RRRAGNAROKKH-aaah....
Ragnarok. Yeah, that. Is there anything in Heathenry that elicits more ignorant statements and posturing? OK, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Please allow me to explain.
In the Voluspa (which nobody pronounces properly anyway :P ), we see the tale of the final battle between the gods. First thing to notice is that it's only gods doing battle, and that no humans are participating. Second thing to notice is that the gods, either in anthropomorphic mega-magic form or in awesome force of nature form, will completely squish any normal mortal beings that get in their way. Sure, there are the Einherjar, but they are no longer normal mortal humans, etc. Third thing to notice (and pretty much everyone misses this) is that, looking at who battles whom, Ragnarok is an allegory for human nature, as you have (in representative form) cold-blooded heartlessness killing compassion, rage consuming wisdom, and order destroyed by chaos. You also have destructive fire battling nature (i.e. Surt vs. Frey), but it does not say that Frey is killed. And at the end, the world starts to recover, and the surviving humans begin to bounce back. I see the story as a warning against the darker side of human nature, and in particular the dangers and costs of modern civilization.
But no, we must forget all of that and boldly state to the world that we will be standing with the proper gods to do battle at Ragnarok, especially while in pathetic physical condition with little to no martial knowledge whatsoever. Hmm, maybe chugging some extra mead will do the trick, ya think? Beat our chests, declare loyalty to the Aesir alone, put all other gods, people, and foreign pantheons on the other side, and boldly march forward so we can smite them all with our mighty...um...er...delusions. Yeah, that's it.
OK, theological excesses aside, if one believes in following the Folkways of Our Ancestors(TM), and that one will be doing battle at Ragnarok, then why aren't any of them studying the historical martial arts of their ancestors? Granted, there are some fine people out there who practice martial arts that are connected in some way to historical Germanic culture, but these people tend not to boast and gloat about settling scores alongside the gods. It's not the frikkin' Rapture of Christianity. Where to start to actually study it? If you want real war-tested stuff that will save your butt, there's Ringen (Kampfringen) from medieval manuals such as Ringeck, Wallerstein, Talhoffer, etc. If you want something a bit more genteel, there's Passchen and Petter, which are more like modern self-defense courses. And for something in between, there's Glima (Iceland) and Schwingen (Switzerland), both Germanic folk-wrestling styles that survived to the present day. Other similar indigenous styles include Scottish Backhold/Cumberland, Lancashire/Catch wrestling, Cornish wrestling (looks vaguely like judo), Gouren (across the English Channel), and so on.
Why the rant now? Because this silliness is showing up again, with some people that I thought had known better. If someone doesn't believe in audience-participation Ragnarok, that's fine. If they do believe in it and are diligently training, that's fine too, even if it is an odd belief. But if one's only historical fighting skill is beer-spitting, then for gods' sake, don't go around making epic declarations of personally-inflicted doom; it's ridiculous. Enjoy the mead (or beer, or cheap beer, or ...), and don't lose too much of it at ECT.
In the Voluspa (which nobody pronounces properly anyway :P ), we see the tale of the final battle between the gods. First thing to notice is that it's only gods doing battle, and that no humans are participating. Second thing to notice is that the gods, either in anthropomorphic mega-magic form or in awesome force of nature form, will completely squish any normal mortal beings that get in their way. Sure, there are the Einherjar, but they are no longer normal mortal humans, etc. Third thing to notice (and pretty much everyone misses this) is that, looking at who battles whom, Ragnarok is an allegory for human nature, as you have (in representative form) cold-blooded heartlessness killing compassion, rage consuming wisdom, and order destroyed by chaos. You also have destructive fire battling nature (i.e. Surt vs. Frey), but it does not say that Frey is killed. And at the end, the world starts to recover, and the surviving humans begin to bounce back. I see the story as a warning against the darker side of human nature, and in particular the dangers and costs of modern civilization.
But no, we must forget all of that and boldly state to the world that we will be standing with the proper gods to do battle at Ragnarok, especially while in pathetic physical condition with little to no martial knowledge whatsoever. Hmm, maybe chugging some extra mead will do the trick, ya think? Beat our chests, declare loyalty to the Aesir alone, put all other gods, people, and foreign pantheons on the other side, and boldly march forward so we can smite them all with our mighty...um...er...delusions. Yeah, that's it.
OK, theological excesses aside, if one believes in following the Folkways of Our Ancestors(TM), and that one will be doing battle at Ragnarok, then why aren't any of them studying the historical martial arts of their ancestors? Granted, there are some fine people out there who practice martial arts that are connected in some way to historical Germanic culture, but these people tend not to boast and gloat about settling scores alongside the gods. It's not the frikkin' Rapture of Christianity. Where to start to actually study it? If you want real war-tested stuff that will save your butt, there's Ringen (Kampfringen) from medieval manuals such as Ringeck, Wallerstein, Talhoffer, etc. If you want something a bit more genteel, there's Passchen and Petter, which are more like modern self-defense courses. And for something in between, there's Glima (Iceland) and Schwingen (Switzerland), both Germanic folk-wrestling styles that survived to the present day. Other similar indigenous styles include Scottish Backhold/Cumberland, Lancashire/Catch wrestling, Cornish wrestling (looks vaguely like judo), Gouren (across the English Channel), and so on.
Why the rant now? Because this silliness is showing up again, with some people that I thought had known better. If someone doesn't believe in audience-participation Ragnarok, that's fine. If they do believe in it and are diligently training, that's fine too, even if it is an odd belief. But if one's only historical fighting skill is beer-spitting, then for gods' sake, don't go around making epic declarations of personally-inflicted doom; it's ridiculous. Enjoy the mead (or beer, or cheap beer, or ...), and don't lose too much of it at ECT.