The term Ragnarök refers to the final battle in Norse mythology. The name comes from ragna (plural of gods) and rök (destiny). This battle has two sides, on the one hand the Æsir (led by Odin) and on the other hand the jotun (led by Loki) together with the fire giants (led by Surt). The Völuspá is a prophetic poetry of 65 stanzas written by the seer Völva that recounts the details of before, during and after the battle.
The poetry begins by describing the beginning of everything, the creation of the nine worlds held by the Yggdrasil. It is said that Ymir was the first living being and that from his body the other giants arose, from him the first god Buri, grandfather of Odin, Vé and Vili, was also born. The creation of Midgard is attributed to the children of Buri.
In Norse mythology, giants are seen as a primitive force of chaos and nature in its most destructive sense. A curiosity about the giants is that although they bear this name, some were not very tall and were represented with the same size as the gods. They are portrayed as non-humanoid beings with claws and fangs. Jörmundgandr and Fenrir are considered giants even though they are sons of the god Loki, their mother was a giantess named Angrboda. Even with the rivalry between gods and giants, there were several pairs formed by a god and a giant, such as: Njord and Skaði, Thor and Járnsaxa, among others.
The next race to originate from Brimir's blood and Blain's bones was the Dwarves. The human race are the relatives of Dvalinn born from Lofar. In verse 16 it says that although the men come from Lofar, this is from a lineage of dwarves.
What was the world like before Ragnarök?
Before Ragnarok comes Fimbulvetr, a series of three winters one after another with no summer in between. In this period the wolves Sköll and Hati will devour the brothers Sól and Máni, the stars and the sun disappearing, creating a period of darkness.
The Ragnarök
Ragnarok begins with a great earthquake that will result in Loki and Fenrir being released from their chains that locked them in Helheim. The giant serpent Jörmundgandr that dwells in the depths of the ocean is going to rise up in fury, causing the seas to lash against the land. The snake will also release its poison.
Hrym will lead a Jotun army to the battlefields of Vigrid with Naglfar, a ship made from the nails of dead men. Loki will also drive a boat to Vigrid. Surt will lead Muspelheim's fire giants that will burn everything in their path and split the sky in two near Vigrid. The army will ride on the Bifrost bridge that after crossing it, will break.
Heimdal will blow his horn, the Gjallarhorn, to notify the nine worlds of the enemy army's arrival. The gods will unite in council. After all Yggdrasil will tremble from the roots to the top of it, this tremor will be felt in all nine worlds. Odin will guide the Æsir and the Einherjar (spirits of warriors killed in battle) to Vigrid. Thor will be attacked by Jörmungandr. Odin will attack Fenrir. Freyr will fight Surt and will be the first of the gods to fall. Garm (the wolf that guards Helheim) will be killed by Tyr who will also die from a wolf bite.
Heimdall and Loki will fight each other and neither will survive this fight. Jörmundgandr will be killed by Thor who will also die poisoned by the snake's saliva. Odin and Fenrir go to fight, but Fenrir manages to devour Odin. Vidar (son of Odin) will manage to avenge the death of his father and kill Fenrir. Then the leader of the fire giants, Surt, will burn the entire universe, filling the air with toxic vapors, destroying the sky with fire and sinking the earth into the sea.
And what does the world look like after this battle?
It turns out that Sól before being devoured by Sköll gave birth to a daughter identical to her, which allowed a new heaven to arise. The survivors of Ragnarök are: Vidar and Vali (Odin's sons), Vili (Odin's brother), Magni and Modi (Thor's sons), Hœnir, Balder and Hödr. It is said that the dead before Ragnarök will gather in Valhalla, where they can discuss their great hidden knowledge. Two humans also survived, Líf and Lífthrasir, who will repopulate the human world and worship their new pantheon ruled by Balder.
After Ragnarök, the best described place for survivors is Gimlé, described as a place more beautiful than the sun. This building is in the sky and is covered in gold. It is said that gods and honest men will remain there. Souls of goodwill will live in Brimir and Sindri. Already the murderers, dishonest and incestuous will eternally swim in the rivers of Náströnd, made of snake venom, a part of the underworld where no ray of sunlight is able to reach. Hvergelmir is portrayed as the worst of all places, where Nidhogg (the dragon that lives in Niflheim) tortures and drains the bodies of the dead.
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