The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology

The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology is a detailed study of the Scandinavian myth on the end of the world, the Ragnarök, and its comparative background, giving an historical perspective to contemporary human fears and hopes about the end of the world in the Ragnarök myth of cosmic destruction and cosmic renewal.

Anders Hultgård is emeritus professor of religions at Uppsala University, before which he worked at the University of Bergen, and was a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, École pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, and the Université Marc Bloch in Strasbourg. He is a member of the Royal Society of Humanities in Uppsala, the Royal Gustaphus Adolphus Academy in Sweden, and 'Correspondant étranger' de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris.

1: Introduction
2: The Historical and Social Contexts
3: Voluspá: The Prophecy of the Seeress
4: Poetry and Mythographies
5: Ragnarök Illustrated
6: The Comparative Contexts
7: The Signs of the End and the Final Battle
8: Destruction and Renewal
9: The Ragnarök Myth - Distinctive Features and Origins