Description:
The 'Apocalypse' tag is for narratives or story elements that deal with the end of the world, multiple worlds, or the universe. Complete destruction may or may not be followed by a rebirth, which is its own motif tag (LINK). The apocalyptic scenario of Old Norse mythology is Ragnarök, "doom/fate of the gods" (also found spelled Ragnarøk, with the different 'o' changing the meaning to "twilight of the gods"). (LINK RAGNARÖK). There is an unnaturally long winter, followed by strife between kinsmen, representing the collapse of social order, and the monstrous children of Loki break free to wreak havoc. The sons of Muspell (LINK), interpreted as fire giants, invade the realm of the gods and break the rainbow bridge, Bifröst (LINK). A wolf swallows the sun, plunging the sky into darkness. The world is burned in a huge fire, all gods and humans are killed, and the earth sinks into the sea, but rises again reborn. The children of some of the gods return to a meadow, and two surviving humans emerge from hiding and will repopulate the earth. All of this is revealed in prophecy by a dead völva (LINK) ("seeress") that is summoned by magic, presumably by Óðinn (LINK). Many of Óðinn's myths revolve around his search for mythological knowledge about the beginning of the universe and about its end at Ragnarök. This fits well with the word Apocalypse, which comes from Ancient Greek for "to uncover/reveal," although it has come to mean "end of the world" in modern understanding. It was one of the names given to the bizarre Book of Revelation, by John of Patmos, the story of the Christian end times.| Name | Description |
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| Völuspá | Völuspá, "the Prophecy of the Seeress," is a mythological poem that is part of the
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