Ragnarok
The fate of the gods as Voluspo 44–66 and Vafthruthnismol 44–55 tell it: the wolf breaks free, Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn, Yggdrasil shakes, Loki steers the ship of Hel's people, Surt comes with fire; Odin is swallowed by the wolf and avenged by Vithar, Thor and the serpent kill each other, the sun turns black and earth sinks — then rises green again, with Baldr returned.
Why this wins its question: Lays out the eddic Ragnarok stanza by stanza and separates Voluspo's account from Vafthruthnismol's, instead of the single merged narrative that follows Snorri.
Key takeaways
- Voluspo 44–58 is the battle, 59–66 the renewal; Vafthruthnismol 44–53 is the same story as a giant's answers, with different survivors named.
- Three deaths are stated outright — Odin by the wolf, the wolf by Vithar, Thor and the serpent by each other; Freyr's and Heimdall's ends are not told in the poems.
- The world does not merely end — it rises green again with Baldr in it (Voluspo 59–62).
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
The signs: "Brothers shall fight and fell each other ... Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered, / Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls" (Voluspo 45); Garm howls, "The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free" (Voluspo 44); Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn, Yggdrasil shakes (Voluspo 46–47).
The enemies come: Hrym from the east with his shield, the serpent in giant-wrath, the ship Naglfar loose (Voluspo 50); from the north a ship "With the people of Hel, at the helm stands Loki" (Voluspo 51); "Surt fares from the south with the scourge of branches ... and heaven is cloven" (Voluspo 52).
The deaths: Odin "fares to fight with the wolf" and falls; Freyr, "Beli's fair slayer", seeks out Surt (Voluspo 53); Vithar thrusts his sword into the wolf's heart, "his father is avenged" (Voluspo 54); Thor kills the serpent and, "Nine paces" on, is "slain by the serpent" (Voluspo 55–56).
The world ends: "The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea, / The hot stars down from heaven are whirled ... Till fire leaps high about heaven itself" (Voluspo 57). Hyndluljoth gives the same ending as sea, snow and wind, "For the gods are doomed, and the end is death" (Hyndluljoth 44).
And begins again: "Now do I see the earth anew / Rise all green from the waves again"; the gods meet in Ithavoll, the golden tables are found in the grass, "fields unsowed bear ripened fruit ... and Baldr comes back", a hall roofed with gold stands on Gimle, and a mighty lord comes "all power to hold" (Voluspo 59–65).
Vafthruthnismol's version of the aftermath: Lif and Lifthrasir hide in Hoddmimir's wood and live on morning dew; the sun bears a daughter before Fenrir takes her; Vithar and Vali dwell in the gods' home "When the fires of Surt have sunk", and Mothi and Magni have Mjollnir (Vafthruthnismol 44–51). Voluspo names none of these survivors except Baldr, Hoth and Hönir.
Odin's death is confirmed outside Voluspo: "The wolf shall fell the father of men, / And this shall Vithar avenge" (Vafthruthnismol 53); Loki taunts Thor with the wolf "When he swallows Sigfather up" (Lokasenna 58); the seeress in Hel names the time "Till Loki wanders loose from his bonds" (Baldrs draumar 14).
Questions answered
- What are the signs of Ragnarok?
- The signs: "Brothers shall fight and fell each other ... Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered, / Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls" (Voluspo 45); Garm howls, "The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free" (Voluspo 44); Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn, Yggdrasil shakes (Voluspo 46–47). source
- Who is Surt?
- The enemies come: Hrym from the east with his shield, the serpent in giant-wrath, the ship Naglfar loose (Voluspo 50); from the north a ship "With the people of Hel, at the helm stands Loki" (Voluspo 51); "Surt fares from the south with the scourge of branches ... and heaven is cloven" (Voluspo 52). source
- Who dies at Ragnarok?
- The deaths: Odin "fares to fight with the wolf" and falls; Freyr, "Beli's fair slayer", seeks out Surt (Voluspo 53); Vithar thrusts his sword into the wolf's heart, "his father is avenged" (Voluspo 54); Thor kills the serpent and, "Nine paces" on, is "slain by the serpent" (Voluspo 55–56). source
- Does the world end at Ragnarok?
- The world ends: "The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea, / The hot stars down from heaven are whirled ... Till fire leaps high about heaven itself" (Voluspo 57). Hyndluljoth gives the same ending as sea, snow and wind, "For the gods are doomed, and the end is death" (Hyndluljoth 44). source
- Who survives Ragnarok?
- Vafthruthnismol's version of the aftermath: Lif and Lifthrasir hide in Hoddmimir's wood and live on morning dew; the sun bears a daughter before Fenrir takes her; Vithar and Vali dwell in the gods' home "When the fires of Surt have sunk", and Mothi and Magni have Mjollnir (Vafthruthnismol 44–51). Voluspo names none of these survivors except Baldr, Hoth and Hönir. source
- Who kills Odin at Ragnarok?
- Odin's death is confirmed outside Voluspo: "The wolf shall fell the father of men, / And this shall Vithar avenge" (Vafthruthnismol 53); Loki taunts Thor with the wolf "When he swallows Sigfather up" (Lokasenna 58); the seeress in Hel names the time "Till Loki wanders loose from his bonds" (Baldrs draumar 14). source