Of this consummation, so much dreaded by gods and elves and giants and men, the prose Edda gives the following account:—
“There will first come a winter which shall be called Fimbulveter; snow will fall from every quarter, and hard frost and cutting winds have sway, so that the heat of the sun will have no influence. Three such winters, unalleviated by any summer, will follow each other. Previously to this the whole world will be scourged, during three winters also, by wars and bloodshed. Brothers will kill each other through avarice, and there will be no mercy even from parents to their children.
“And now, to the great affliction of mankind, one wolf will devour the sun, another the moon, the stars will disappear from the firmament, the earth quake violently, trees be torn up by their roots, mountains fall together, all chains and bonds be burst asunder, and the wolf Fenris will break loose. Then will the ocean rise above its shores, for the great Midgard’s serpent will recover its giant strength, and struggle to gain the land.
“At length he will succeed, the ship Nagelfare will be set afloat, and the giant Hymir take the helm. Nagelfare is built of the nails of dead men, and it should be remarked that when a person dies and his nails are not cut, materials are furnished towards the building of a vessel, whose completion both gods and men should seek to delay as long as possible.
“Fenris now rushes onward open-mouthed; fire streams from his eyes and nostrils; his under jaw touches the earth, the upper heaven, and he would open them still wider if there were space. Jormungandur vomits out poison, which renders the air and the waters deadly. He is the most terrible of all, and fights by the side of the wolf.
“In the midst of the confusion the heavens are rent asunder, and the sons of Muspell (the genii of fire) ride forth, led on by Surtur, who is clothed in flame, and whose unrivalled sword surpasses in brightness the sun itself. The bridge Bifrost gives way beneath their weight. The sons of Muspell press onwards to the plain Vigrid, which extends five hundred miles every way, and where they meet Fenris and Jormungandur. Asa-Loke also has repaired thither, and at the same time appears Hymir with the Giants of the Frost. All the sons of Hela follow Loke.