other monstrous offspring will rise from the deep ocean bed to proceed towards the land, twisting and writhing in fury on their way, causing the seas to rear up and lash against the land. With every breath, the serpent will spew venom, staining the earth and the sky in poison.

From the east, the army of Jotuns, led by Hrym, will leave their home in Jotunheim and sail the grisly ship Naglfar (made from the nails of dead men), which will be set free by the tsunami and flooding caused by Jörmungandr, towards the battlefield of Vigrid (Óskópnir).

From the north, a second ship will set sail towards Vigrid, with Loki, now unbound, as the helmsman, and Hel, with all those from her realm by the same name, as the deadweight.

The world will be in uproar, the air will quake with booms, blares and echoes. Amid this turmoil, the fire Giants of Muspelheim, led by Surtr, will advance from the south and tear apart the sky itself as they too, close in on Vigrid. Surtr will brandish a fierce fire sword, the Sword of Revenge, that consumes everything in his path with flames. As Surtr and the others ride over Bifröst, the rainbow bridge will crack and break behind them. Garm, the hellhound bound in front of Gnipahellir, will also get free. He will join the fire Giants on their march.

So all the Jotuns and all the inmates of Hel, Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Garm, Surtr and the blazing sons of Muspelheim, will gather on Vigrid. They will all but fill that plain that stretches one hundred leagues in every direction.

Meanwhile, Heimdall, being the first of the Gods to see the enemies approaching, will blow his Giallar horn, sounding such a blast that will be heard throughout the nine worlds. All the Gods will wake and at once meet in council. Odin will then mount Sleipnir and gallop to Mímir's spring and consult Mímir on his own and his people's behalf.

Then, Yggdrasil, the world tree, will shake from root to summit. Everything on the earth, in the heavens, and Hel will quiver. All Æsir and Einherjar will don their battle dresses. This vast host (800 men can stand abreast in each of Valhalla's 540 gates, so they will likely number in the millions) will march towards Vigrid and Odin will ride at their head, wearing a golden helmet and a shining corselet, brandishing Gungnir.

The final battle

File:Odin fenrir.gif

Tyr chaining Fenrir.

Odin will make straight for Fenrir; and Thor, right beside him, will be unable to help because Jörmungandr, his old enemy, will at once attack him. Freyr will fight the fire Giant Surtr, but will become the first of all Gods to lose as he has given his own good sword to his servant Skírnir. It will still be a long struggle though, before Freyr will succumb. Tyr will battle Garm and both will slay the other. Likewise, Heimdall will fight Loki and neither will survive the evenly matched encounter. Thor will kill Jörmungandr with his hammer Mjollnir, but only be able to stagger back nine steps before falling dead himself, poisoned by the venom that Jörmungandr spews over him. Odin will fight with his mighty spear Gungnir against Fenrir but will finally be eaten by the wolf after a long battle. To avenge his father, Vidar will immediately come forward and place one foot on the wolf's lower jaw. On this foot he will be wearing the shoe which he has been making since the beginning of time; it consists of the strips of leather which men pare off at the toes and heels of their shoes. With one hand he will grasp the wolf's upper jaw and tear its throat asunder, killing it at last.

Then, brandishing the Sword of Revenge, Surtr will burn all Nine worlds with fire and he himself will be consumed by his own destruction. Death will come to all manner of things. Fumes will reek and flames will burst, scorching the sky with fire. The earth will sink into the sea.

Aftermath

Barley will ripen in fields that were never sown. The meadow Idavoll, in the now-destroyed Asgard, will have been spared. The sun will reappear as Sol before being swallowed by Skoll, who will give birth to a daughter as fair as she herself. This maiden daughter will pursue her mother's road in the new sky.

Faroese stamp depicting the return of Baldur and Hodur

A few gods will survive the ordeal: Odin's brother Vili, Odin's sons Vidar and Váli, Thor's sons Móði and Magni, who will inherit their father's magic hammer Mjollnir, and Hœnir, who will hold the staff and foretell what is to come. Baldr and his brother Höðr (who both died prior to Ragnarök) will come up from Hel and dwell in Odin's former hall, Valhalla, in the heavens. Meeting at Idavoll, these gods will sit down together, discuss their hidden lore, and talk over many things that had happened, including the events surrounding the final rise of Jörmungandr and Fenrir. In the waving grass, they will find the golden chessboards that the Æsir used to own, and gaze at them in wonder. (None of the goddesses were mentioned in various accounts of the aftermath of Ragnarök, but there are assumptions that Frigg, Freyja and some of the other goddesses will survive.)

Two humans will also escape the destruction of the world by hiding themselves deep within Yggdrasil (some say Hodmimir's Wood) where Surtr's sword cannot destroy. They will be called Lif and Lifthrasir. Emerging from their shelter, they will live on morning dew and will repopulate the human world. They will worship their new pantheon of gods, led by Baldr.

There will still be many halls to house the souls of the dead. According to the 'Prose Edda', another heaven exists south of and above Asgard, called Andlang, and a third heaven further above that, called Vidblain; and these places will offer protection while Surtr's fire burns the world. According to both 'Eddas', after Ragnarök, the best place of all will be Gimli, a building fairer than the sun, roofed with gold, in the heaven. There, the gods will live at peace with themselves and each other. There will be Brimir, a hall on Okolnir ("never cold"), where plenty of good drinks will be served. And there will be Sindri, an excellent hall made wholly of red gold, on Nidafjoll ("dark mountains"). The souls of the good and virtuous will live in these halls.

The Prose Edda also mentions another hall called Náströnd ("corpse strand"). That place in the underworld will be vast: no sunlight will reach it; all its doors will face north; its walls and roof will be made of wattled snakes, with their heads facing inward, spewing so much poison that it runs in rivers in the hall. Here, oath breakers, murderers and philanderers will wade through those rivers forever.

Hvergelmir, and Níðhöggr, also a survivor of Ragnarök, will bedevil the bodies of the dead, sucking blood from them.

In this new world, misery will no longer exist and gods and men will live together in peace and harmony. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit Midgard.

Common misconceptions

One should recognize that Ragnarök is not simply a moral conflict between dualistic notions of good and evil like the Christian notion of Armageddon, but rather it is the result of extended, intricate conflict between the Æsir and those allied with chaos.

In the pagan world view, Ragnarök is merely the end of one expression of creation, and with the death of the old Gods, the opportunity of the birth of a new world.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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