12
votes
Accepted
Does Hel have a role in Ragnarok?
None, as far as we know. She is not mentioned at all in either the poem Voluspa, which describes the event of Ragnarok, nor in Snorri's version of events in the Prose Edda. All he says is that when ...
- 5,878
11
votes
Why would Odin and Freyja send fallen men to Helheim?
When Ragnarök is described in Völuspá (stanza 34 and on) and Snorri's Edda (Gylfaginning, 55-56), there is very little said about those that are with Hel. The closest we get is that we are told that ...
- 6,006
8
votes
Accepted
Confusion regarding the telling of a chess game in the Völuspá (Ragnarök aftermath)
It's most certainly your translation that is a bit free.
In the original, the passage you are referring to talks about "gullnar tǫflur", 'golden tables' (stanza 58 in Codex Regius, 54 in Hauksbok; ...
- 6,006
8
votes
Could Ragnarok be considered to have occurred?
If you want to. The three years without summer, the Fimbulwinter, a portent of Ragnarök, has been speculated by some to have been a memory of the years 535-536, when temperatures dropped sharply and ...
- 6,006
6
votes
What happens to the Dwarves during Ragnarok?
The only mention of Dwarves during Ragnarokr I can find is this strange stanza (n°48) from the Völuspá (which can be found as well in the Gylfaginning):
What's with the Aesir?
What's with the ...
- 3,539
6
votes
How is the Hoddmímis holt able to protect humans from Ragnarök?
I just spent a little time on the online etymology dictionary: https://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=holt
Hoard means a safe place to hide.
Mimis' is a god of wisdom and is connected with the ...
- 61
6
votes
Could Ragnarok be considered to have occurred?
No. Ragnarok isn't just the fall of the Norse pantheon, it's the destruction of the entire world. The stories vary, but something apocalyptic like the whole earth being set on fire or the sky ...
- 229
5
votes
Accepted
Why does the dragon emerge at the dawn of the new world?
This is a really good question; it is one which even experts on Norse mythology has trouble finding a good answer for. Gro Steinsland, in Fornnordisk religion, lists three different suggested ...
- 6,006
5
votes
Accepted
What gender was the Midgard Serpent Jormungand?
Male.
Jörmungandr is referred to as a "he" in translations of the Prose Edda, such as (quotes, in both cases, from this text):
When they came to him, straightway he cast the serpent [Jörmungandr] ...
- 9,188
4
votes
Does Loki die at the end of Ragnarok?
Yes. Heimdall and Loki slay one another.
From the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlson in the Gylfaginning Ch 16, emphasis mine:
The Wolf shall swallow Odin; that shall be his ending But straight
...
4
votes
Accepted
Fate of Norns and their web
Unknown. Our main sources for Ragnarök are the Völuspá, the Vafþrúðnismál, and what Snorri retells of these. The Norns are introduced in verses 19-20 of Völuspá, but that is before Ragnarök starts, ...
- 6,006
3
votes
Accepted
What happens to the Dwarves during Ragnarok?
The fate of the dwarves is one of the minor mysteries of Ragnarok. Volupsa doesn't mention them after v. 48, although to be fair it's mainly concerned with the few gods who survive. Snorri is more ...
- 5,878
3
votes
Could Ragnarok be considered to have occurred?
As far as I know this heavily depends on whether you consider later additions to the mythology by Christian missionaries to be canon.
The original idea was to describe the end of the worlds that hasn'...
- 308
3
votes
Did the Norse goddesses fight during Ragnarok?
Unfortunately, almost all we know about it is written in texts that were written after the viking age, so it is difficult to say that we have the full picture of what old norse people believed. No ...
- 364
3
votes
Accepted
Does Loki grow old and infirm while chained beneath the serpent?
In the Poetic Edda, it's clear that Loki is different from the Aesir. He descended from Ymir, whereas the Aesir did not. It's possible that his rules are different from the Aesir's, too. For ...
- 46
3
votes
Does Loki grow old and infirm while chained beneath the serpent?
Loki isn't necessarily going without Iðunn's apples. Although it is not specified anywhere, it seems reasonable to assume that his wife Sigyn is feeding him. The Gylfaginning states that Loki's ...
- 7,786
2
votes
Does Loki die at the end of Ragnarok?
According to Snorri's texts, yes, but it is the only source of such a story. He says:
"Loki á orrostu við Heimdall, ok verðr hvárr annars bani."
My own translation:
"Loki goes to battle against ...
- 364
2
votes
Could Ragnarok be considered to have occurred?
Yes, there might be a chance that ragnarok has already happened and we are living in a repopulated world. But according to what I have read, ragnarok is a cycle that will always occur and replenish ...
- 21
2
votes
Could Ragnarok be considered to have occurred?
It seems to me, as a student of mythology and an artist, that Ragnarök has indeed already happened. Yes the world is "destroyed", but it is then renewed and repopulated by humans. It seems quite clear ...
- 14.1k
2
votes
What is the meaning of Ragnarök for the Germanic peoples?
There is a common misconception that Ragnarok is the full end. But in all truth, Ragnarok is only the end of the gods or Twilight of the gods. And not even all of them. Mainly Tyr, Odin, Loki, Freyr, ...
- 41
1
vote
Why would Odin and Freyja send fallen men to Helheim?
There are basically three places to go after you die:
Valhalla: The Aesir paradise
Vanaheim: The Vanir paradise
Helheim: The common Hell
The dead who die in glorious battle are sent to either Valhalla ...
- 141
1
vote
What is the meaning of Ragnarök for the Germanic peoples?
There is some controversy in Norse studies about whether the idea of Ragnarok originates in paganism or if it was the result of Christian influence on the Nords at that time. There is a good argument ...
- 176
1
vote
Confusion regarding the telling of a chess game in the Völuspá (Ragnarök aftermath)
I just did some digging on the same, after listening to Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology which similarly to the text you read.
I came across an article by Sigurd Grieg in Norsk Sjakblad from 1936 which ...
- 111
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