How the End of All Things Came About
_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how
the End of All Things Came About._
When the Asa folk had banished wicked Loki to earth, and bound him
fast in his gloomy cavern, they thought they had heard and seen the
last of his evil ways.
But this was not to be the case. Finding he could not free himself,
but must endure his bonds till the end of All Things, Loki tried to
divert himself by enticing the earth people to him and teaching them
to do every manner of evil. And so fast did knowledge of this evil
spread, that the whole world soon became full of wickedness. Brothers
fought and killed each other, men were for ever at war with other men,
no one had time or room in his heart for pity or for kindliness.
Sol and Mani, who were wont to drive radiant through the sky in their
golden chariots, grew pale with dismay, for they knew that these
things portended their end, when those hungry wolves, who were ever
pursuing them, would overtake and devour them utterly.
And they ceased to smile upon the land, wherefore the earth grew cold
and dark, and a long, long winter began. From North, South, East, and
West great snowstorms blew over the world, the Frost Giants waved
their great wings and breathed an icy blast, and a thick layer of ice
spread over the whole surface of the earth.
For six seasons this terrible winter held the world in its grip, and
during all that time the earth people grew more wicked, until all
traces of goodness disappeared. Meantime, deep down in the dark shades
of the Ironwood, an evil Frost Giantess fed the pursuing wolves, so
that they gained strength each day, and at length they were able to
overtake Sol and Mani in their head-long course, and to devour them.
Now when that dreadful thing had happened, the whole earth shook to
its foundations, and Loki, the Fenris Wolf, and the Sea-serpent,
making one last tremendous effort, broke their bonds and rushed to
wreak revenge upon their captors.
At that moment the dragon that lies at the root of the Tree of Life
gnawed it through, so that it quivered and shook to its very top. The
red cock who stood perched above the halls of Valhalla gave a shrill
crow of alarm, and this was taken up by the white cock who roosts upon
the tallest tree on the earth, and echoed by Hela's blood-red bird in
the depths of the Mist Home.
Heimdall knew the meaning of these sounds, and putting the horn to his
lips he gave the last long call from Asgard, which resounded across
the Rainbow Bridge throughout the whole world.
Then the Asa folk sprang from their flower-strewn couches, and seizing
their weapons, they mounted their battle steeds and rode across the
Rainbow Bridge to the great plain where they were to wage their last
fight.
Meantime, the Sea-serpent was lashing the waters of the ocean with his
tail as he made his way through the blood-red waves to that dread
battlefield. And Loki, who had roused all the host of the Fire Giants,
was sailing thither as fast as the tossing ocean would carry his fatal
barque; while from the foggy regions of the north issued the whole
race of Frost Giants, eager for their revenge upon the hated Asa folk.
From a cleft in the earth came also Hela, the goddess of the
underworld, followed by her gaunt watchdog and by all the evil dregs
of her gloomy realm. Lastly, from a blinding flash of lightning that
seemed to rend the skies in twain, came forth the troop of Flame
Giants, each with his fiery sword in hand.
Loki gladly placed himself at the head of all those hosts, and he led
them forward boldly against the gods.
And first they thought to storm Asgard in one wild onset, but the
Rainbow Bridge sank with a mighty crash under their horses' feet.
Meanwhile, the Asas had been gathering their forces upon the
battlefield, where with calm, stern faces they awaited the attack of
their foes--the red Flame Giants, the grim army of Hela, the
grey-white host of the Frost Giants, led by Loki, with the Fenris Wolf
on one hand and the Sea-serpent, breathing out clouds of deadly
vapour, on the other.
"And all are marshalled in one flaming square
Against the gods, upon the plains of heaven."
Then came the crash of battle, in which, for all their courage, the
Asas were bound to meet with defeat. Desperately they fought, but all
to no avail, for, at the moment that Heimdall and Loki fell dead
before each other's swords, and Thor, after killing the Sea-serpent,
was drowned in the poisonous stream that flowed from the creature's
mouth, the Fenris Wolf came at All-Father Odin with jaws open so wide
that they reached from earth to heaven; and rushing upon the mighty
Asa he engulfed him in that horrid tomb.
Most of the Asas, as well as their foes, now lay dead on the
battlefield, and, seeing this, the Flame Giants suddenly grasped their
fiery brands and flung them over earth and heaven and all the
underworld.
The mighty Tree of Life withered and fell; the golden halls of Asgard
melted away; the green things of earth turned black, and still the
fire raged, until the whole world, burnt to a cinder, sank beneath the
waves of the sea.
Thus did the End of All Things come about.
But because the End of All Things is also very often the Beginning of
Others, the Northmen say that, after many long years, the old Earth
rose again, clean and pure and bright from her long cleansing
underneath the sea. And in the sky above a daughter of Sol again drove
her sun-chariot, and smiled upon the earth, so that it grew young and
fresh and green again.
And when this came to pass, a man and a woman, who, sunk in sleep in
the depths of a forest, had escaped the universal destruction, came
forth and took possession of the sweet green lands, for themselves and
for their children for ever.
"So perish the old Gods!
But out of the sea of Time
Rises a new land of song.
Fairer than the old.
Over is meadows green
Walk the young bards and sing.
Build it again,
O ye bards,
Fairer than before!
Ye fathers of the new race,
Feed upon morning dew,
Sing the new Song of Love!
The law of force is dead!
The law of love prevails!
Thor, the thunderer,
Shall rule the earth no more,
No more, with threats,
Challenge the meek Christ.
Sing no more,
O ye bards of the North,
Of Vikings and of Jarls!
Of the days of Eld
Preserve the freedom only,
Not the deeds of blood."
LONGFELLOW.
PRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER NAMES
(_a as in hate; e as in tea; o as in note; ä as in arm; e
as in merit_)
Transcriber's Note: [=oo] represents two 'o's with a line on top. There
is no Unicode representation for the letter.
These letters can be represented only in Unicode. Correct letters are
provided in the Unicode text.
Ægir (a´jir)
Agnar (ag´nar)
Andvari (änd´vä-re)
Angantyr (än-gän´ter)
Angurvadel (än-gur-vä´del)
Angur-boda (än-gur-bo´dà)
Asa (a´sa)
Asgard (as´gärd)
Ask (äsk)
Atli (at´le)
Balder (baul´der)
Baugi (bow´ge)
Bele (be-la´)
Björn (byern)
Bragi (brä´ge)
Branstock (bran´stok)
Bredi (bre´de)
Brock (brock)
Brunhild (br[=oo]n´hild)
Draupnir (drowp´nir)
Elli (el´le)
Ellida (el-li´da)
Embla (em´bla)
Fafnir (faf´nir)
Fenga (fengá)
Fenris (fen´ris)
Fensalir (fen´säl-ir)
Fialar (fyäl´ar)
Fiorgyn (fyôr´gen)
Frey (fri)
Freya (fri´a)
Frigga (frig´a)
Frithiof (frit´yof)
Galar (gäl´ar)
Geirrod (gir´rod)
Geri (ger´e)
Gersemi (ger´se-me)
Gialp (gyälp)
Gilling (gil´ling)
Giöll (gyel)
Giuki (gi´[=oo]ki)
Gnomes (nomz)
Greip (grip)
Greyfell (gra-fel)
Grid (gred)
Grimnir (grim´nir)
Grimhild (grim´hild)
Gudrun (goo´droon)
Gungnir (goong´nir)
Gunlod (goon´lod)
Gunnar (gun´när)
Guttorm (goot´torm)
Hamdir (ham´dir)
Halfdan (half´dan)
Heidrun (hi´dr[=oo]n)
Heimdall (him´däl)
Hela (helá)
Helge (hel´ge)
Hermod (her´mod)
Hindfell (hind´fel)
Hiordis (hyôr´dis)
Hoder (ho´der)
Hoenir (he´nir)
Högni (heg´ne)
Hreidmar (hrid´mar)
Hugi (hu´gi)
Hugin (hu´gin)
Hunding (hundíng)
Hyrroken (her´ro-kin)
Idun (e´doon)
Ingeborg (in´ge-borg)
Jarl (yärl)
Kari (kär´e)
Kvasir (kvä´sir)
Logi (lo´ge)
Loki (lo´ke)
Lygni (leg´ni)
Mani (mä´ne)
Midgard (mid´gärd)
Mimir (me´mir)
Miölnir (myel´nir)
Modir (mo´dir)
Munin (mu´nin)
Niblungs (ne´bloongz)
Niffelheim (nifl´him)
Niörd (nyerd)
Odin (o´din)
Odur (o´door)
Ragnarok (rag´na-ruk)
Ran (rän)
Ratatosk (rä´ta-tusk)
Rati (rä´te)
Regin (ra´gin)
Rerir (ra´rir)
Ring (ring)
Ringhorn (ring´horn)
Roskva (ros´kva)
Sif (sif)
Siggeir (sig´ir)
Sigi (sig´e)
Sigmund (sig´moond)
Signy (sig´ni)
Sigurd (se´goord)
Sigyn (se´gen)
Sindri (sin´dre)
Sinfiotli (sin-fe-ot´li)
Skadi (skä´de)
Skrymir (skrim´ir)
Sleipnir (slip´nir)
Sol (sol)
Suttung (soot´t[=oo]ng)
Svadilfare (svä´dil-fär´e)
Thialfi (te´älf´e)
Thiassi (te-äs-se)
Thok (tok)
Thor (thor or tor)
Thorsten (tor-sten)
Thrym (trim)
Tyr (ter)
Uplands (up´lands)
Valhalla (väl-häl´la)
Vali (väl´e)
Valkyrs (val´kirz)
Valtam (väl´tam)
Vikings (vik´ingz)
Volsung (vol´soong)
Ymir (e´mir)
* * * * *