152
T
ime was cyclical in Norse
mythology; nothing lasted
forever, not even the gods.
This universe would one day come
to an end at Ragnarök (the doom
of the gods), a final climactic battle
between the gods and the giants
that would destroy the world and
annihilate the beings who lived
in it. The cataclysm would not be
final, however. A few survivors
would be spared, emerging from
sheltered refuges to repopulate
a new and better world.
There were two detailed
accounts of Ragnarök. The oldest
made up the second half of the
prophetic eddic poem “Völuspá”
(“The Seeress’ Prophecy”), where
a völvur, a seeress, raised from Hel,
told Odin the terrible series of
events that would destroy the world.
The newer account of Ragnarök
appeared in “Gylfaginning” (“The
Beguiling of Gylfi”), the first book
of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda.
Snorri’s account—an equally
awesome picture of the end of the
world—was a synthesis that drew
on (but often contradicted)
“Völuspá” and many other eddic
poems, and probably other lost
sources and traditions as well.It is unlikely that the Norse religion
ever had a defined canon about
Ragnarök and its aftermath.
“Gylfaginning,” despite being more
complete than “Völuspá,” still left
many questions unanswered. But
while neither version predicted
when Ragnarök would happen,
each warned its approach would
be heralded by a varying series of
catastrophic events.Ragnarök in “Völuspá”
According to “Völuspá,” a summer
would come during which the
sun would turn black. When this
happened, Eggther, the giant who
tended the wolf Fenrir, would sit onTHE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
IN BRIEF
THEME
The end of the worldSOURCES
Poetic Edda, Anonymous,
10th–13th century ce;
Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson,
ca. 1220 ce.SETTING
The nine worlds.KEY FIGURES
Heimdall Watchman of the
Aesir gods.Odin The high god.Jörmungand The Midgard
serpent; son of Loki.Loki The trickster.Surt A fire giant.Fenrir A wolf; son of Loki.Vidar Son of Odin; god of
vengeance.Thor The thunder god.Prophecy in Norse religion
The inevitable fulfillment of
prophecies played a central role
in Norse mythology. Prophecy
came through the practice of seidr,
a shamanistic form of magic that
was associated with the Vanir
group of deities. This form of
magic gave select individuals the
ability to communicate with the
dead and see into the future.
Freyja, the Vanir goddess of
fertility, taught Odin seidr: using
it, he raised a seeress from the
dead so that she could tell him
about Ragnarök.Seidr was practiced by both
humans and mythical beings,
mostly by women who were
known as völvur (wand-
carriers). Followinga ritual meal
of the hearts of whatever
animals were at hand, a völva
would use chants and spells to
invoke spirits, who could then
be questioned about the future.
The term seidr survives to
this day in the modern English
word “seer”—this Anglo-Saxon
term for a prophet derives from
the Old Norse.Freyja, goddess of fertility,
searches for her gleaming necklace
stolen by Loki in the Prose Edda in a
1930 illustration by Katharine Pyle.Fate is heard in the note
of the Gjallarhorn; loud
blows Heimdall.
Poetic EddaUS_150-157_Ragnarok.indd 152 05/12/17 4:15 pm
153
The Aesir god Heimdall blows his
Gjallarhorn. The vigilant watchman
was known for his acute vision and
hearing. He was the first to know about
the coming of Ragnarök.See also: Odin and the world tree 134–39 ■ War of the gods 140–41 ■ Treasures of the gods 144–45 ■
Death of Baldur 148–49EUROPE
a mound and play his harp with
delight at what was to come. Three
birds would then crow to announce
the beginning of Ragnarök. First,
Gullinkambi (“Golden Comb”), who
lived in Valhalla, would awaken the
sleeping einherjar (“dead warriors”)
so they could prepare for their final
battle. An unnamed rust-red bird
would crow at the gates of Hel to
rouse the underworld, and the
third bird, Fjalar, would crow in
the foreboding Gálvidur (“Gallows
Wood”). The goddess-giant Hel’s
watchdog, Garm, would bay loudly,
break the rope that tethered it to its
cave, and run free.Reigning chaos
Human society would then begin
to break down as brother slayed
brother and incest and adultery
flourished. No man would spare
another. Heimdall, the watchman of
the gods, would blow the alarm on
his horn, Gjallarhorn, while Odin
would go to consult the preserved
head of the wise god Mímir. The
earth would start to shake, and the
world tree Yggdrasil would shudder
and groan, but it would not fall.
Giants would go on the rampageand countless terrified souls would
descend to Hel. Hrym would lead
the frost giants from the east;
Jörmungand, the Midgard serpent,
would churn up the sea in his rage;
and eagles would shriek and feast
on corpses. The sinister Naglfar
would set sail with fire giants on
board from Muspelheim, the home
of the giants. Loki would be at the
helm with his giant brother Byleist
alongside him. Surt, the greatest of
the fire giants, would advance from
the south. Rocky cliffs would split
open, spilling troll women from their
crevices. The sky would crack as
elves and dwarves howled in terror.
According to the Poetic Edda,
this would herald the start of battle.
Loki’s son, the monstrous wolf
Fenrir, would kill Odin, only for
Odin’s son Vidar to avenge his
death by thrusting his sword into
the wolf’s heart. Thor would slay
Jörmungand, but stagger just nine
steps before dropping dead himself.Surt would slay the fertility god
Freyr. As the battle raged, the
sun would turn black and the stars
would disappear from the sky.
Steam and flames would shoot as
high as the heavens as the ravaged
land finally sank beneath the sea.A return to tranquility
Soon, a new world would rise from
the waves, eternally green and with
crops that grew without sowing. ❯❯Warning sounds heralded the end of the world in “Völuspá.”
The giant Eggther
played his harp.A cockerel woke
the dead warriors
of Valhalla.The war of the gods began and the earth was annihilated by fire.
A bird crowed at
the gates of Hel;
her dog bayed.A third bird
crowed in Gallows
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