Ragnarǫk: alternative interpretations of the Scandinavian eschatology
Keywords:
Norse mythology., End of days, End time, Norse cosmologyAbstract
This study aims to provide other perspectives of interpretation of Ragnarǫk, the Scandinavian eschatological myth, instead of the common theory that it is a narrative about the replacement of the Norse religion by Christianity. After entering the Norse cosmology and Ragnarǫk myth, we present the discussions developed by authors who diverge from the common place concerning the interpretation of this myth. We identify two lines of analysis: one that considers the Ragnarǫk mythical narrative an allegory of historical past events and another that considers the Ragnarǫk narrative as a warning of the dangers of going against the values of the Norse society.
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References
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BURKERT, Walter. A criação do sagrado: vestígios biológicos nas antigas religiões. Lisboa: Edições 70, 2001.
DAVIDSON, Hilda Roderick Ellis. Gods and myths of Northern Europe. 10ª ed. London: Penguin, 1990.
DEL MOLINO, Rosa María Sierra. El Ragnarök: ¿El final de los tiempos? Apocalipsis o “el destino de las potencias” en el universo mitológico nórdico. Antigüedad,
Religiones y Sociedades, Huelva, v. 10, n. 1, p. 127-146, 2012.
ELIADE, Mircea. Mito e realidade. 6ª ed. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2011.
ELIADE, Mircea; SULLIVAN, Lawrence E. Center of the world. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 3, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005,
p. 1501-1505.
ELLIS, Hilda Roderick. The road to Hel: a study of the conception of the dead in Old Norse literature. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 1968.
GRÄSLUND, Bo. Gamla Uppsala during the Migration Period. In: FRIBERG, Gunnel. Myth, might and man. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetets, 2000, p. 7-12.
GRIMM, Jacob. Teutonic Mythology. v. 1. London: George Bell and Sons, 1882.
JANSSON, Sven B. Runes in Sweden. Stockholm: Gidlund, 1987.
LARRINGTON, Carolyne (Org.) The Poetic Edda. ed. rev. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
LANGER, Johnni. Cometas, eclipses e Ragnarök: uma interpretação astronômica da escatologia nórdica pré-cristã. Revista Mundo Antigo, Campos dos Goytacazes, v. 2, n. 4, p. 67-91, dez. 2013.
LASSEN, Annette (Org.). Hrafnagaldur Óðins: Forspjallsljóð. London: University College London, 2011.
LINDOW, John. Norse mythology: a guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University, 2001.
________. Loki. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 8, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005a, p. 5507-5510.
________. Valhalla. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 15, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005b, p. 9516-9517.
MORRIS, Laurence P. Afterlife: Germanic concepts. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 1, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 167-
169.
PLUSKOWSKI, Aleks. Apocalyptic monsters: animal inspirations for the iconography of Medieval Northern devourers. In: BIRDHAUER, Bettina (Org.); MILLS, Roberts (Org.). The monstrous Middle Ages. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2003, p. 155-176.
POLOMÉ, Edgar C.; ROWE, Elizabeth Ashman. Germanic religion: an overview. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 5, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills:
Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 3445-3458.
ROCHA, Everardo. O que é mito. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 2006.
SAWYER, Deborah F. Gender and religion: gender and Ancient Mediterranean religions. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 5, ed. 2.
Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 3381-3387.
SMITH, Jonathan Z. Ages of the world. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 1, ed. 2. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 173-177.
SNORRI, Sturluson. Edda em Prosa: textos da mitologia nórdica. Rio de Janeiro: Numen, 1993.
________. Heimskringla: history of the kings of Norway. 7ª ed. Austin: University of Texas, 2009.
STRÖM, Folke. Nordisk Hedendom. Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2005.
SULLIVAN, Lawrence E. Nature: worship of nature. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 9, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 6438-
6441.
TACITO. Germania. Buenos Aires: La Biblioteca Digital, 2013.
WERBLOWSKY, Raphael Jehudah Zwi. Eschatology: an overview. In: JONES, Lindsay (Org.). Encyclopedia of Religion. v. 4, 2ª ed. Farmington Hills: Thomson
Gale, 2005, p. 2833-2836.
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Published
2016-08-05
How to Cite
L. STERN, F. Ragnarǫk: alternative interpretations of the Scandinavian eschatology. Sacrilegens , [S. l.], v. 13, n. 2, p. 39–58, 2016. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufjf.br/index.php/sacrilegens/article/view/26903. Acesso em: 18 jul. 2024.
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