The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Ragnarök

RAGNARÖK, räg'nạ-rėk, in Scandinavian mythology the day of doom when the present world will be annihilated, to be reconstructed on an imperishable basis. The title of the concluding portion of Wagner's great operatic trilogy &lsquo;Götterdämmerung&rsquo; is a translation of this word. In that work is depicted the downfall of Woden and the gods and the triumph of perfect human love. William Morris also treats this subject in his &lsquo;Sigurd the Volsung.&rsquo; &lsquo;Ragnarök&rsquo; is the title of a novel by Ignatius Donnelly.