Before Ragnarok: Horrifying Fimbulwinter In Norse Mythology Was Based On Real Events

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - In Norse mythology, Ragnarok (Ragnarök) is the world's end as the Vikings knew it.

The concept of fate dominates Norse mythology, and to the Norse people, fate was a fact of life that could not be avoided or changed.

This immutable concept culminates in Ragnarok (Ragnarök) – “the darkness of the gods,” the coming destruction of the world, whose inevitability is impossible to fight with.

Ragnorok represents the world undergoing major upheaval and some dramatic changes that will take place.

There are going to be warning signs that Ragnarok is coming. One of them is horrifying Fimbulwinter. It is an extremely cold and long winter that lasts three years without a summer.

Image credit: ex3me - Pixababy - Public Domain

During those three years, there will be many wars, and all people and animals will perish in the end. There will only be two survivors, Líf and Lífþrasir, who will live in the forest of Hoddmímis holt.

In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other Nordic countries, the term Fimbulvinter is also used to refer to an unusually cold and harsh winter.

The devastating Fimbulwinter (‘The Great Winter’) has long been considered nothing but a myth, but this view has changed in recent years.

Scientists are now seriously considering the possibility the Fimbulwinter described in Norse mythology was based on real events.

Fimbulwinter is described in the first part of the Poetic Edda, an unnamed collection of Old Norse anonymous poems, which is different from the Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson (1179 – 1241), a famous Icelandic historian.

"Odin and Fenriswolf, Freyr and Surt" (1905) by Emil Doepler via wikipedia

In the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda, Swedish King Gylfi, the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia, visits a hall where a triple throne confronts him at the home of the gods, one being seated and occupied by another.

He asks them what the gods know about the Fimbulwinter. The three gods tell him there will be three winters in a row and no summer in between.

The gigantic monter-wolf Fenrir will come loose. In Norse mythology, Fenrir symbolizes the chaotic and destructive power of nature. He represents the most tremendous dynamic forces coming from underground.

Fenrir will kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarok, but in turn, he will also be killed by Odin’s son Víðarr.

Then something strange will happen. The event will be visible in the skies. The wolf will be the three Norse gods explaining to king Gylfi that the Fimbulwinter precedes Ragnarok, the world's destruction.

Researchers think Fimbulwinter is related to the extreme weather events of 535–536, which resulted in a notable drop in temperature across northern Europe.

According to other ancient sources, this was a period when the Sun was bluish, weak, and obscured. People threw no shadow on the ground, and even the Moon was obscured. There was no heat, and the crops died. This must have been due to a large volcanic eruption and subsequent ash cloud spreading worldwide. This outbreak was previously unknown, but researchers have come across evidence, such as ice cores from Greenland, confirming extreme weather conditions at the time.

In Northern Sweden, after year after year 536, the average temperature during summer dropped by three to four degrees.

This indicates strong climate changes led to increased mortality among humans.  Very old grave findings and depictions on ancient runes stones offer evidence of a very harsh and long winter period.

It is, therefore, possible that the Fimbulwinter described in Norse mythology was based on real events.

Updated on February 1, 2023

Written by - Ellen Lloyd AncientPages.com

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