https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=71.38.64.158Wikipedia - User contributions [en]2026-07-08T09:10:15ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.44.0https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Fimbulwinter&diff=19622Fimbulwinter2025-03-17T02:35:53Z<p>71.38.64.158: /* Overview */ If all life was ended on Earth, Líf and Lífþrasir would not be able to repopulate, and the only wars that could follow would be of the gods.</p>
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<div>{{Short description|Norse mythological event preceding Ragnarök}}<br />
{{For|the Norwegian black metal band|Fimbulwinter (band)}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}<br />
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'''Fimbulwinter''' (from {{langx|non|'''Fimbulvetr'''}}, {{lit|lk=yes|mighty winter}}) is the immediate prelude to the events of [[Ragnarök]] in [[Norse mythology]].<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
{{Lang|non|Fimbulvetr}} comes from [[Old Norse]], meaning "awful, mighty winter". The prefix ''fimbul'', albeit with a largely unknown [[etymology]], means "mighty, giant" etc., so the literal interpretation is "mighty winter".<ref name="saob">[[Svenska Akademiens Ordbok]], entry for {{Lang|non|Fimbulvinter}} [http://g3.spraakdata.gu.se/saob/show.phtml?filenr=1/68/17365.html]</ref><br />
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==Overview==<br />
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.<br />
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The event is described primarily in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]''. In the poem {{Lang|non|[[Vafþrúðnismál]]}}, [[Odin]] poses the question to [[Vafþrúðnir]] as to who of mankind will survive the Fimbulwinter. Vafþrúðnir responds that [[Líf and Lífþrasir]] will survive and that they will live in the forest of [[Hoddmímis holt]].<br />
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The mythology might be related to the [[volcanic winter of 536]], 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 variability and change|climate change]] that occurred in the Nordic countries at the end of the [[Nordic Bronze Age]] from about 650 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last=Price |first=Neil |author-link=Neil Price (archaeologist) |title=Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings |publisher=Basic Books |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-46509-698-5 |chapter=Chapter 2: Age of Wind, Age of Wolves |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/childrenofashelm0000pric/page/80/mode/2up?q=Fimbulwinter |page=80}}</ref><ref>Ström, Folke: ''Nordisk Hedendom'', [[Studentlitteratur]], Lund 2005, {{ISBN|91-44-00551-2}} (first published 1961) among others, refer to the climate change theory.</ref><br />
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In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other [[Nordic countries]], the term {{Lang|non|Fimbulvetr}} has been borrowed from Old Norse to refer to an unusually cold and harsh winter.<ref name="saob" /><br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Eschatology]]<br />
*[[Laki#1783 eruption|Laki 1783 eruption]]<br />
*[[Nuclear winter]]<br />
*[[Ragnarök]]<br />
*[[Volcanic winter]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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===Bibliography===<br />
*Gunn, Joel (2000). ''The Years Without Summer: Tracing A.D. 536 and its Aftermath'' (British Archaeological Reports International. Oxford, England: Archaeopress) {{ISBN|1-84171-074-1}}<br />
*Keys, David Patrick (2000). ''Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World.'' (New York: Ballantine Pub) {{ISBN|0-345-40876-4}}.<br />
*Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda'' (Oxford World's Classics) {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}}<br />
*[[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs'' (Oxford University Press) {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}<br />
*Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend'' (Cassell) {{ISBN|0-304-34520-2}}<br />
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{{Norse mythology}}<br />
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[[Category:Eschatology in Norse mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Events in Norse mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Winter weather events]]</div>71.38.64.158