Editing Apocalypticism (section)

==Ancient Norse religion==
{{Main|Ancient Norse religion}}
{{Further|Norse mythology|Ragnarök}}
[[File:Edda.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Title page of a late manuscript of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' written by [[Snorri Sturluson]] (13th century), showing the [[List of Germanic deities|Ancient Norse Gods]] [[Odin]], [[Heimdallr]], [[Sleipnir]], and other figures from [[Norse mythology]]]]

[[Ragnarök]] is an important eschatological event in the [[Ancient Norse religion]] and its [[Norse mythology|mythology]], and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of [[Germanic studies]] and is attested primarily in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources and the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', composed in the 13th century by the Icelandic scholar, [[lawspeaker]], and historian [[Snorri Sturluson]]. In the ''Prose Edda'' and in a single poem in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', the event is referred to as {{lang|non|Ragnarök}} or {{langnf|non|Ragnarøkkr|term1=Fate of the Gods |term2=Twilight of the Gods|paren=left}}, respectively), a usage popularised by 19th-century composer [[Richard Wagner]] with the title of the last of his ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' operas, ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' (1876), which is "Twilight of the Gods" in German. There are various theories and interpretations of Ragnarök.

===Cyclic time and ''Hoddmímis holt''===
[[Rudolf Simek]] theorizes that the survival of Líf and Lífþrasir at the end of Ragnarök is "a case of reduplication of the [[anthropogeny]], understandable from the [[Cyclic time|cyclic nature]] of the Eddic [[eschatology]]". Simek says that Hoddmímis holt "should not be understood literally as a wood or even a forest in which the two keep themselves hidden, but rather as an alternative name for the world-tree Yggdrasill. Thus, the creation of mankind from tree trunks ([[Ask and Embla|Askr, Embla]]) is repeated after the Ragnarök as well". Simek says that in [[Germanic languages|Germanic regions]], the concept of mankind originating from trees is ancient, and additionally points out legendary parallels in a [[Bavaria]]n legend of a [[shepherd]] who lives inside a tree, whose descendants repopulate the land after life there has been wiped out by plague (citing a retelling by F. R. Schröder). In addition, Simek points to an Old Norse parallel in the figure of [[Örvar-Oddr]], "who is rejuvenated after living as a tree-man (''Ǫrvar-Odds saga'' 24–27)".<ref name=simekrag>{{cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|author-link=Rudolf Simek|date=2007|others=translated by Angela Hall|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}</ref>{{rp|189}}

==={{Lang|goh|Muspille}}, {{Lang|osx|Heliand}}, and Christianity===
Theories have been proposed about the relation between Ragnarök and the 9th-century [[Old High German]] [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] ''[[Muspilli]]'' about the Christian Last Judgment, where the word {{Lang|goh|Muspille}} appears, and the 9th-century [[Old Saxon]] epic poem ''[[Heliand]]'' about the life of Christ, where various other forms of the word appear. In both sources, the word is used to signify the end of the world through fire.<ref name=simekrag/>{{rp|222–224}} Old Norse forms of the term also appear throughout accounts of Ragnarök, where the world is also consumed in flames, and, though various theories exist about the meaning and origins of the term, its etymology has not been solved.<ref name=simekrag/>{{rp|222–224}}

===Proto-Indo-European basis===
Parallels have been pointed out between the Ragnarök of [[Norse religion]] and the beliefs of other related [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European peoples]]. Subsequently, theories have been put forth that Ragnarök represents a later evolution of a [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Proto-Indo-European]] belief along with other cultures descending from the Proto-Indo-Europeans. These parallels include comparisons of a cosmic winter motif between the Norse [[Fimbulwinter]], the [[Iranian peoples#History and settlement|Iranian]] ''[[Bundahishn]]'' and [[Jamshid|Yima]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pages=182–183}} Víðarr's stride has been compared to the [[Vedas|Vedic]] god [[Vishnu]] in that both have a "cosmic stride" with a special shoe used to tear apart a beastly wolf.<ref name= malloryrag>{{cite book|last1=Mallory|first1=J. P.|author-link=J. P. Mallory|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.|author2-link=Douglas Q. Adams|date=1997|title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=1-884964-98-2|title-link=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture}}</ref>{{rp|182–183}} Larger patterns have also been drawn between "final battle" events in Indo-European cultures, including the occurrence of a blind or semi-blind figure in "final battle" themes, and figures appearing suddenly with surprising skills.<ref name =malloryrag/>{{rp|182–183}}

===Volcanic eruptions===
[[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] theorizes that the events in ''Völuspá'' occurring after the death of the gods (the sun turning black, steam rising, flames touching the heavens, etc.) may be inspired by the volcanic eruptions on Iceland. Records of eruptions on Iceland bear strong similarities to the sequence of events described in ''Völuspá'', especially the eruption at [[Laki]] that occurred in 1783.<ref name =davidsonrag>{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=H. R. Ellis|author-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson|date=1990|title=Gods and Myths of Northern Europe|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=0-14-013627-4}}</ref>{{rp|208–209}} [[Bertha Phillpotts]] theorizes that the figure of Surtr was inspired by Icelandic eruptions, and that he was a volcano demon.<ref name =davidsonrag/>{{rp|208–209}} Surtr's name occurs in some Icelandic place names, among them the [[lava tube]] [[Surtshellir]], a number of dark caverns in the volcanic central region of Iceland.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patel |first1=Samir S. |title=The Blackener's Cave: Viking Age outlaws, taboo, and ritual in Iceland's lava fields |journal=Archaeology |date=2017 |volume=70 |issue=3 |page=36 |issn=0003-8113}}</ref>

==={{Lang|non-latn|Bergbúa þáttr}}===
Parallels have been pointed out between a poem spoken by a ''[[jötunn]]'' found in the 13th-century [[þáttr]] ''[[Bergbúa þáttr]]'' ("the tale of the mountain dweller"). In the tale, Thórd and his servant get lost while traveling to church in winter, and so take shelter for the night within a cave. Inside the cave they hear noises, witness a pair of immense burning eyes, and then the being with burning eyes recites a poem of 12 stanzas. The poem the being recites contains references to Norse mythology (including a mention of Thor) and also prophecies (including that "mountains will tumble, the earth will move, men will be scoured by hot water and burned by fire"). Surtr's fire receives a mention in stanza 10. [[John Lindow]] says that the poem may describe "a mix of the destruction of the race of giants and of humans, as in Ragnarök" but that "many of the predictions of disruption on earth could also fit the volcanic activity that is so common in Iceland."<ref name=lindowrag>{{cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|author-link=John Lindow|date=2001|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=0-19-515382-0|access-date=2019-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624204500/https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|archive-date=2019-06-24|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|73–74}}

===Modern influences===
In late 2013 and early 2014, English-language media outlets widely reported that Ragnarök was foretold to occur on 22 February 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Richards |first1=Chris |title=Will the world END next week? Viking apocalypse 'Ragnarok' due to arrive on February 22 |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/viking-apocalypse-2014-ragnarok-due-3153959 |publisher=Daily Mirror |date=17 February 2014 |access-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602021113/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/viking-apocalypse-2014-ragnarok-due-3153959 |archive-date=2 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Apparently patterned after the [[2012 phenomenon]], the claim was at times attributed to a "Viking Calendar". No such calendar is known to have existed, and the source was a "prediction" made to media outlets by the [[Jorvik Viking Centre]] in [[York]], England, intended to draw attention to an event that the institution was to hold on that date. The Jorvik Viking Centre was criticized for misleading the public to promote the event. In a 2014 article on the claims, philologist Joseph S. Hopkins perceives the media response as an example of a broad revival of interest in the Viking Age and ancient Germanic topics.<ref name=hopkinsrag>{{cite journal |last=Hopkins |first=Joseph S. |year=2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7751817 |format=PDF |title=The 'Viking Apocalypse' of 22nd February 2014: An Analysis of the Jorvik Viking Center's ''Ragnarök'' and Its Media Reception |journal=RMN Newsletter |volume=8 |publisher=University of Helsinki |pages=7–12 |issn=2324-0636 |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref>