Nordic speculation down to Richard Wagner has dwelt with gloomy
satisfaction on Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, which
will destroy the world. There is the prediction in the Song of Sibyl,
and also in Snorri's Gylfaginning:
when the great dog Garm
barks in front of the Gnipa cave, when the Fenrir wolf breaks his
fetters and comes from "the mouth of the river," his jaws stretching
from Heaven to Earth, and is joined by the Midgard Serpent, then
Heimdal will blow the Gjallarhorn, the sound of which reaches
through all the worlds: the battle is on.
But it is written that the
forces of order will go down fighting to atone for the initial wrong
done by the gods. The world will be lost, good and bad together.
Naglfar, the ship of the dead, built with the nail pairings of the
living, will sail through the dark waters and bring the enemy to the
fray. Then adds Snorri:
The heavens are suddenly
rent in twain, and out ride in shining squadrons Muspel's sons, and
Surt with his flaming sword, at the head of the fylkings.
All engulfing flames come
out with Surt "the Black," who kills Freyr, the Lord of The
Mill. Snorri makes Surt "Lord of Gimle" and likewise the king of
eternal bliss "at the southern end of the sky." He must be some timeless
force which brings destructive fire to the world.
Hamlet's Mill
by Giorgio De Santillana & Hertha Von Dechend