Ragnarok: The Norse Doom of Powers

Ragnarok is a huge battle between the gods of the Norsemen and the armies of the Frost and Fire Giants. The word Ragnarok doesn’t mean “Twilight of the Gods” as some people think, but “Doom of the Powers” or “Destruction of the Powers”, where powers means gods (Encyclopedia Mythica, “Ragnarok”). Ragnarok is also called Gotterdammerung, which means the end of the cosmos in Norse mythology.

The gods foresee the battle, and they knew they would die, but they did nothing to stop it. They prepared for the battle of course, but didn’t try to prevent it. They have a god that will alert the others to the approaching armies. There is also a hall that housed dead warriors that will help fight alongside the gods and warrior angels that collect these dead men. The enemies of the gods also prepare for Ragnarok. The army will consist of Giants, monsters, and also their own dead mortals. They will start this final conflict that destroys the world (Mrs. Van, room 33).

There are 9 worlds in Norse mythology. The first one I will write about is Yggdrasil.

Yggdrasil, also called the World Tree, was a giant ash tree. It shelters all the worlds and connects them with each other. Under the three roots of the tree are the worlds Asgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim. There is three wells at the base of the tree: the Well of Wisdom, called Mimisbrunnr and is guarded by Mimir; the Well of fate, called Urdarbrunnr, which is guarded by the Norns; and the Hvegelmir, called Roaring Kettle, and is the source of many rivers. The four winds are represented by four deer, which run on the branches and eat leaf buds. There is also a squirrel named Ratatosk, which means “Swift Teeth” and is a notorious gossip, a tree snake called Vidofnir, and a golden cock that perches on the top of the tree. Serpents gnaw the roots of the tree on. On the day of Ragnarok, the fire giant Surt will set the tree on fire (encyclopedia encarta, “Yggdrasil”).

Next is the home of the Aesir gods: Asgard. This world is on the highest level of the Norse universe and is surrounded by a wall of stone. The walls were built by an entity called Blast, or Hrimthurs. He wanted for payment the sun and moon, as well as the hand of Freya. The gods agreed, if he could complete the job in six months. He used a magic horse and almost had the job completed when Loki, the trickster god, turned into a mare and lead the magic horse away. Blast couldn’t finish the job and wasn’t paid. In the middle of Asgard lies the plain of Idavoll, where the Aesir meet to decide important issues. Also found here are the worlds Alfheim, Vanaheim, and the hall Valhalla.

Valhalla means “Hall of the Slain”. It is watched over by Odin. The hall has five hundred and forty doors. The rafters are spears, the hall is roofed in shields and the benches are covered with breastplates. The western door is guarded by a wolf and an eagle hovers over the wolf. The people in the hall are warriors and heroes taken from the fields of battle after they had died. The Valkaries or warrior angels take them up. The warriors fight all day in training, and those that die are revived every night to eat good food and drink unending horns of mead. When Ragnarok comes, the warriors will march out of Valhalla to do battle for the Norse gods (Myths and Folk Tales, pg. 132).

Midgard is the world of mortals. All the humans live here. There is a defensive fortress in the middle portion of the earth that was to protect mankind from the giants. Midgard is on the same level as Nidavellir, Svartalfheim, and Jotunheim.

Connecting Midgard to Asgard is a bridge called Bifrost. It was made of three colors with magic and the great skill of the Aesir and is incredibly strong. Bifrost is the only way into Asgard, so it is guarded by the god Heimdall, the watchmen of the gods. He is guarding the bridge from the Giants, who know this is the only way into Asgard. When Ragnarok takes place, the bridge will collapse.

Helheim, also called the House of Hel, is one of the nine worlds (Encyclopedia Mythica, “Helheim”). It is ruled by the hideous daughter of the god Loki, Hel. Her top half is beautiful, but her bottom half is shriveled and old, and looks diseased. Helheim is a cold, dark and misty place of the dead located in the world of Niflheim, on the lowest world of the Norse universe. The river Gjoll keeps all inhabitants, the dead, from leaving. Once someone enters Helheim, not even the gods can leave. Those who die of old age, disease, and those who didn’t die in battle are sent here. The hounds Garm and Modgud guard the entrance to Helheim. The giant Hraesvelg, which means corpse eater, sits at the edge of the world, overlooking Helheim. The god Balder is sent here after his death.

Alfheim, or elf home, is located on the highest level of the Norse universe. Alfheim is the palace of the god Freyr and homeland of the elves of light. Although they have no part in Norse myths other than being mentioned, they play important parts in other myths, such as in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Fire Giants live in a land called Muspellheim. It is also called the home of desolation. It is a land of fire and is opposite the land of ice, called Niflheim. The fire giant Surt rules Muspellheim.

Vanaheim is the home of the Vanir gods, which are the kin of the Aesir (worlds.html).

Niflheim, or the house of mists, is covered in icy fogs and mists, as well as darkness and cold. It is on the lowest level of the universe and after Ragnarok, there will be a hall here for murders, oath breakers, and philanderers (encyclopedia mythica, “Niflheim”).

Svartalfheim was the abode of dark elves, also called dwarves. This world is underground (worlds.html).

Nidavellir was another underground abode of dwarves. Both dwarf people had a hand in creating objects for the gods (worlds.html).

Jotunheim is the homeland of the frost giants and rock giants; it is located in Midgard. The river Lving, which never freezes over, separates this world from Asgard. It is a snowy place that also holds Mimir’s well of wisdom. Thrym rules Jotunheim, and the stronghold Utgard, which is the chief city in Jotunheim, is ruled by Utgard-Loki (encyclopedia mythica, “Jotunheim”).

There were many different gods, giants, and monsters that were involved in this doom of powers (Myths and Folklore, pg. 71). All the original gods will die, and only their children will survive, as well as the giant Surt.

There are two different kinds of gods in Asgard, the Aesir and Vanir. The Aesir are warrior gods. The All-Father, Odin rules over these gods. Some other gods that are Aesir are Balder, Freyr, Heimdall, Hod, Thor, and Loki. The word Aesir might have been derived from the old-Teutonic word Ase, the common word for “god”.

The Vanir were originally a group of nature and fertility gods that were the mortal enemies of the Aesir. The Vanir were considered to be the bearers of luck, youth, fertility, health, wealth, and masters of magic. The two types of gods used to war constantly, but stopped so they could fight their mutual enemies. They traded hostages and people as gifts, and since then, have been on peaceful terms (encyclopedia mythica, “Vanir”).

Odin was called many things: The All-Father, Woden, Wodan, and Wontan. He was the god of war and death, as well as poetry and wisdom. To learn nine powerful songs and eighteen runes, he hung on the world tree for nine days, pierced by his own spear. He can make the dead speak, and uses this to question the wisest men ever to live. From his throne in Valhalla he watches over the nine worlds. Two ravens, Huginn and Muninn bring tidings to him. He has a spear called Gugnir, which never misses its target and the ring Draupnir, which every ninth night eight new rings appear. He also has an eight-legged steed named Sleipnir. He traded one of his eyes for a drink at the well of wisdom, and gained the ravens. On the day of Ragnarok, he will be killed and eaten by the wolf Fenrir. Followers of Odin are known to have been berserks; people that would do battle without weapon and bare-chested, and fight to the end.

Thor was god of lightning and order. He was the protector of the Norsemen and probably the most popular god, even more popular than Odin, who demanded human sacrifices. He has a chariot pulled by two goats and a hammer called Mjollnir, which broke everything it hit. He also had a belt that doubled his strength. He kills his old enemy, Jormungand, the World Serpent, then dies shortly after by the dragon’s venom.

Balder is god of light, joy, purity, beauty, innocence and reconciliation. He was loved by all and considered to be the best of the gods. He was invulnerable to almost all objects, and his death was the first even in a series of events that started Ragnarok. He is killed by Hod, with the help of Loki.

Loki is one of the major gods. He is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey. He is considered one of the Aesir, but is their enemy on occasion. He is connected with fire and magic, and can change his shape. He is handsome and looks friendly, but is evil. He is craft and malicious, but also heroic. Loki causes the death of Balder, and for his punishment, he is chained to three large boulders and a poisonous snake drips venom onto his face. Sigyn, his goddess wife, catches the venom in a bowl, but every now and then, the bowl must be emptied, and the poison then falls on Loki’s face, causing him pain. He twists and writhes, making the earth shake. On the day of Ragnarok, he will break his chains and lead the giants against the gods.

Hod is the blind god responsible in part for Balder’s death. He is god of darkness and winter, and son of Odin and Frigg, which makes him Balder’s brother! Vidar, another of Odin’s sons, who is the god of revenge, kills him.

Heimdall is called the watchmen of the gods. He has nine mothers and was born at the end of the world and raised by the force of the earth, seawater, and the blood of a boar. He has gold teeth and carries the horn Gjall. He guards Bifrost, and on the day of Ragnarok, he will sound his horn and call the gods to do battle with the giants. He kills Loki in the great battle, but Loki causes serious enough wounds to kill Heimdall as well. Heimdall also created the three races of mankind: serfs, peasants, and warriors.

Tyr was called a “mean” god. Not much is said about him except in Ragnarok, he kills Garm, the hound from hell, but dies from wounds himself later.

Vidar is the son of Odin and the giantess Grid. He is the god of silence and revenge, and second strongest of the gods. At Ragnarok, he will kill the wolf Fenrir after it eats his father, Odin. He will kill the wolf with his bare hands, by pressing one foot on the wolf’s lower jaw and taking hold of the other one and tear Fenrir apart. When Ragnarok is over, he will be one of the new rulers of the gods.

Freyr is the first to be killed by Surt. He had a sword that fought on it’s own, but he gave that to his shield bearer as a reward for making Gerd his wife. Without weapons, Freyr dies easily.

Vili doesn’t do much in the battle when it comes to fighting the horrendous creatures, but he, as well as his brother and the sons of Thor all survive and start a new world.

Ve is another one of Bor’s sons, along with Vili and the others; they create the new world.

On the side of evil are the giants, monsters, and Loki, who I have discussed already, as well as people sent to Hel.

One of the monsters is the Hound from Hel: Garm. Garm, like Cerberus, guards the entrance to a place of the dead. While Cerberus guarded Hades, Garm guards Hel. He has four eyes and a chest drenched with blood. He lives in the Gnipa-cave. Anyone who has given bread to the poor can appease him with a Hel cake. One the day of Ragnarok, the hound will go do battle with the gods. Tyr will kill him, but Tyr will die of the wounds this hellhound inflicts on him.

Jormungand, also called the World Serpent was in fact a huge dragon. He is one of the three children of Loki and the Giantess Angrboda. Odin threw the serpent into the ocean when it was younger, but the serpent was already so big, it spanned the world, which also gives it the name Midgard Serpent. It lies in wait in the deep ocean where it bites its’ own tail and causes trouble. It waits for Ragnarok. At the time of the titanic battle, Jormungand will do battle Thor, and be killed. Unfortunately, Thor will die of the dragon’s poison shortly after.

Fenrir is one of the most deadly of enemies, and is credited with slaying and feeding on Odin, the All-Father. He is a gigantic monster in the shape of a wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and Angrboda. The gods learned the prophecy that the wolf and his family would be responsible for the destruction of the world. They tricked Fenrir into a trap that kept it bound, and only Tyr dared to feed and take care of the wolf.

Fenrir was tricked into the trap through a dare. The gods dared Fenrir to show he could break through some chains. The wolf did this easily and the gods went back to the dwarfs for better chains. Fenrir kept breaking chains until he got wary. The last chain looked too thin to bother with, so Fenrir wouldn’t break it until he felt the gods doubted his strength. Fenrir said that he would be allowed to be chained up for the test only if a god would place a hand in his mouth. Tyr agreed, and Fenrir was chained up. When he couldn’t break the chains, he bit off Tyr’s hand. The gods carried Fenrir to a rock a mile under the earth and left him there, They left a sword in between his jaws to keep him from biting. On the day of Ragnarok, Fenrir will break his chains and join the giants. He will kill Odin and be killed by Vidar (World Mythology textbook, 208-213).

Skoll and Hati Hrodbitnisson play an important part in the battle of Ragnarok: they are one of the events that take place before the battle. Skoll chases the sun, and Hati the moon, which is why they move across the sky. At Ragnarok, Skoll will swallow the sun, and Hati the moon, brining total darkness to the world.

Nidhogg is a dragon. He will survive the battle and continue to gnaw on the bodies of the dead in Hel.

The giants were evil creatures that were the god’s worst enemies. They come in three varieties, Rock, Frost, Sea, and Fire. The rock and frost giants live in Jotunheim and the Fire giants live in Muspelheim, I do not know about the sea giants except for one, Hymir.

The first giant I talk about is Hymir. He is a sea giant that lives at the edge of heaven. Hymir has a ship, named Naglfar, which was made out of the nails of the dead. During the flood that precedes Ragnarok, the ship will be freed. The evil creatures will board the ship and sail for Asgard, to do battle with the gods, with Hymir as commander (encyclopedia mythica, Hymir).

Surt is the ruler of the fire giants. He lives in Muspelheim, the world of fire. He stands there ever alert, brandishing his fiery sword, which is brighter than the sun. At Ragnarok, he kills Freyr and burns the world. He burns the tree Yggdrasil and when he rides across Bifrost, the pounding hooves of his horse shatters the bridge.

Only two humans survive this incredible battle, Lif and Lifthrasir. They hid themselves in Hodmimir’s Forest, the only thing Surt can’t burn down. They sleep through the destruction of the earth, and when they wake, the earth is green and vibrant again. The two humans will become the parents of the new race of the world.

There will be many things that happen before Ragnarok occurs. The axe and sword ages will take place. Weapons will be wielded and destroyed; following it is a wind-age and a wolf-age before the doom of the powers (alpha.barentsnett, Twilight of the Gods). Society will also collapse into evil. Bonds of kinship will become meaningless and brother will kill brother; murder, incest, and intrigue will become commonplace (Myth and Meaning, 78). The snow and cold winds of winter will ravage the earth for three years, with no summer to soften the blow (Myths and Folk Tales, 131). Lastly, three months of earthquakes will pound the land, freeing Loki, the leader of evil’s armies.

One event that takes place a long time before all this is the death of a god. Balder, the god of everything good and son of Odin and Frigg was the unlucky god. Frigg had gone to all the worlds and made everything promise not to hurt him. Thus, the gods found a new game: Bounce Stuff Off Balder. They would throw axes, rocks, anything at him, and watch as it didn’t even hit him. Loki was jealous of Balder. He changed his appearance to that of an old woman and greeted Frigg. She went into a conversation with the goddess and found out that Frigg had not made a small sprig of mistletoe promise, thinking it was too small to hurt anyone. Loki left, returned to his shape and found the mistletoe. He formed it into a dart and looked for an accomplice. He saw the blind god Hod standing off on the side of all the fun. Loki approached him and asked if Hod would like to join in the fun, that Loki would help him aim, and even had a weapon for Hod to throw. Loki aimed Hod’s hand at Balder and Hod threw the small dart. It pierced Balder’s chest and he dropped dead. While the gods wept, Odin sent Hermond to Hel, goddess of death to plead for Balder’s return. Hel agreed to send Balder back if the gods could make everything weep for Balder. Frigg bid everything to weep for Balder, and all did but a single Giantess. This Giantess was Loki. Balder had to stay in the underworld and the gods were angry. Hod had to pay the price for his part in the crime, and was killed by Vidar, god of revenge. Loki tried to escape punishment by hiding. He lived in a small hut like a hermit, and every day; he would turn himself into a fish and hunt in the water for food. The gods found him one day, and as Loki tried to jump down a waterfall in the form of a trout, the gods caught him in a net, which is ironic, because Loki invented nets. Loki was chained to a boulder and had a poisonous snake drip venom on his face. His goddess wife, Sigyn, who was still faithful to him, held a bowl over his face to catch the venom. Unfortunately, the bowl would fill and Sigyn would have to go outside to dump it. The poison would fall on Loki’s face and he would twist and writhe, causing earthquakes. At Ragnarok, the three months of earthquakes will free Loki to attack the gods (encyclopedia of World Mythology, “Balder”).

Finally, the great battle itself. The doom of powers, the destruction of the cosmos: Ragnarok! The wolves Skoll and Hati will eat the sun and moon, plunging the earth into darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky and 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 to do battle. The earth will shake and Fenrir will break his chains. Jormungand will release its’ tail and swim to land, with every breath it breaths, poison is spewed forth, poisoning the sky and soil of Midgard. The waves caused by the world serpent will free the ship Naglfar, with Hymir as the commander; he will carry the giants to Asgard. A second ship will sail, carrying the dead with Loki as their Helmsmen. The fire giants, lead by Surt, will leave Muspelheim in the south and ride Bifrost to Asgard, shattering the bridge. Heimdall will see all this, and give a blast from his horn, calling the gods to arms. The dead warriors and heroes in Valhalla, hearing the horn, will march out of the hall, and to battle. All over the nine worlds, gods, giants, dwarves, demons, elves, and the dead will ride towards the plain of Vigrid in Asgard, for the final battle.

Odin will engage Fenrir and Thor will fight his ancient enemy, Jormungand. Odin is slain and eaten by Fenrir, but Vidar will avenge his dead by killing Fenrir. Thor will slay the serpent, but die of the poison the world serpent had put into him. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who quickly succumbs to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will kill the hellhound Garm, but die of wounds shortly after. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies will slay each other in battle. Surt will then sling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish, the earth will sink into the sea. The Yggdrasil will be a blazing inferno and the sky will fall into a pit of flame (encyclopedia mythica, Ragnarok).

A new beginning will be made, though. A new earth will emerge, and the two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir will awake in the forest of Hodmimir, and start a new civilization of humans. Odin’s sons Vidar and Vali, as well as Thor’s sons, carrying their father’s hammer, Mjollnir will meet with Bor’s sons, Vili and Ve. They will find that Balder and Hod had been returned from Hel, and all will start a new race of gods, a new race for the new earth. They will recall the past, and Ragnarok, and treasures that once belonged to the gods will be found scattered on the plain of Vigrid, and they will look upon these in amazement. Gimle will once more house the gods in peace and bounty. Good and evil, however, will not cease to exist. There will be a region in Hel called Nastrond, the shore of the dead. The dragon Nidhogg had survived the fiery doom and continues to gnaw on the bodies of the dead. And of the Yggdrasil, from the great ash that was destroyed, new rays of light will come from the skies above, for, a daughter was born by the sun before the wolf Skoll swallowed her in the dawn of Ragnarok (alpha.barentsnett, Twilight of the Gods). This is how it all has ended; and this is how the world begins.

The gods of the Norse were capable of dying and did die. They knew they would, and did not even try to change the fate of this. They did prepare though, as I have shown you. They created Valhalla and magic weapons that would enable them to fight the forces of evil once they attacked. They knew the prophecies, that Fenrir and his family would cause the destruction of the gods and the worlds, that the death of balder was the first, and earliest signs that the end was near, and did nothing to stop it. The gods accepted their fate and did what they could in the meantime. The gods prepared, trained, fought, and died alongside the rest of the world and its’ people.