Fimbulwinter (from , ) is the immediate prelude to the events of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...

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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

Etymology

comes from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

, meaning "awful, mighty winter". The prefix ''fimbul'', albeit with a largely unknown

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

, means "mighty, giant" etc., so the literal interpretation is "mighty 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 historical dictionary of the Swedish language published by the Swe ...

, entry for

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Overview

Fimbulwinter is the harsh winter that precedes the end of the world. Fimbulwinter 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 in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

''. In the poem ,

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

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 rid ...

as to who of mankind will survive the Fimbulwinter. 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. The mythology might be related to the

volcanic winter of 536 The volcanic winter of 536 was among the most severe and protracted episodes of climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The volcanic winter was caused by at least three simultaneous eruptions of uncertain origin, wit ...

, 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 Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

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 . The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Late Neolithic Dagger period, which is root ...

from about 650 BC.Ström, Folke: ''Nordisk Hedendom'',

Studentlitteratur Studentlitteratur is an academic publishing company based in Sweden and publishing mostly in Swedish. It is one of the largest producers of university text books and course books in Sweden. The company was established in 1963 and is based in t ...

, Lund 2005, (first published 1961) among others, refer to the climate change theory. In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other

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

, the term has been borrowed from Old Norse to refer to an unusually cold and harsh winter.

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

Etymology

Overview

See also

References

Bibliography