What Norse Gods Did To Prevent Ragnarok?
Norse gods were soon informed about Ragnarok Doom of Gods. And indeed, they would never just sit there enjoying every moment and waiting for their demise. Norse gods did try to prevent Ragnarok though in vain. So what actually did Gods do in Norse mythology to prevent their doomsday?
Banish Loki's children
Loki children were prophesied to be the ones who triggered off Ragnarok with their father Loki the Mischievous. Although Loki had many kids with many women, the most famous children of Loki included Fenrir the Wolf, Jormungand the Serpent, and Hel the Queen of Underworld.
Fenrir was the sworn enemy of Odin the Allfather. Ever since Fenrir was a little pup, Norse gods kept him up in Asgard. Because of the prophecy, Norse gods didn't dare to approach Fenrir. The only one who was brave enough to feed him was Tyr god of Justice and Honor.
Fenrir the giant wolf in Norse mythology
Jormungand the Midgard Serpent was cursed into the dark ocean when he was born. Deep down in the Midgard ocean was the Jormungand. There he lay and grew up to the size that his body could encircle Midgard with his mouth biting his own tail.
Hel the only daughter of Loki was banished into the underworld the land of the dead. Hel was the only kid of Loki that looked like a true girl; yet, her skin was half green half flesh which would scare people to death once they saw her. In the Underworld, the girl thrived to become the Queen ruling over the dead souls.
From the beginning, Norse gods separated Loki's children apart. Yet, unintentionally, this made Loki's children dominate the Yggdrasil Tree of Life from the top to the bottom: Fenrir in Asgard, Jormungand in Midgard, and Hel in Underworld.
Elite Warrior Recruitment
With the death sentence hanging just above their neck, Norse gods started to recruit the best warriors from Midgard. That's why Valhalla came into being.
Valhall was the Great Hall of the Fallen Warriors ruled over by Odin the Allfather. Only those who fought bravely in battle and fell in battle could be transcended into Valhalla. Up in Valhalla, these warriors could feast along with the gods. Odin would welcome them there. In Valhalla, they would feast, chant, and fight every day. That used to be a dream life for any Viking. Legend had it that many of Viking warriors wished to go to Valhalla (which meant they had to die a warrior battle) but they failed because they always won all battle.
Another place for the fallen warriors was Folkvangr the Field of Warriors led by Freya Goddess of War. In Norse mythology, Freya was the only one who could share the warriors with Odin the Allfather. The standard to classify who to join Odin or Freya remained a mystery. It only mentioned that half of the warriors would follow Freya while the rest followed Odin in Valhalla.
The tale of elite warrior recruitment used to be an awesome idea in the past. Yet, for recent years, this concept has met with disagreement.
Many readers believe that the way that Norse gods tackled their problems was violence for violence which finally inevitably led to their demise. Dishonour with death and fear with trickery. That is not what our society holds dear. The only thing that gods (especially Odin) could think of was war and to have more warriors and weapons.
To debunk this, a group of readers claim that it is somewhat unfair to apply what we hold dear now onto what the ancient people used to hold dear. The ancient people believed in physical strength as a way to solve a dispute. That's why the Vikings had Holmgang as a means to solve their problem. So what the Norse gods did in the myth was not unacceptable.
Rescue Baldur Odinsson though failed
Baldur was the Prince of Asgard and the son of Odin the Allfather and Frigg the Queen of Asgard. Baldur was the Shining God and everyone loved him. Even the most beautiful creature in the Nine Worlds bowed down to the beauty of Baldur. He was also a nice and generous man.
Everything seemed to be perfect until Baldur dreamt of his own death. His mother, Frigg, who was also a seeress, had the same dream. This made Norse gods worry not only because they loved Baldur but also because the death of Baldur was the first sign of Ragnarok.
Odin travelled to the Underworld to ask a seeress about this. On arrival, he came across a hall with a feasting table, as if they were about to celebrate something. He woke up a seeress asking her why there was a feast. The seeress answered that it was for Baldur the Prince of Asgard. She even vividly told Odin how Baldur finally met his death. This did corrupt Odin.
The death of Baldur in Norse mythology. Loki was guiding the blind god Hodr who was also the brother of Baldur to throw a mistletoe arrow into Baldur.
On his way back to Asgard, Odin told what happened to all the gods. Everyone was upset with this bad news and the only one who was strong enough to gather herself was Frigg the Queen. She set out to travel around Nine Worlds begging every creature to promise not to harm Baldur. She could have done it perfectly if she had asked the mistletoe. In fact, she forgot the small mistletoe which finally led to the death of Baldur.
