Ragnorak

Ragnorak The End

A few videos to summarize the events

The Beginning of the End

Fimbulvetr, wars among people and even feuds amongst families, and the abandonment of all morals and goodness

Although there is no exact order to the beginning of the end events, 3 important things will occur. There will be a 3 year winter: Fimbulvetr, with no springs or summers, nothing will grow, and the world will be covered by darkness. There will be large scale wars amongst mortals, even families will turn on and fight against one another. Also, all signs of morality, goodness, and righteousness will disappear.

Next, Skoll and Hati will finally catch and devour the Sun and Moon and plunge the World into darkness. With no Sun or Moon, the stars will also vanish from the sky.

Three separate roosters will crow to announce the final battle. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the dead.

What will the Bad Guys do?

Yggdrasil will be shaken from it's roots to it's top, resulting in massive earthquakes in Midgard. The shaking of the World Tree will sever the bonds of Loki and Fenrir, who will be released to begin the final battle.

The sea will overflow and great tidal waves will flood the land as Jormungander moves towards land. It will also use it's venomous breath to poison both the land and air.

Jormungander's swimming will raise the ship Nagflar and many giants will set sail for the final battle. It is a ship comprised of the dead's finger and toe nails, as well as other body parts. Another ship will set sail from Hel with Loki as it's captain. It will carry the dead who were offered freedom from Hel in exchange for fighting for Loki.

Surt will lead the fire giants from Muspleheim against the Gods and mortals. His fire sword, which is equal to the sun itself, will burn and destroy anything in its way

What will the Good Guys do?

Heimdall will sound his great horn to announce the end of time. Valhalla will be opened and all Gods of Asgard, the Heroes of Valhalla, dwarves, elves, and other beings of good will proceed to the final battle

The Final Battle

Even though the Gods all know their fate, they will still face off against their predetermined foes. Tragedy will befall them.

Odin will face off against Fenrir. The battle will go on for a great time and be the most ferocious of all. Eventually, Fenrir will devour the All Father. When Odin dies, his son Vidar will kill the great wolf by ripping its jaws apart.

Thor will do battle against Jormungander. The two old foes will finally meet in combat. Thor will smash the head of the giant serpent, but after only 9 steps Thor will succumb to the poison and perish.

Heimdall and Loki, who have a long history of distrust and grudges in the Norse Epics, will square off. They will both destroy each other and die from their wounds.

The one-handed Tyr will do battle against Garm, the giant hound-beast that guards the gates of Hel. Tyr will kill the beast, but will die shortly after from his injuries.

Sutr will seek out the swordless Freyr. Unarmed, Freyr can do little against the Lord of Muspleheim, and Freyr will be the first God to fall on the battlefield.

Surt will then use his flaming sword to send fire in all directions. All the nine worlds will burn. Everything will be destroyed. Gods, Giants, dwarves, elves, and men all will perish in the flames.

The land of Middle Earth will sink back into the ocean as all the other 8 worlds are destroyed by fire. The great calm and silence of Ginnungagap will return. There will be nothing.

This great void will not be the end. Eventually, the Earth will rise once again from the sea, a more lush and fertile place than ever before. Baldur will return from the Underworld to usher in this new age as the head deity. Two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir will somehow survive the fires and will repopulate the Earth. Some gods will be reborn and men and gods will walk together in harmony. All evil is not vanquished however, the Nidhogg serpent still gnaws at the roots of Yddrasil....

A dramatization, but potentially how the story might have been first shared in Viking times

And so ends our class and discussions on Norse mythology! I hope you have enjoyed

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