Norse Mythology

The Prelude to Ragnarök:

• It begins with a severe and unrelenting winter known as Fimbulwinter, lasting three years without any summers in between.
• This period of harsh cold and darkness leads to widespread despair and moral collapse among humanity.

The Unleashing of Chaos:

• The monstrous wolf Fenrir breaks free from his bonds.
• Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, rises from the ocean, flooding the land.
• The fire giant Surt from Muspelheim emerges, wielding a flaming sword and poised to set the world ablaze.

The Final Battle:

• The gods of Asgard, led by Odin, Thor, and others, prepare to face the forces of chaos in a cataclysmic battle.
• Gods, giants, and other mythical creatures participate in this epic struggle, leading to the death of many; Fenrir devours Odin, and is then slain by Odin’s son Vidar, Jörmungandr is killed by Thor who dies from Jörmungandr’s venom.
• The battle causes widespread devastation, with fire engulfing the world and the skies darkening.
• What remains of the world sinks under the sea.

The End and A New Beginning:

• This is not the absolute end. A new world, purer and rejuvenated, emerges from the depths of the sea.
• Líf (woman) and Lífþrasir(man), who hid and survived Ragnarök, emerge to repopulate the Earth.
• Surviving gods like Vali, Vidar, and the sons of Thor, along with resurrected gods Baldr and Hoder, inhabit this new world, marking the beginning of a new era.

The term “Ragnarök” translates from Old Norse as “Fate of the Gods” or “Twilight of the Gods” and it represents a prophetic series of events, culminating in an apocalyptic. This narrative encompasses not only martial conflicts but also a succession of natural cataclysms, notably the conflagration of the cosmos and its subsequent submergence under water. Significantly, post-Ragnarök, the narrative foretells a rejuvenated world, emerging purified and fertile. In this renewed world, a conclave of surviving and returning deities is envisaged, alongside the re-population of the earth by two human survivors, Líf and Lífþrasir.

Further Reading / Viewing

Norse Sources

Lindow, John. Old Norse Mythology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Snorri Sturluson, and Jesse L. Byock, eds. The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology. London: Penguin, 2005. 

General Sources

Daly, Kathleen N., and Marian Rengel. Norse Mythology A to Z. 3rd ed. Mythology A to Z. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2010.