RAGNAROK

“Gotterdammerung”“Doom of the Gods”

Fimbulvetr

The winter of all winters Consists of three winters of the

harshest weather with no summer in between

It will cause fights among families and friends; morality disappears

It is the harbinger of the end

Darkness Skoll (a great wolf) will eat

the sun Hati (his brother) will eat

the moon Stars will vanish Three cocks crow

- Fjalar to the giants - The golden cock Gullinkambi to the gods- A third cock will raise the dead

Earthquakes

Will ravish the entire earth, breaking all bonds

Fenrir and Loki will get loose

The Bad Guys

Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, twists in fury and makes his way toward land.

Jormungand’s breath will stain the soil and the sky with poison.

The waves caused by his movements will free the ship Naglfar, which will allow the giants to sail towards the battlefield. This boat is made from dead men’s fingernails.

The Bad Guys

From the Hel, a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the inhabitants of Hel, with Loki as their leader.

The giant Surt will lead the fire giants to join forces against the gods.

Surt carries a fiery sword that scorches the earth.

All these monsters crossing Bifrost cause it to shatter

The Good Guys

Heimdall sounds his horn to call the sons of Odin and the warriors assembled in Valhalla

All will meet on the plain of Vigrid ("battle shaker") where the last battle will be fought.

The World Tree

Yggdrasil shakes from root to summit

The Battles

Odin vs. Fenrir Thor vs. Jormungand Freyr vs. Surt Tyr vs. Garm Loki vs. Heimdall

The Outcomes

Odin vs. Fenrir - the battle lasts forever, but ends in Fenrir swallowing Odin – Vidar (Odin’s son) will attack Fenrir using his bare hands and a special shoe made from the scraps of millions of shoe soles and rip his jaws apart

Good Guys 1 Bad Guys 1

The Outcomes

Thor vs. Jormungand – A Pyrrhic victory. Thor will kill the snake, but is fatally poisoned.

Good Guys 2Bad Guys 2

The Outcomes

Freyr vs. Surt – Freyr had given his sword to his servant, and is easy prey to the giant

Good Guys 2 Bad Guys 3

The Outcomes

Tyr vs. Garm – They kill each other

Good Guys 3 Bad Guys 4

The Outcomes

Loki vs. Heimdall – They kill each other

Good Guys 4 Bad Guys 5

Oops!

Surt, in a battle rage, will fling fire from his sword in every direction

The nine worlds burn, and pretty much everyone who survived the fighting on both sides will die

The earth sinks into the sea

The Aftermath

Afterwards, a new earth with plenty of resources rises from the sea

The sun, before being swallowed, gave birth. This new sun returns light to the world

Some gods survive: - Vili (Odin’s brother)- Vidar and Vali (Odin’s sons)- Móði and Magni (Thor’s sons) – They inherit Mjollnir- Hœnir- Balder and Hod return to live in Valhalla- No goddesses are mentioned but possibly Frigg, Freyja, and a few other goddess survived

Aftermath (continued)

Lif and Lifthrasir will be two humans that survive (they hid inside of Yggdrasil). They repopulate the earth.

Wickedness and misery will no longer exist

Gods and men will live happily together.

Nidhogg, a dragon that lives off the roots of Yggdrasil will survive and suck the blood of the dead in the new world

Bibliography

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/ragnarok.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k