In Norse mythology, Ragnarok ("fate of the gods"¹) is the battle at the end of the world. It supposedly would be waged between the gods (the Aesir, led by Odin) and the evils (the fire giants, the Jotuns and various monsters, led by Loki). Not only will the gods, giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the universe will be torn asunder. Norse mythology, Viking mythology or Scandinavian mythology refer to the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. ... See also the town of Battle, East Sussex, England Generally, a battle is an instance of combat between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. ... Many religious faiths teach that the end of the world, or Apocalypse, will occur at some unknown point in the future. ... The Aesir (Old Norse Æsir, singular Áss, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur) are the principal pantheon of gods in Norse mythology. ... For other meanings of Odin and Wotan see Odin (disambiguation) Odin (Old Norse Óðinn, Swedish Oden) is usually considered the supreme god of Germanic and Norse mythology. ... For other meanings of the word giant, see Giant (disambiguation) Giants are humanoid creatures of prodigious size and strength, a type of legendary monster that appear in the tales of many different races and cultures. ... In Norse mythology, Jotuns, Jötunn or Jotnar of Utgard, Jötunnheim were the race of Gods called giants (thurs), separated into categories such as frost giants (rime giants, hrimthurs), fire giants, sea giants and storm giants. ... Loki tricks Hod into shooting Baldur Loki Laufeyjarson, in Norse mythology is the god of mischief, a son of Farbauti and Laufey, and is described as the contriver of all fraud. Loki is in a sense both a god and a Jotun (compare: Greek Titans and Gigantes), since he mixed... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. ...

In the Viking warrior societies, dying in battles was a fate to admire, and this was carried over into the worship of a pantheon in which the gods themselves were not everlasting, but would one day be overthrown, at Ragnarok. Exactly what would happen, who would fight whom, and the fates of the participants in this battle were well known to the Norse peoples from their own sagas and skaldic poetry. The Völuspá (Prophecy of the Völva (female shaman)), the first lay of the Poetic (or Elder) Edda, dating from about 1000 AD, spans the history of the gods, from the beginning of time to Ragnarok, in 65 stanzas. The Prose (or Younger) Edda, written two centuries later by Snorri Sturluson, describes in detail what would take place before, during, and even after the battle. The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... A warrior is a person habitually engaged in combat. ... A society is a group of people living or working together. ... Pantheon (Greek: παν, pan, all + θεόν, theon, of the gods), in one sense, is the set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Greek mythology, Norse mythology. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... Alternative meanings: See Skald (disambiguation) The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ... Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Voluspa or Völuspá means The Prophecy of the Seeress and tells the story of the creation and coming destruction of the world related by a völva or seeress in what could be described as a shamanic trance to Odin. ... The völva, vala, wala ( Old High German), seiðkona, or wicce was a female shaman in Norse mythology, and among the Germanic peoples. ... The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... The Poetic Edda or Elder Edda is a term applied to two things. ... In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ... The Younger Edda, known also as the Prose Edda or Snorris Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. ... These pages contain the trends of millennia and centuries. ... Snorri Sturlason (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ...

What is unique about Ragnarok as an armageddon tale is that the gods already know through prophecy what is going to happen: when the event will occur, who will be slain by whom, and so forth. They even realize that they are powerless to prevent Ragnarok. But they will still bravely and defiantly face their bleak destiny. This article refers to the topic of prophecy as the purported telling of future events or supernatural revelations. ... Destiny concerns the fixed natural order of the universe. ...

The word Ragnarok is derived from the Old Norse word Ragnarök, which consists of two parts: ragna is the genitive plural of regin ("gods" or "ruling powers"), while rök means "fate", etymologically related to English "reach". Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. ... Plural is a grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Prelude

Below are the main events that signify the approach of Ragnarok:

1. the birth of three most evil and powerful creatures, the offspring of Loki and Angerboda, namely Jormungand, Fenrir and Hel, and the gods' action to confine them;
2. the death of Baldur, and the binding of Loki.

Details of these events can be found by following the links of the characters related to them. Loki tricks Hod into shooting Baldur Loki Laufeyjarson, in Norse mythology is the god of mischief, a son of Farbauti and Laufey, and is described as the contriver of all fraud. Loki is in a sense both a god and a Jotun (compare: Greek Titans and Gigantes), since he mixed... Angrboda (Old Norse Angrboða Harm-foreboding) appears in Norse Mythology as a giantess. ... In Norse mythology, the sea serpent Jormungand was a child of Loki and the giantess Angerboda. ... Fenrir biting off Tyrs arm In Norse mythology, The Fenrisulfr or Wolf of Fenrir, usually known simply as Fenrir in English, was a monstrous wolf, the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. ... Hel is the goddess of the underworlds, Helheim and Niflheim, in Norse mythology. ... In Norse Mythology, Baldur (also Balder, ON Baldr), the god of innocence, beauty, joy, purity, and peace, is Odins second son. ... Loki tricks Hod into shooting Baldur Loki Laufeyjarson, in Norse mythology is the god of mischief, a son of Farbauti and Laufey, and is described as the contriver of all fraud. Loki is in a sense both a god and a Jotun (compare: Greek Titans and Gigantes), since he mixed...

Portents

Ragnarok will be preceded by the Fimbulwinter, the winter of winters. Three successive winters will follow each other with no summer in between. As a result, conflicts and feuds will break out, and all morality will disappear. In Norse mythology and Asatru (according to the Eddas), Fimbulwinter is the immediate prelude to the end of the world, Ragnarok. ... In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ... Summer is one of the four temperate seasons. ... Morality is a complex system of general principles and particular judgments based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. ...

The wolf Skoll and his brother Hati will finally devour Sol and her brother Mani respectively, after a perpetual chase. The stars will vanish from the sky, plunging the earth into darkness. Binomial name Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 The Wolf or Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) is a mammal of the Canidae family and the ancestor of the domestic dog. ... In Norse mythology, Skoll was a wolf that chased the sun (Sol) through the sky every day, trying to eat her. ... In Norse mythology, Hati was a wolf that chased Mani, the moon, through the sky every night. ... In Norse mythology, Sol was the goddess of the sun, a daughter of Mundilfari and Glaur and the wife of Glen. ... In Norse mythology, Mani was the god of the moon and a son of Mundilfari and Glaur. ...

The earth will shudder, so violently that trees will be uprooted, and mountains will fall, and every bond and fetter will snap and sever, freeing Loki and his son Fenrir. This terrible wolf's slavering mouth will gape wide open, so wide that his lower jaw scrapes against the ground and his upper jaw presses against the sky. He will gape even more widely if there is room. Flames will dance in his eye and leap from his nostrils. A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. ...

Eggther, watchman of the Jotuns, will sit on his grave mound and strum his harp, smiling grimly. The red cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock², rust red, will raise the dead in Hel. In Norse mythology, Fjalar refers to two different beings. ... In Norse mythology, Gullinkambi (golden comb) was a rooster who lived in Valhalla, where he woke up the Einherjar every morning. ... Helgardh, also known as Hel (house of mists), shares a name with the goddess who rules it. ...

Jormungand, the Midgard serpent, will rise from the deep ocean bed to proceed towards the land, twisting and writhing in fury on his way, causing the seas to rear up and lash against the land. With every breath, the serpent will spew venom, staining the earth and the sky in poison. In Norse mythology, the sea serpent Jormungand was a child of Loki and the giantess Angerboda. ... For other things of this name, see Midgard (disambiguation). ... Serpent is a word of Latin origin (serpens, serpentis) that is normally substituted for snake in a specifically mythic context, in order to distinguish such creatures from the field of biology. ... Venom - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ...

From the east, the army of Jotuns, led by Hrym, will leave their home in Jotunheim and sail the grisly ship Naglfar, which will be set free by the tsunami and flooding, towards the battlefield of Vigrid. In Norse mythology, Hymir was a giant, a husband of Hrod. ... Jotunheim is the world of the giants (two types: rock and frost, collectively called Jotuns) in the Norse Mythology. ... In Norse mythology, Naglfar was a ship made entirely from the nails of the dead. ... In Norse mythology, Vigrond (battle shaker) is the battlefield, on a plain, where Ragnarok will be fought. ...

From the north, a second ship will set sail towards Vigrid, with Loki, now unbound, as the helmsman, and the ghastly inhabitants of Hel as the deadweight.

The world will be in uproar, the air will quake with booms, blares and echoes. Amid this turmoil, the fire giants of Muspelheim, led by Surt, will advance from the south and tear apart the sky itself as they too, close in on Vigrid, leaving everything in their path going up in flames. As they ride over Bifrost, the rainbow bridge will crack and break behind them. Garm, the hellhound bound in front of Gnipahellir, will also get free. He will join the fire giants in their way towards Vigrid. Muspelheim (Flameland), also called Muspel, is the realm of fire in Norse Mythology. ... In Norse Mythology, Bifrost Bridge is the bridge leading from the realm of the mortals Midgård to the realm of the gods Asgård, which the gods travel daily to hold their councils under the shade of the tree Yggdrasil. ... In Norse mythology, Garm was a huge four-eyed dog that guarded Helheim, the land of the dead, living in a cave called Gnipa. ...

So all the Jotuns and all the inmates of Hel, Fenrir, Jormungand, Garm, Surt and the blazing sons of Muspelheim, will gather on Vigrid. They will all but fill that plain that stretches one hundred and twenty leagues in every direction. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Meanwhile, Heimdall, being the first of the gods to see the enemies approaching, will blow his Giallar horn, sounding such a blast that it will be heard throughout the nine worlds. All the Gods will wake and at once meet in council. Then Odin will mount Sleipnir and gallop to Mimir's spring and consult Mimir on his own and his people's behalf. Heimdall returns Brisingamen to Freya Heimdall (ON Heimdallr, the prefix Heim- means world, the affix -dallr is of uncertain origin, perhaps it means pole, perhaps bright) is one of the gods in the Norse Mythology. ... In Norse mythology, the Giallar or Gjallar (ringing horn) is the name of the horn that Heimdall, carries. ... Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir (Ardre image stone) In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odins magical eight-legged steed, and the first of all horses. ... Mimir was a primal god of Norse mythology whose head was severed during the war between the Aesir and the Vanir deities. ...

Then, Yggdrasil, the world ash, will shake from root to summit. Everything in earth and heaven and Hel will quiver. All Aesir and Einherjar will don their battle dresses. This vast host will march towards Vigrid and Odin will ride at their head, wearing a golden helmet and a shining corselet, brandishing Gungnir. Yggdrasil In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil (also Mimameid and Lerad) was the World tree, a gigantic tree, thought to connect all the nine worlds of Norse cosmology. ... In Norse mythology, Einherjar (or Einheriar) referred to the spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. ... In Norse mythology, Gungnir was the name of Odins spear. ...

The final battle

Odin will make straight for Fenrir; and Thor, right beside him, will be unable to help because Jormungand, his old enemy, will at once attack him. Freyr will fight the fire giant Surt, but will become the first of all gods to lose as he has given his own good sword to his servant Skirnir. It will still be a long struggle though, before Freyr will succumb. Tyr will manage to kill Garm, but will be so severely wounded that he will survive until after the world is destroyed in fire. Heimdall will encounter Loki, and neither survive the evenly-matched encounter. Thor will kill Jormungand with his hammer Mjollnir, but only be able to stagger back nine steps before falling dead himself, poisoned by the venom that Jormungand spews over him. Odin will fight with his mighty spear Gungnir against Fenrir but will finally be eaten by the wolf after a long battle. To avenge his father, Vidar will immediately come forward and place one foot on the wolf's lower jaw. On this foot he will be wearing the shoe which he has been making since the beginning of time; it consists of the strips of leather which men pare off at the toes and heels of their shoes. With one hand he will grasp the wolf's upper jaw and tear its throat asunder, killing it at last. Thors battle against the giants, by Marten Eskil Winge, 1872 Thor, Þór (ON), Þunor (OE), Donar or Donner (German) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder and lightning in Germanic and Norse Mythology, the son of Odin and Jord. ... Freyr is a very important god in Old Norse religion; not so much in Norse mythology as one might suppose, for there he actually appears in only one surviving story, but very much in the cult. ... In Norse mythology, Skírnir is Freyrs messenger and vassal. ... This article is about Tyr, the god. ... Mjolnir has inspired many works of art, such as this drawing. ... In Norse mythology, Vidar is the son of Odin and the god of silence, stealth, and revenge. ... Modern leather-making tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ... The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. ...

Then, Surt will burn the whole world with fire. Death will come to all manner of things. The sun will go black and the stars will be cast down from the heavens. Fumes will reek and flames will burst, scorching the sky with fire. The earth will sink into the sea.

Aftermath

After the destruction, a new earth will arise out of the sea, green and fair. Corn will ripen in fields that were never sown. The meadow Idavoll, in the now-destroyed Asgard, will have been spared. The sun will reappear as Sol, before being swallowed by Skoll, give birth to a daughter as fair as she herself. This maiden daughter will pursue her mother's road in the new sky. In Norse mythology, Idavoll was the central plain in Asgard. ... This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology. ... In Norse mythology, Skoll was a wolf that chased the sun (Sol) through the sky every day, trying to eat her. ...

A few gods will survive the ordeal: Odin's brother Vili, Odin's sons Vidar and Vali, Thor's sons Modi and Magni, who will inherit their father's magic hammer Mjollnir, and Honir, who will hold the wand and foretell what is to come. Baldur and his brother Hod, who dies prior to Ragnarok, will come up from Hell and dwell in Odin's former hall, Valhalla, in the heavens. Meeting at Idavoll, these gods will sit down together, discuss their hidden lore, and talk over many things that had happened, including the evil of Jormungand and Fenrir. In the waving grass, they will find the golden chessboards that the Aesir used to own, and gaze at them in wonder. (None of the goddesses were mentioned in various accounts of the aftermath of Ragnarok, but there are assumptions that Frigg, Freya and the other goddesses had survived.) For the Gabonese people, see Vili (people). ... In Norse mythology, Vali (ON Váli) was a child born of Odin and Rind, a giantess. ... In Norse mythology, Modi was the god of battle-rage and a son of Thor and Sif. ... In Norse mythology, Magni was a son of Thor and Jarnsaxa. ... In Norse mythology, Hönir was a very indecisive god and a member of the Aesir. ... Loki tricks Hod into shooting Baldur In Norse mythology, Hod (also Hodur, ON Hǫðr), was the god of darkness and winter, the blind brother of Baldur and son of Odin and Frigg. ... For other uses see Valhalla (disambiguation). ... In Norse mythology, Frigg or Frigga was said to be foremost among the goddesses, 1 the wife of Odin, queen of the Aesir, and goddess of the sky. ... Freyja in Wagners operas See Freya radar for German World War II radar. ...

Two humans will also escape the destruction of the world by hiding themselves deep within Yggdrasil—some say Hodmimir's Wood— where Surt's sword cannot destroy. They will be called Lif and Lifthrasir. Emerging from their shelter, they will live on morning dew and will repopulate the human world. They will worship their new pantheon of gods, led by Baldur. In Norse mythology, Lif (life) and Lifthrasir (eager for life) will be the only two to survive Ragnarok, the end of the world. ...

There will still be many halls to house the souls of the dead. According to the 'Prose Edda', another heaven exists south of and above Asgard, called Andlang, and a third heaven further above that, called Vidblain; and these places will offer protection while Surt's fire burns the world. According to both 'Eddas', after Ragnarok, the best place of all will be Gimli, a building fairer than the sun, roofed with gold, in the heaven. There, the gods will live at peace with themselves and each other. There will be Brimir, a hall on Okolnir ("never cold"), where plenty of good drink will be served. And there will be Sindri, an excellent hall made wholly of red gold, on Nidafjoll ("dark mountains"). The souls of the good and virtuous will live in these halls. Gimle (alternately Gimli), in Norse mythology, was where the survivors of Ragnarok were to live. ... Sindri is a town in the Indian state of Jharkhand. ...

The 'Prose Edda' also mentions another hall called Nastrond ("corpse strand"). That place in the underworld will be as vile as it is vast: no sunlight will reach it; all its doors will face north; its walls and roof will be made of wattled snakes, with their heads facing inward, spewing so much poison that it runs in rivers in the hall. Here, oath breakers, murderers, and philanderers will wade through those rivers forever. Nastrond, in Norse mythology, is a hall and region in Helgardh, spoken of as “the shores of the dead. ...

And, in the worst place of all, Hvergelmir, Nidhogg, also a survivor of Ragnarok, will bedevil the bodies of the dead, sucking blood from them. Hvergelmir is the wellspring of cold in Niflheim in Norse mythology. ... In Norse mythology, Nidhogg (tearer of corpses) was the monster (although sometimes a dragon) that ate the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasil and swore at the eagle living in the trees branches. ...

After all, in this new world, wickedness and misery no longer exist and gods and men will live together in peace and harmony. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit Midgard.

Other spellings

Old Norse form: Ragnarök Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

Alternative: Ragnarøkkr, Ragnarøk

Modern adaptations

• Final Battle - a part of J. R. R. Tolkien's artificial mythology
• Erik the Viking - a Terry Jones film parodying Norse mythology
• Ragnarok - a manhwa (Korean comic book) by Lee Myung-Jin loosely based on the legend
• Ragnarok Online - a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) based on the manwha

The term Final Battle in this article refers to the expression used in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... Erik the Viking (1989) is a film directed by Terry Jones about a viking called Erik(Tim Robbins), a tale of magic, heroism and destiny in a kind of Monty Python style. ... Terence Graham Parry Jones (born February 1, 1942) is a British comedian and writer. ... Ragnarok is a manhwa created by the South-Korean Lee Myung-Jin. ... Manhwa are Korean comic books. ... Ragnarok Online (RO) is an MMORPG created by Gravity Corporation of South Korea. ... A massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG is a multiplayer computer role-playing game that enables thousands of players to play in an evolving virtual world at the same time over the Internet. ...

Notes

1. Ragnarok does not mean "Twilight of the Gods"; that phrase is the translation of Götterdämmerung, which, in turn, is a German mistranslation of the word Ragnarok, arising from a confusion between Old Norse rök ("fate") and rökr ("twilight").
2. The name of this cock is nowhere stated. In Völuspá it is only referred to as "the rust-red bird": "And beneath the earth | does another crow, | The rust-red bird | at the bars of Hel".

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods -- see Notes) is the last of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ...