Ragnarok: The Parts They Play

Most of the characters I’ll be mentioning in this post have already been introduced in my previous posts. And now that I’ve talked with you about all of these fabulous characters, let’s kill them off! Well, alright, not all of them. Just Loki, Odin, Thor, and most of the rest of the pantheon. Oh, and humanity, of course!

Ragnarok is said to first be experienced by the humans, because they experience three years during which the whole world is at war. After the war will come a Fimbul winter, which is about as long as a winter in Game of Thrones. The evil wolves Skoll and Hati catch and eat the Sun and Moon, both of which are gods. After this the stars fall from the sky, leaving total darkness.

The World Tree Yggdrasil soon begins to shake, causing massive earthquakes. These quakes set Loki free from his imprisonment, along with his wolf son, Fenrir, and Garm, the hound of Hel. Three massive roosters crow to alert the gods, the giants, and the dead that Ragnarok has come.

While the gods and the Einherjar, the valiant dead warriors who dwell in Valhalla, prepare for battle, Odin goes to consult Mimir. The Norns meet him there, their thread of life torn apart. No one knows what Mimir says to Odin, but he returns with a grim face and leads his army to war.

But who are they fighting, you might ask? Their foe is an army of the evil dead from Hel, led by Loki and his children, along with a creature named Surt, who is a fire god or fire giant depending on the text.

The two armies meet on the plains of Vigrid. Odin is quickly killed by Fenrir, who is then slain by one of Odin’s sons. Jormungand, who has broken free, is killed by Thor, who dies of the serpent’s venom. Loki and Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, kill each other. Tyr, a god who had lost one hand when Fenrir was being imprisoned, kills Garm but is in turn slain by him. Frey, a fertility god, fights Surt and is killed by the fire giant. With all of his foes defeated, Surt then sets the nine realms on fire, ultimately destroying them and himself.

So basically, the world ends in fire and in darkness - and not just our world, but all of the worlds. Super depressing, right?

Luckily for, well, everyone, there is a rebirth after all of this. The Sun had given birth to a daughter before her death, who takes her place as a new Sun. Thor’s two sons survive, as do other gods, including some of Odin’s brothers. From out of the ruins of Yggdrasil step a human man and woman, who were sheltered by the Tree. These survivors repopulate Asgard and Midgard. The forces of darkness had been slain during Ragnarok, so evil does not plague them now.

And that, my dear readers, is Ragnarok and its aftermath. Still depressing that just about everyone died, but at least there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

My next post will wrap up our discussion of Norse mythology for now, and then we move on to more familiar territory - Greek mythology! You know the drill: questions or comments can go below or be emailed to me. I’ll see you guys at the next post!