Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, (commonly rendered in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as Fimbulwinter), is the immediate prelude to the events of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submers ...

. It means 'great winter'.

Summary

is the harsh winter that precedes the end of the world and puts an end to all life on Earth. is three successive winters, when snow comes in from all directions, without any intervening summer. Innumerable wars follow. The event is described primarily in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

''. In the poem ,

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

poses the question to

Vafþrúðnir Vafþrúðnir (Old Norse: ; "mighty weaver"Orchard (1997:170).) is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. His name comes from ''Vaf'', which means weave or entangle, and ''thrudnir'', which means strong or mighty. Some interpret it to mean "mighty in ...

as to who of mankind will survive the . Vafþrúðnir responds that

Líf and Lífþrasir In Norse mythology, Líf (identical with the Old Norse noun meaning "life, the life of the body")Cleasby & Vigfusson s.v. ''líf''. and Lífþrasir (Old Norse masculine name from ''líf'' and ''þrasir'' and defined by ''Lexicon Poëticum'' as ' ...

will survive and that they will live in the forest of

Hoddmímis holt In Norse mythology, Hoddmímis holt (Old Norse "Hoard-Mímir's"Simek (2007:154). holt) is a location where Líf and Lífþrasir are foretold to survive the long winters of Fimbulvetr. Hoddmímis holt is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in ...

. The mythology might be related to the

volcanic winter of 536 The volcanic winter of 536 was the most severe and protracted episode of climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The volcanic winter was caused by an eruption, with several possible locations proposed in various contin ...

, which resulted in a notable drop in temperature across northern Europe. There have also been several popular ideas about whether the particular piece of mythology has a connection to the

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

that occurred in the Nordic countries at the end of the

Nordic Bronze Age The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC. The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (the ...

from about 650 BC. In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

, the term has been borrowed from Old Norse to refer to an unusually cold and harsh winter. However in Sweden, another common word is '', which means 'wolf winter'.

Etymology

comes from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

, meaning 'awful, great winter'. The prefix ''fimbul'' means 'great/big' so the literal interpretation is 'great winter'.

Svenska Akademiens Ordbok A complete set of ''Svenska Akademiens ordbok'', as of late 2014. The majority of the volumes remain unbound in this set. ''Svenska Akademiens ordbok'' (), abbreviated SAOB, is a dictionary published by the Swedish Academy, with the official titl ...

, entry for

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References

Bibliography

*Gunn, Joel (2000). ''The Years Without Summer: Tracing A.D. 536 and its Aftermath'' (British Archaeological Reports International. Oxford, England: Archaeopress) *Keys, David Patrick (2000). ''Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World.'' (New York: Ballantine Pub) . *Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda'' (Oxford World's Classics) * Lindow, John (2001). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs'' (Oxford University Press) *Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend'' (Cassell) {{Norse mythology Eschatology in Norse mythology Events in Norse mythology Winter weather events

Summary

Etymology

See also

References

Bibliography