On our walk to the park on Tuesday, MasterKAF and MrsDTB got chatting about Norse Mythology. MasterKAF came up with a theory that Ragnarok ( the end of days story in Norse mythology) leads into the Christian Creation Story. MrsDTB asked him why and this is what he came up with.
For: 2 surviving humans after the events of Ragnarok although they don’t have the same names as in the Bible There is a serpent in both stories, the Norse snake is called Jormungand. thankfully he gets slain dramatically by Thor. Sadly, Thor is killed by the exhaustion of the whole fight with a snake who is large enough to wrap around the whole world so MasterK says “you’d be tired too!” Odin’s immortal warriors are known as the Einherjar. Those who survive Ragnarok may be the first group of angels along with any Valkyrie. There might also be some warriors who fought for Freya in Midgard included in the choir.
Against: The 7 days part from the Bible does not appear in the Ragnorok tale.
This made MrsDTB feel a little queasy but also inquisitive to find out more as we had watched Thor: Ragnarok the day before. It got us to thinking how accurate both the Marvel films and the Rick Riordan books are, when compared with other records of Norse Mythology.
The Magnus Chase book is called The Ship of the Dead. Here is a quick synopsis from the Penguin Randomhouse website:
” Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin’s chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn’t naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus faces his most dangerous trial yet.
Loki is free from his chains. He’s readying Naglfar, the Ship of the Dead, complete with a host of giants and zombies, to sail against the Asgardian gods and begin the final battle of Ragnarok. It’s up to Magnus and his friends to stop him, but to do so they will have to sail across the oceans of Midgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim in a desperate race to reach Naglfar before it’s ready to sail. Along the way, they will face angry sea gods, hostile giants, and an evil fire-breathing dragon. But Magnus’s biggest challenge will be facing his own inner demons. Does he have what it takes to outwit the wily trickster god?”
MasterKAF did some further research on Naglfar which is thought to mean Ship of Nails but some call it the Ship of The Damned. It turns out that the etymology of Naglfar has long been a point of discussion and certainly the fact that Riordan refers to both The Ship of Nails and The Ship of The Dead supports this.
