What are the origins of the Norse Ragnarök myth, and did it reflect real events?

The answer

Ragnarök ("Twilight of the Gods" or Götterdämmerung in German) is the Norse end-times prophecy described in the 13th-century Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and the Poetic Edda. It foretells Fimbulwinter - three successive winters with no summer - followed by cosmic battles destroying gods and giants alike. Researchers including Bo Gräslund at Uppsala University have linked Fimbulwinter to the extreme climate event of 536 CE, when volcanic eruptions (likely from Ilopango in El Salvador) ejected massive aerosols that dimmed the sun across the Northern Hemisphere for 18 months, causing crop failures and famine across Scandinavia. Archaeological evidence shows a 50% decline in Scandinavian settlements during this period, potentially embedding the catastrophe into collective cultural memory.