The wolf's jaw: an astronomical interpretation of Ragnarok

Abstract

This paper aims to explain the eschatological outbreak that occurred during the X century in Scandinavia and northern Europe, which gave rise to a great iconography of Ragnarok, stemmed primarily from the Old Norse mythology. Our basic hypothesis is that various astronomical phenomena which occurred during in the VIII and IX centuries (total eclipses of the sun and passages of comets, both related to the constellation of Wolf?s Jaw - the Hyades) have aroused in the Nordic man his eschatological fears, impelling him to create a large amount apocalyptic images close of the year 1000 AD. We identified thirteen celestial phenomena (comet passages and total eclipses of the Sun) that may have been collected in the construction of the Ragnarok image among the ancient Norsemen. Our main methodology is the Cultural Astronomy, coupled with the prospects of the cultural history of myths. Aided by several studies on medieval astronomical folklore, especially those related to comets and eclipses. We also use some recent research on the theme of celestial myths and Old Norse Astronomy developed by European and American scholars, such as Gisli Sigur?sson, Thomas DuBois, Christan Etheridge and Dorian Knight.

Keywords

• comets and eclipses
• cultural astronomy
• folk astronomy
• hyades
• viking age
• norse mythology