Völuspá – Part 2: Ragnarök
Backdrop illustrations for a symphonic concert, "Völuspá", composed by Icelandic award winning composer/producer Thorvaldur Bjarni Thorvaldsson. The symphony is composed based on the first and best known poem of the poetic Edda, Völuspá (Prophecy of the Völva (Seeress).
The backdrop depicts the poem's story which tells of the creation of the world and its coming end (ragnarök), related to the audience by a völva addressing Odin. The poem Völuspá is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology.
The Völva recalls the time Freyja was given to the giants. As a result Thor, the god of thunder, went to Jötunheim and killed Thrymr, the king of the giants, and all his relatives.
Frigg mourns Baldur's (her son) death. The Völva describes the slaying of Baldur, the most beloved of all the gods. It is a part of the chain of events which ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarök. Höður the blind, Baldur's brother, was tricked and guided by Loki when he shot the mistletoe arrow which slay Baldur.
The Völva prophesies the corruption and battle of mankind: "Brothers shall fight | and fell each other, / And sisters' sons | shall kinship stain; / Hard is it on earth, | with mighty whoredom; / Axe-time, sword-time, | shields are sundered, / Wind-time, wolf-time, | ere the world falls; / Nor ever shall men | each other spare." (The Poetic Edda, by Henry Adams Bellows)
The Völva describes for Odin the summons to battle, the deaths of many of the gods and how Odin, himself, is slain by Fenrir, the great wolf. Finally a beautiful reborn world (Click to view Yggdrasil – The World Tree) will rise from the ashes of death and destruction.
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