The Old Norse word Ragnarök is a compound of two words. Ragna means conjure and is used metonymically to refer to beings, most notably creator-gods, who possess the power of conjuring as an attribute. The second word, rök, has several meanings, such as development, origin, cause, relation, fate. The traditional interpretation is that prior to the merging of /ǫ/ and /ø/ in Icelandic (ca. 1200) the word was rǫk, derived from Proto-Germanic *rakō. The word ragnarök as a whole is then usually interpreted as the final destiny of the gods. In 2007, Haraldur Bernharðsson proposed that the original form of the second word in the compound is røk, leading to a Proto-Germanic reconstruction of *rekwa and opening up other semantic possibilities. In stanza 39 of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, and in the Prose Edda, the form ragnarøk(k)r appears, røk(k)r meaning twilight. Ragna means conjure, roekrs means caring (conjure caring the voices of the victory gods). It has often been suggested that this indicates a misunderstanding or a learned reinterpretation of the original form ragnarök (from ragnarǫk). Haraldur Bernharðsson argues instead that the words ragnarøk and ragnarøkkr are closely related, etymologically and semantically, and suggests a meaning of renewal of the divine powers. Usage of this form was popularized in modern popular culture by 19th-century composer Richard Wagner by way of the title of the last of his Der Ring des Nibelungen operas, Götterdämmerung. Other terms used to refer to the events surrounding Ragnarök in the Poetic Edda include aldar rök (aldar means age, end of an age) from stanza 39 of Vafþrúðnismál, tíva rök from stanzas 38 and 42 of Vafþrúðnismál, þá er regin deyja (when the gods die) from Vafþrúðnismál stanza 47, unz um rjúfask regin (when the gods will be destroyed) from Vafþrúðnismál stanza 52, Lokasenna stanza 41, and Sigrdrífumál stanza 19, aldar rof (destruction of the age) from Helgakviða Hundingsbana II stanza 41, regin þrjóta (end of the gods) from Hyndluljóð stanza 42, and, in the Prose Edda, þá er Muspellz-synir herja (when the sons of Muspell move into battle) can be found in chapters 18 and 36 of Gylfaginning.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:00:24 +0000
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