Ragnarök – Giants
• “Ragnarök” means the “Doom of the Gods,”
often incorrectly translated, as by Snorri and
Wagner, as “Twilight of the Gods.”
• Like other Indo-European mythologies, the
Norse gods are locked in an eternal battle with
monstrous beings which seem to represent the
forces of chaos and destruction – earthquakes,
storms, floods, etc.
• The Frost-Giants predate the Æsir and Vanir;
they possess great wisdom and power.
Ragnarök – Giants
• Unlike other mythologies, the Norse gods do not
control the entire cosmos; the Giants represent a
continual threat to the security of Asgard and
Midgard. Only the strength of Thor and the
wisdom of Odin keep the Giants at bay.
• Images of the Giants are contradictory; most are
hostile and bestial, though some are civil and
cultured and held in respect by the Æsir.
• Likewise, Giantesses are sometimes hideous and
monstrous, sometimes radiantly beautiful and
highly desirable, such as Freyr’s lover Gerd.
Ragnarök – Giants
• The relationship between the Giants and the Æsir
is complex and based on mutual distrust and
broken promises.
• The myth of the Building of the Walls of Asgard
(in Snorri’s Gylfaginning) illustrates the
problematic relationship:
• After the war between the Æsir and the Vanir,
the walls of Asgard were broken and needed to
be rebuilt to protect against the Giants.
• A man promised to build the walls, if in return
he were given the sun, moon, and Freyja.
Ragnarök – Giants
• Loki advises the Æsir to accept the offer, but the
man must finish the fortress without the help of
any man during one winter, or he will forfeit his
payment. They seal the deal with many witnesses
and oaths.
• The builder agrees and sets to work; his horse
Svadilfæri hauls huge blocks of stone in place,
and the man makes great progress.
• With three days left, the gods fear they will have
to sacrifice Freyja and spoil the heavens by
taking away the sun and moon.
Ragnarök – Giants
• The Æsir blame Loki for his poor advice; they
command him to think of a way to avoid
payment for the construction.
• Loki transforms himself into a mare in heat,
neighs at Svadilfæri, and lures the frantic stallion
into the woods so that no work is completed.
• Loki repeats this maneuver the next day, and
when the builder realizes he cannot finish the
construction, he loses his composure and reveals
himself to be a Mountain-Giant.
Ragnarök – Giants
• The Æsir do not consider an agreement with a
Giant to be binding and terminate the contract.
• Thor arrives and staves the skull of the builder,
effectively putting an end to any appeal.
• Loki disappears for some time, eventually
returning with his/her foal, the eight-legged
Sleipnir, best of horses (later claimed by Odin).
• Deceit and treachery, confrontation and violence
are the foundation of the rule of the Æsir and
their relationship with the Giants.
Ragnarök – Loki
• Loki is symbolic of and instrumental in
maintaining this balance of forces between the
Giants and the Gods. Acts as a mythic catalyst.
• Loki lives among the Æsir, but has important
family ties to the Giants and –like them–he
represents forces of disorder, instability, chaos.
• Odin attempts to control, or at least contain, the
danger of Loki, but is ultimately unable to do so.
• Loki has an affair with the Giantess Angrboda,
who gives birth to three monsters, Hel,
Jormungand and the Fenris wolf.
Ragnarök – Loki
• Snorri describes these three beasts in
Gylfaginning (p. 26-29).
• Jormungand is cast into the ocean, where it
grows so large it eventually encircles the earth.
• Hel takes her place in Niflheim as guardian of
the dead – those who died without glory.
• The Fenris wolf required a special binding
because he was too dangerous to let run free.
The god Tyr loses his hand by pledging falsely
that they would not try to capture him.
Ragnarök – Giants
• Although the Æsir dispose of these three
monsters, they persist as enemies that will
ultimately run free and destroy the Gods at
Ragnarök.
• The Doom of the Gods first appears in the
dreams of the fairest of the Æsir, young Baldr.
• The poem describing these dreams and Odin’s
attempts to interpret them, is Baldrs draumar,
not found in the Codex Regius, but from another
manuscript stemming from the same period.
Baldrs draumar
• The poem begins with Baldr’s sinister dreams,
which trouble the Gods, since they foresee
danger with such portents.
• Odin mounts Sleipnir and rides to Niflheim,
where he knows the grave of a sorceress; he
speaks a spell to revive the woman, who speaks
these corpse-words:
Which man is that, unknown to me
Who is making me travel this difficult road?
I was snowed upon, I was rained upon,
Dew fell on me, dead I’ve been a long time. (5)
Baldrs draumar
• Odin, disguising his name as “Way-Tame” asks
for the news from Niflheim:
For whom are the benches decked with arm-rings,
The dais so fairly strewn with gold? (6)
• The sorceress answers:
Here the mead stands, brewed for Baldr,
The shining liquid, a shield hangs above,
And despair over the Æsir.
Reluctantly I told you, now I’ll be silent. (7)
Baldrs draumar
Odin:
Don’t be silent, prophetess! I want to question you,
Until I know everything, I still want to know more:
Who will be Baldr’s killer
And steal the life from Odin’s son? (8)
Seeress:
Hod will dispatch the famous warrior to this place;
He will be Baldr’s killer
And steal the life from Odin’s son.
Reluctantly I told you so, now I’ll be silent. (9)
Baldrs draumar
• Odin continues to pose questions:
Who will bring about vengeance on Hod for this wickedness,
Who will bring Baldr’s killer to the funeral pyre? (10)
• Seeress:
Rind will give birth to Vali in western halls,
Odin’s son will fight when one night old;
He won’t wash his hands nor comb his hair,
Until he’s brought to the pyre Baldr’s enemy.
Reluctantly I told you, now I’ll be silent. (11)
• Odin poses one more question about the “girls who weep
for love” and the sorceress recognizes him as Odin.
Baldrs draumar
• The Sorceress, too, is revealed:
You are not Way-Tame, as I thought,
Rather you are Odin, the ancient sacrifice.
• Odin:
You are not a prophetess nor a wise woman,
Rather you’re the mother of three ogres. (13)
• Seeress:
Ride home, Odin, and be proud of yourself!
No more men will come to visit me,
Until Loki is loose, escaped from his bonds,
And the Doom of the Gods, tearing all asunder,
approaches. (14)
The Death of Baldr
• The death of Baldr is famous and is referred to in
many poems, though not in the Codex Regius.
• Snorri’s version in Gylfaginning is the bestknown; Saxo Grammaticus presents a very
different version in his History of the Danes. It is
impossible to tell which version is the more
ancient or the more “correct” one.
• The death and rebirth of a young god is a
common motif in many mythologies–some
mythologists see in Baldr a standard type of
resurrected god.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• After Baldr relates his dreams to the Æsir, it is
decided to request immunity for Baldr from all
kinds of danger.
• Frigg, his mother, receives vows from all things
not to harm her son. All agree, and Baldr
becomes impervious to injury.
• The gods amuse themselves by striking Baldr
who remains unharmed.
• Loki is upset and he plots to spoil their fun; he
transforms himself into an old woman.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Frigg tells the old woman:
“Weapons and wood will not hurt Baldr, I have
received oaths from them all.”
• Loki asks:
“Have all things sworn oaths not to harm Baldr?”
• Frigg replies:
“There grows a shoot of a tree to the west of Valhall.
It is called mistletoe, It seemed young to me to
demand the oath from.”
• Loki sneaks off, plucks a sprig of mistletoe and
shapes it into a dart, then returns to the hall.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Loki approaches Hod, the blind brother of Baldr,
and asks him why he is not playing the game of
pelting Baldr:
“Because I cannot see where Baldr is, and secondly
because I have no weapon.”
• Loki gives Hod the mistletoe dart and guides his
hand while he throws. Baldr falls dead instantly.
• The gods are outraged at this unequivocally evil
act, though because the hall is a place of
sanctuary, they will not exact vengeance at once.
Hod and Loki
The Death of Baldr
Images of Baldr, the fairest and most merciful:
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Frigg asks amid tears if there is any among the
Æsir who wishes to earn her love and favor by
riding to Hel and offering her a ransom to release
Baldr to the living.
• Hermod the Bold, Odin’s Boy, agrees to ride; he
takes Sleipnir and leaves for Niflheim.
• Meanwhile Baldr’s body is laid aboard his ship,
Hringhorni, largest of all ships. Too heavy to
launch, they send for a giantess, Hyrrokkin, who
shoves it into the ocean.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Baldr’s wife Nanna dies of grief and is placed
with him on the boat.
• While Thor is consecrating the funeral pyre, a
dwarf (Lit) gets in his way; Thor kicks him on
the boat and he is burnt as well.
• Baldr’s horse is brought and placed on the pyre
as well.
• Lastly, Odin approaches his son, places his armring draupnir on the pyre and whispers
something secretly into Baldr’s ear.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Hermod, meanwhile, races to Hel on Sleipnir.
• He crosses the Gioll bridge of glowing gold,
continues “downward and northwards on the
road to Hel.”
• Hermod comes to Hel’s gates, spurs on Sleipnir
who leaps clear over the fortress walls and
gallops into the hall, where he finds Baldr sitting
in the seat of honor.
• Hermod reports of the great weeping for Baldr
and requests that he be allowed to return to
Asgard.
The Death of Baldr – Snorri
• Hel replies that she must confirm that Baldr is
really as loved as Hermod claims:
“And if all things in the world, alive and dead, weep
for him, then he shall go back to the Æsir, but be
kept with Hel if any objects or refuses to weep.”
• Baldr gives Hermod draupnir, Odin’s arm-ring,
and he returns with Hel’s message: all things,
dead and alive, must weep for Baldr.
• Only one old giantess, Thanks, refuses to weep:
“Thanks will weep dry tears for Baldr’s burial. No
good got I from the old one’s son either dead or
alive. Let Hel hold what she has.”
Loki’s Quarrel – Lokasenna
• This poem is known only from the Codex Regius.
• Since the poem concludes with a reference to the
binding of Loki, it must take place sometime
after the death of Baldr.
• Sometimes referred to as the “Flyting of Loki,”
the poem is a series of formal insults between
Loki and rest of the Æsir.
• Many of Loki’s references are supported by other
myths, though some of them are obscure – or
possibly outright lies on his part?
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Lokasenna begins with a prose introduction; the
Æsir are feasting at Ægir’s hall, and Loki appears
not to have been invited:
Tell me, Eldir, before you step
A single foot forward,
What the sons of the glorious gods here inside
Are talking about over their ale. (1)
They discuss their weapons and their prowess in war,
The sons of the glorious gods;
Among the Æsir and the elves who are within
No one has a friendly word for you. (2)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki is outraged to be shunned and to see the
others enjoying themselves. He intends to crash
their party and “mix their mead with malice” (3):
Why are you so silent, you arrogant gods
Are you unable to speak?
Assign a seat and a place to me at the feast,
Or tell me to go away! (7)
• Bragi says that the Æsir will never let him join,
“for the Æsir know which men they should invite
to their splendid feast.” (8)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki appeals to his blood-brother Odin:
Do you remember, Odin, when in bygone days
We mixed our blood together?
You said you would never drink ale
Unless it were brought to both of us. (9)
• Odin feels compelled to keep his oath, and for the
sake of propriety lets Loki remain:
Get up then, Vidar, and let the wolf’s father sit at the feast,
Lest Loki speaks words of blame to us in Ægir’s hall.” (10)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki makes a toast mocking Bragi, the god of
poetry. Bragi tries to pacify him, but Loki
continues with his insults:
You’re brave in your seat, but you won’t do as you say,
Bragi the bench-ornament!
You run away if you see before you
An angry man, brave in spirit.” (15)
• This starts the rounds of flyting; a god speaks a
verse in defense of another, and Loki then turns
on him or her. He insults each of the Æsir, except
Thor who is absent.
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Idunn first speaks to defend Bragi:
I ask you, Bragi, to do a service to your blood-kin
And all the adoptive relations,
That you shouldn’t say words of blame to Loki
In Ægir’s hall. (16)
• Loki then turns to insult Idunn herself:
Be silent, Idunn, I declare that of all women
You’re the most man-crazed,
Since you placed your arms, washed bright,
About your brother’s slayer. (17)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Gefion then tries to calm Loki:
Loki knows that he’s joking
And all living things love him. (19)
• But Loki turns to insult her all the same:
Be silent, Gefion, I’m going to mention this,
How your heart was seduced;
The white boy gave you a jewel
And you laid your thigh over him. (20)
• Loki’s taunts to goddesses usually have to do
with their promiscuity.
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Some more of Loki’s taunts:
Be silent, Odin, you never know how to
Apportion honor in war among men;
Often you’ve given what you shouldn’t have given,
Victory, to the faint-hearted. (22)
• To which Odin replies:
Yet eight winters you were, beneath the earth,
A woman milking cows,
And there you bore children,
And that I thought the hallmark of a pervert. (23)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki returns the taunt of femininity on Odin:
But you once practiced seid on Samsey,
And you beat on the drum as witches do,
In the likeness of a wizard you journeyed among men,
And that I thought the hallmark of a pervert. (24)
• Frigg reprimands Loki, who reminds her painfully
of how he caused her son Baldr to be killed.
• Freyja then turns on Loki, calling him mad, the
doer of “ugly, hateful deeds.” (29)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki has special taunts for promiscuous Freyja:
Be silent, Freyja, I know all about you;
You aren’t lacking in blame:
Of the Æsir and the elves, who are in here,
Each one has been your lover. (30)
Be silent, Freyja, you’re a witch
And much imbued with malice,
You were astride your brother, all the laughing
gods surprised you,
And then, Freyja, you farted.” (32)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Njord comes to his daughter’s defense, saying it
is harmless if a woman takes a lover, but Loki
has born children, which for a man is perverted!
• Loki accuses Njord of sleeping with his own
sister to father Freyr (supposedly an ancient
practice of the Vanir).
• Loki then accuses Tyr of breaking oaths:
Be silent, Tyr, you can never
Deal straight with people;
Your right hand, I must point out,
Is the one which Fenrir tore from you. (38)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki insults the other gods, Freyr (42), Byggvir
the servant (44, 46), Heimdall (48), Skadi (50),
Sif (54), Beyla the handmaiden (56).
• Finally Thor returns from fighting Giants:
Be silent, you evil creature, my mighty hammer
Mjollnir shall deprive you of speech;
The rock of your shoulders I shall strike
from your neck,
And then your life will be gone. (57)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki taunts Thor, but Thor does not back down–he
vows to use Mjollnir to kill Loki once and for all.
• Loki finally decides he has gone as far as he can:
I spoke before the Æsir, I spoke before the sons of the Æsir
What my spirit urged me,
But before you alone I shall go out,
For I know that you do strike. (64)
Ale you brewed, Ægir, and you will never again hold a feast;
All your possessions which are here inside –
May flame play over them,
And may your back be burnt! (65)
Loki’s Quarrel -- Lokasenna
• Loki leaves the hall as quickly as he can.
• The poem concludes with a brief description of
Loki’s capture and binding.
• Loki flees to the waterfall of Franagr, turns himself
into a salmon, and hides from the gods.
• Odin spies him and sends the gods to capture him;
they fashion a net, drag the waters, and Thor
eventually seizes him by his hands–a myth
explaining why salmon taper toward their tail.
• Loki is then bound, as Skadi explains in the poem
(verse 49).
Loki’s Binding
Loki’s Binding
Ragnarök
• Information about Ragnarökr comes from
Volsupa and from Snorri’s Gylfaginning, whose
account is easier to follow. (see pp. 52-57)
• First will come Fimbulvetr, the Might Winter
lasting 3 years without a summer.
• There will be great battles and general social
anarchy; Snorri cites Voluspa 45.
• A wolf will swallow the sun, another wolf will
swallow the moon, the stars will disappear.
• Earthquakes will rattle the earth, all bonds will
break, Loki and his monster children will be free.
Ragnarök
• Naglfari, a ship in Niflheim constructed of dead
men’s nails will sail from its moorings and a
giant Hrym will captain it to battle the Æsir.
• Surt the Fire-Giant and the sons of Muspell will
travel from the south to battle the Æsir.
• When they arrive at Asgard, they will cross
Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, and it will break.
• Meanwhile, Loki, Hrym and the Frost-Giants
arrive at the vast plain Vigrid in Asgard and
prepare for battle.
Ragnarök
• The Æsir will not be idle while the Giants
prepare for Ragnarök.
• Heimdall will blow the Giallarhorn to awaken
all the gods, who will hold their last parliament.
• Odin will consult the Spring of Mimir one final
time to learn what he can of the battle.
• The Einherjar in Valhall leave their fighting and
feasting and take the field to fight against the
Giants.
Ragnarök
• The battle of Ragnarok is described as a series of
individual duels, much like the Iliad:
• The Fenris Wolf will swallow Odin.
• Odin’s son Vidar will tear apart his jaws and
thus kill Fenrir. (Importance of vengeance).
• Tyr will fight the Hell-Hound Garm, and they
will kill each other. (Repetition of Odin myth?).
• Thor will slay Jormungand, the Midgard
Serpent, but perish himself in its poison.
• Freyr will fight Surt, but fall because he gave
his sword to Skirnir.
Ragnarök
• Loki will battle his old adversary Heimdall, and
the two will slay each other.
• The Einherjar and the Giants will likewise
destroy each other in the battle.
• “After that Surt will fling fire over the earth and
burn the whole world.”
• At this point, Snorri cites the description of
destruction in Voluspa, verses 46-57.
The sun turns black, earth sinks into the sea,
The bright stars vanish from the sky;
steam rises up in the conflagration,
A high flame plays against heaven itself. (57)
Ragnarök
• But Ragnarök will not be the final end:
• The earth will rise above the ocean, green and
fair; crops will grow unsown.
• The sun and moon will have daughters who take
their places in the sky, just as fair as before.
• Vidar and Vali, Odin’s sons, will not be harmed,
and will return to Asgard.
• Modi and Magni, Thor’s sons, will arrive as
well, bringing Mjollnir with them.
• Hod and Baldr will leave Hel and join them.
Ragnarök
• The sons of the Æsir will sit down together,
discuss former times and the heroic deeds of
their fathers.
• They will find the golden checkers in the grass
that had belonged to the Æsir.
• Mankind, too, will survive the final battle. At a
place called Hoddmimir’s wood, two people will
be hidden unharmed: Lif and Lifthrasir, and their
food will be the dews of morning. And all people
will descend from them.
Images of Ragnarök
Images of Ragnarök
Images of Ragnarök