Q 01/05

The Old Norse word ragnarök is usually interpreted as meaning what?

A) The last war of the giants

B) The death of the sun

C) The final destiny of the gods

D) The fall of the world tree

Answer · why

C) The final destiny of the gods

The final destiny of the gods is no surprise to them: prophecy has already named the wolf that will kill Odin. When the day comes, they still put on t...

Q 02/05

The variant spelling ragnarøkkr gives which alternative translation, made famous by the title of a Wagner opera?

A) Feast of the Gods

B) Twilight of the Gods

C) Sleep of the Gods

D) Council of the Gods

Answer · why

B) Twilight of the Gods

Twilight of the Gods is Götterdämmerung in German, the title Wagner gave his opera on the downfall of the gods. Its last scene shows Valhalla and ever...

Q 03/05

Which name is given to the slain warriors who march out of Valhalla with Odin to fight at Ragnarök?

A) Berserkers

B) Einherjar

C) Varangians

D) Valkyries

Answer · why

B) Einherjar

Einherjar spend every day in Valhalla fighting and felling one another, then ride home to drink together. It is practice for one battle, and the Prose...

Q 04/05

Which poem, the first in the Poetic Edda, has a seeress tell Odin how the world will end at Ragnarök?

A) Völuspá

B) Lokasenna

C) Grímnismál

D) Hávamál

Answer · why

A) Völuspá

Völuspá does not stop at the fire: the seeress's vision runs on to a green earth rising again from the sea, where fields ripen without being sown.

Q 05/05

According to the Prose Edda, what is the first sign of Ragnarök?

A) A great flood over Midgard

B) Fimbulwinter, three winters with no summer

C) Three whole days of unbroken darkness

D) A blood-red moon over Asgard

Answer · why

B) Fimbulwinter, three winters with no summer

Fimbulwinter, three winters with no summer between them, buries the world in snow while the sun gives no warmth. The word outlived the myth: Scandinav...