Will the world end in less than 50 days?
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory.
The event is attested primarily in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In the Prose Edda, and a single poem in the Poetic Edda, the event is referred to as Ragnarök or Ragnarøkkr (Old Norse “Fate of the Gods” or “Twilight of the Gods” respectively), a usage popularized by 19th-century composer Richard Wagner with the title of the last of his Der Ring des Nibelungen operas, Götterdämmerung (1876).
THE RAGNARÖK APOCALYPSE
- Ragnarök, which translates to ‘Doom of the Gods’, is due to be preceded by the ‘winter of winters’.
- Vikings believed that prior to the apocalypse three freezing winters would follow each other with no summers in between.
- All morality would disappear and fights would break out all over the world, signalling the beginning of the end.
- The wolf Skoll would then devour the sun, and his brother Hati would eat the moon, causing stars to vanish from the sky.
- Norse mythology experts have calculated that this is due to take place on February 22, 2014.
- On this day, the god Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir and the other ‘creator’ gods.
- There will be huge earthquakes, the sea will rear up and the soil and the sky will be stained with poison.
- The Earth will sink into the sea, paving the way for a new utopian world with endless supplies.
The end of the world was signalled in York in November 15, as a horn was blown to herald the beginning of the apocalypse
Ragnarok, which translates to ‘Doom of the Gods’, is due to be preceded by the winter of winters.
Vikings believed, prior to the apocalypse, three freezing winters would follow each other with no summers in between.
The wolf Skoll would devour the sun, and his brother Hati would eat the moon, causing stars to vanish from the sky and the Earth to be thrown into eternal darkness.
Norse mythology experts have calculated that Vikings believed this will take place on February 22, 2014.
On this day, the god Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir and the other ‘creator’ gods.
(To the right: ‘Then the Awful Fight’, by George Wright in 1908, depicts the final battle of the gods)