If any of you are fans of the Marvel Universe (as I am) You may have heard of the upcoming Thor related film: Ragnarök. Now, What is Ragnarök? Im so glad you asked! :D (rating this article to be 16+ for battle/death scene violence... and Im actually not joking... Read at your own adventurousness I suppose :) ) Ragnarök: In Norse Mythology, Ragnarök or Ragnarøkkr (meaning “Fate of the gods” or “Twilight of the gods”) is a series of events that for the most part completely destroys Asgard. This is foretold through prophesies about the death of major mythological characters such as Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr and Loki. (Keep in mind that the mythological characters are not related like the characters in the Marvel films. Odin is in fact not Loki’s adoptive father… the two become blood brothers in a pact made. They aren’t even actually related brothers!) Many natural disasters take place during this time and for a while the entire world is submerged in water. After a while the world will be reborn once it is resurfaced from the water, once again, new, fertile lands are prosperous. The surviving/returning gods will congregate and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. To break the name of Ragnarök down a bit more, we’ll refer back to Old Nordic texts :) Ragna (the plural noun form of regin) means “the ruling powers, gods”. The second half of the word is slightly more difficult since it occurs in two forms: -rök and –røkkr. The plural form of rök has various meanings such as: “development, origin, cause, relation and fate.” By referencing to Zoega’s Old Icelandic Dictionary it separates the two forms as entirely separate compounds so: Ragnarök means “the doom, or destruction of the gods” and Ragnarøkkr means “The twilight of the gods”. In other terms, the word Ragnarök is generally interpreted simply as the “final destiny of the gods”, but in later texts (through a lot of analysis I won’t get into) it states that there is also another suggested meaning (which makes more sense in the fact that the world is renewed) that says: the “renewal of the divine powers”. Summing all of this up, Ragnarök is the destruction of Asgard and the signal of rebirth. I’ve gone on about grammar long enough… sorry. “In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, references to Ragnarök begin from stanza 40 until 58, with the rest of the poem describing the aftermath. In the poem, a völva recites information to Odin. In stanza 41, the völva says: Old Norse: Fylliz fiǫrvi feigra manna, rýðr ragna siǫt rauðom dreyra. Svǫrt verða sólskin of sumor eptir, veðr ǫll válynd Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat? English: It sates itself on the life-blood of fated men, paints red the powers homes with crimson gore. Black become the suns beams in the summers that follow, weathers all treacherous. Do you still seek to know? And what? The völva then describes three roosters crowing: In stanza 42, the jötunn herdsman Eggthér sits on a mound and cheerfully plays his harp while the crimson rooster Fjalar (Old Norse hider, deceiver) crows in the forest Gálgviðr. The golden rooster Gullinkambi crows to the Æsir in Valhalla, and the third, unnamed soot-red rooster crows in the halls of the underworld location of Hel in stanza 43. After these stanzas, the völva further relates that the hound Garmr produces deep howls in front of the cave of Gnipahellir. Garmrs bindings break and he runs free. The völva describes the state of humanity: Brœðr muno beriaz ok at bǫnom verða[z] muno systrungar sifiom spilla. Hart er í heimi, hórdómr mikill —skeggǫld, skálmǫld —skildir ro klofnir— vindǫld, vargǫld— áðr verǫld steypiz. Mun engi maðr ǫðrom þyrma. Brothers will fight and kill each other, sisters children will defile kinship. It is harsh in the world, whoredom rife —an axe age, a sword age —shields are riven— a wind age, a wolf age— before the world goes headlong. No man will have mercy on another. The sons of Mím are described as being at play, though this reference is not further explained in surviving sources. Heimdall raises the Gjallarhorn into the air and blows deeply into it, and Odin converses with Míms head. The world tree Yggdrasil shudders and groans. The jötunn Hrym comes from the east, his shield before him. The Midgard serpent Jörmungandr furiously writhes, causing waves to crash. The eagle shrieks, pale-beaked he tears the corpse, and the ship Naglfar breaks free thanks to the waves made by Jormungandr and sets sail from the east. The fire jötnar inhabitants of Muspelheim come forth. The völva continues that Jötunheimr, the land of the jötnar, is aroar, and that the Æsir are in council. The dwarves groan by their stone doors. Surtr advances from the south, his sword brighter than the sun. Rocky cliffs open and the jötnar women sink. People walk the road to Hel and the heavens split apart.” – Völuspá Some legends say that another signal for Ragnarök to begin was created by three great wolves, Hati, Sköll and Fenrisúlfr (aka Fenrir or Fenris Wolf... one of Lokis children who is bound by a magical cord that the dwarves crafted due to fears (and later proved true) prophesies that Fenris would be the one to kill Odin.) Hati continuously chases the moon. Eventually, he captures and devours the moon. Sköll chases and devours the sun causing the stars to cease shining. Then the ground will shake and crack, mountains falling and this enables Fenrisúlfr to escape his bonds... this is then the signaling for the beginning of Ragnarök... (Refer to another version below as a direct quote) 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 the first sign of Ragnarök will be Fimbulvetr, during which time three winters will arrive without a summer, and the sun will be useless. High details that, prior to 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 first swallow the sun, and then his brother 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, his lower jaw touching the earth. At Fenrirs 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 Muspells 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 Hels 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 Mímirs Well in search of counsel from Mímir. Yggdrasil shakes, and everything, everywhere fears.” – Gylfaginning Chapter 51 *taking a trip back to fantasizing about Marvel for a moment* If they want to follow the mythological version of Ragnarök at all, all of our beloved characters will die but will be found re-incarnated on Midgard. Once Thor finds all his friends, he restores them back to their original forms and they begin to create a new kingdom later on when they return to Asgard. Loki is the only one out of all of them that is found re-incarnated as another gender. He is found on Midgard as a woman. *reverts back to actual research* “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). Odins son Víðarr avenges his father by rending Fenrirs 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 afterward before collapsing. 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. 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 Iðavöllr. They discuss Jörmungandr, great events of the past, and the runic alphabet. In stanza 61, in the grass, they find the golden game pieces that the gods are described as having once happily enjoyed playing games with long ago (attested earlier in the same poem). The reemerged fields grow without needing to be sown. The gods Höðr and Baldr return from Hel and live happily together. 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. 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), which has been interpreted as a Christian addition to the poem. 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. 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.” - Völuspá Vafþrúðnismál Odin, while in hiding and in disguise asks a wise giant later on, where the new sun will come from once Fenrir attacks and kills Sól. The giant replies that Sól will bear a child before Fenrir kills her and the child will follow in her mother’s footsteps. In stanza 51, Vafþrúðnir states that, after Surtrs flames have been sated, Odins sons Víðarr and Váli will live in the temples of the gods, and that Thors sons Móði and Magni will possess the hammer Mjolnir. In stanza 52, the disguised Odin asks the jötunn about Odins own 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 of wits 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. Odins message has been interpreted as a promise of resurrection to Baldr after Ragnarök.” - Vafþrúðnismál Gylfaginning chapters 26 and 34 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, and when his wife Sigyn empties the bucket she is using to collect the dripping venom, the pain he experiences causes convulsions, resulting in earthquakes. Loki is further described as being bound this way until the onset of Ragnarök. 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 fiercely fights with Surtr, but Freyr falls because he lacks the sword he once gave to his messenger, Skirnir. 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, yet is poisoned by the serpent, and manages to walk nine steps before falling to the earth dead. Fenrir swallows Odin, though immediately afterward his son Víðarr kicks his foot into Fenrirs lower jaw, grips Fenrirs upper jaw, and rips apart Fenrirs mouth, killing Fenrir. Loki fights Heimdallr, and the two kill one another. 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). ” - Gylfaginning chapters 26 and 34 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. Didnt 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 Surtrs flames, Víðarr and Váli reside. Now possessing their fathers hammer Mjolnir, Thors 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.” - Gylfaginning chapters 52 and 53 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 on 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. Surtrs name occurs in some Icelandic place names, among them the lava tube caves Surtshellir, a number of dark caverns in the volcanic central region of Iceland. So there is the story of Ragnarök :) I have to admit… Norse Mythology is my favorite! What is your favorite mythology/culture? ~ Luna Diamond Skye
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:16:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015