Just for the record, I have very little time to follow what’s happening on other Harry Potter websites. That’s not because I don’t want to, but because it’s just tough to fit it in right now. So if you’ve seen this elsewhere…um…cool.
As my readers know, I’m taking a mythology class. Here’s a very interesting point from one of my reading assignments, the Norse account of “The Creation, Death, and Rebirth of the Universe,” as explained by the gods:
There are 640 doors built into Valhalla [hall of the slain], and when Ragnarok [battle at the end of the world] arrives 960 warriors will leave the fight the fearsome wolf Fenrir. (Rosenberg, World Mythology, Second Edition, NTC Publishing Group, 1994, p. 211)
Fenrir is apparently an evil wolf who will play a major role in the world’s final battle. He is one of the “three monstrous children” of Loki, a son of the Giants (who, in Norse mythology, are quite evil and will defeat the gods, who are good, in the final battle). His siblings are Hel (goddess of the dead) and the World Serpent. Loki, Fenrir, and the World Serpent will be released to do their damage as the result of a great earthquake (212).
Flames will fire from Fenrir’s eyes and nostrils as he moves toward the plain of Virgid with his mouth gaping in readiness. There he will meet the gathering of the Frost Giants, the World Serpent, and all other creatures of evil.
Odin [the chief god, the All-Father] will fight against Fenrir…The wolf will swallow Odin whole, but Odin’s son Vidar, the fiercest of warriors, will tear Fenrir’s jaws apart and kill him (212).
When the final battle is over, and the world has been reborn,
the gods will remember the knowledge of the high ones [the gods who died], the World Serpent, Fenrir, and Ragnorak. But evil will have left the world (213).
Any chance this provides us any insight into the final battle?
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Lily Luna on 
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting,
I hadn’t noticed it before but Fenrir sounds like the inspiration for both Ungoliant (the animal that grows beyond the god’s ability to control) and Carcharoth (the wolf of Angband) in Tolkien’s Silmarillion.
There may be some inspiration for the final Harry Potter showdown. But if we go down that path we’ll have to diverge from JKR’s adhereance from Christian symbols and head into the cold. If we did this we’d (I think) to take Harry as being Thor, as he is the slayer of the Midgard (World) serpent. But Thor dies from the serpents venom after the battle. Maybe this is more remeniscent of the battle in the Chamber of Secrets?
I like the way you are thinking.
Matt
Maybe its Lupin who will have to fight Fenrir? A showdown between good and bad werewolves?
Matt, good insights, and I think you’re correct that it’s best not to “go down that path” of trying to link the Norse mythology to whatever will happen in Book 7.
Kjetil, I’d definitely put my money on a Fenrir vs. Lupin fight.
A Lupin/ Greyback match-up would definately be like the Carcharoth/ Huan battle in the Silmarillion. Ultimately leading to the death of both. Another self-sacrificial death to defeat a great evil.
How often will these occur? As often as possible, it seems. And all to our benefit.
Matt
I have read thoughts that Fleur will join in the fight to defeat Greyback. Fleur, a Veela, is no stranger to transformations into a particulary dangerous creature. And it was Greyback who deformed her beloved fiancee, Bill Weasley. JKR even hinted that in Prisoner of Azkaban, the scene where Buckbeak was attacking Lupin (who was transformed into a werewold at the time) gave her chills at the movie, b/c it was very “telling” of a scene in the last book. Should be interesting to see who finally takes down Greyback…I can’t wait!
Christina
hello travis,
This was certainly an enchanting theory, and the comparisons coming out of it were stupendous.
Apart from the very clear Fenrir the wolf, other subtle similarities were there ( MAde only from reading HP as my knowledge of mythology is quite less).
Odin seems a lot like old D, and both are dead by the final battle. And it is the great warrior Vidar who kills the wolf (now who could that be? Harry, Lupin, Sirius returned or some new character?) Also, the World Serpent has just got to be big V.
Keep up the good work!
Yours Magically,
Andros the Invincible (quill-name)
Author, Aurors and Marauders