Surtr

The Great Black Fire Giant Jotunn Guardian

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Sources: https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/surt/

https://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/surt/about.html

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/surtr-norse-god-0018295

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Surt (Old Norse Surtr, “Black,” presumably a reference to his charred appearance) is a fire giant who leads his kin into battle against the Aesir and Vanir gods during Ragnarok, the destruction of the cosmos. His particular fate is to kill the god Freyr and to be slain by him in turn. He arrives from Muspelheim, the extreme southern region of heat and fire, bearing his weapon of choice of a burning sword, with which the world is razed before it sinks into the sea.

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Historian Rudolf Simek has proposed that Surt is the supernatural force who corresponds to “the (volcanic) fire of the Underworld,” a personage who would surely have had a profound emotional resonance for any early Icelander, given the sheer amount of volcanic activity that characterizes that island.

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In the beginning, there was only the blackness of Ginnungagap, and then Surt appeared out of the blackness with his flaming sword and touched land, and it lit up and became the Realm of Fire. Eventually it drew close enough to Niflheim, the primal Realm of Ice, that itwarmed and melted the frozen earth, revealing Ymir the primal frost-giant and Audumhla the Great Cow.

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In this way, life was created from the meeting of fire and ice in Nordic mythos. Surt's children - the fire-giants - eventually met and intermarried with Ymir's children, and Surt's bloodlines show up in many younger fire-giants such as Farbauti and his son Loki.

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As such, Surt is the single oldest surviving being in the Nine Worlds. Acording to the primary sources, in the beginning, before there were any other living beings, there was Surt lighting the place up with his great sword - or possibly wand - of fire and light, Laevateinn. Surt himself will not discuss where he came from, or what brought him forth; in fact it's another of the questions that you shouldn't be foolish enough to ask. He does have a temper, and if it rages, you may be in for fire hazards in your life over the next several weeks.

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Surt is the godfather of Loki, and raised him as a son in childhood. He has said that he is Loki's godfather, and that Laufey came to Muspellheim to give birth to him, and that she lay in Surt's biggest fireplace to bring him forth. Surt has a close relationship with (and a great respect for) Loki's daughter Hela, with whom he is building the great Ship of Ragnarok, Naglfari, as a joint project; in spite of the fact that he is much older than her, he refers to her as "Her Ladyship", as many etins do.

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Surt is knowledgeable in the ways of all kinds of fires, and especially - although few speak to him of this - the kind of primal fire that stars are made of. In fact, his knowledge of suns and stars outside the Nine Worlds is enough to take one aback, and seriously wonder about his origins. It goes without saying that he knows a great deal about moving heat and energy.

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According to the Voluspa, if Ragnarok comes to pass, Surt and his children will rise up with the legions of Hela's dead mortals and attack the forces of Asgard. It is prophesied that should this happen, Surt will slay the god Frey, who gave up his sword for love and must defend himself only with a deer antler. Then much of the world will be consumed in flames, and Surt will rebirth it again.

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Ragnarök, in Old Norse mythology, is the fated end of the world. Preceding it is Fimbulvetr, a series of three consecutive and very harsh winters, followed by innumerable wars. As all life on Earth perishes, the gods are fated to do one last battle against the Jötnar - the Giants - and many other monstrous beings. In the battle, all will perish, and the world will be drowned in a great flood, thus ending. Later on, the whole of the world starts anew, in a powerful cycle of death and rebirth.

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And in these events, Surtr holds a special place. During the battles of Ragnarök, the god Freyr slays a powerful giant named Beli (“Roarer”). In order to avenge him, Surtr marches to battle against “Beli’s bane”, i.e., Freyr. In all the accounts that mention him, Surtr is described as a very powerful being, capable of great destruction thanks to his great flaming sword. In the Prose Edda chapter Gylfaginning, it is said that: "at the end of the world he [Surtr] will go and wage war and defeat all the gods and burn the whole world with fire".

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A God from the South Who Will Burn the Earth

There is no doubt that the origins of Surtr far predate the Old Norse civilization and their myths. Surtr is much older, rooted in the beliefs and observations of the paleo-Norse and the Proto-Europeans. The clues for this lie in descriptions of Surtr: he is always “from the south”, and always connected with fire, heat, and flame.

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It is likely that the origins of Surtr lie in the people’s fear of drought and the terrifying heat of the summer - which was always the sure end of life for prehistoric man. There is a great possibility that the Giant Surtr is just a personification of drought and the catastrophic sun’s heat that can bring about climate change and “great floods” that are foretold to come.

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In Iceland, for example, there are many toponyms that bear Surtr’s name, and they all originate in the pre-Christian period of this nation. And, unsurprisingly, most of the toponyms are connected to volcanoes and caves. There is also significant evidence that Surtr was in some way a worshiped being, with the locals crossing great distances to visit a special cave where Surtr is believed to have dwelt. There they gave offerings in the form of fowl, game, sheep, and goats. Likely this was done by Iceland’s first Viking settlers in order to stave off volcanic activity, which they believed was the doing of Surtr the great flaming giant.

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In various Norse eddas and sagas, Surtr is almost always mentioned in the same context - as the powerful giant that dominates the Ragnarök battle and later burns the world. His ultimate fate, however, is unknown. Like all the other creatures and gods, he too likely perishes in the world’s end, but how, we do not know.

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We do know, however, that not all the people on the Earth were defeated by Surtr’s terrifying fire. In Norse mythology, two people hid in the woodland of Hoddmímis Holt. They were Líf and Lífthrasir, and they found refuge there, all throughout the Fimbulvetr, and against the fire of Surtr. They were nourished by dew, and “from them generations sprang” and repopulated the barren earth. So, Surtr - after all - was not the destroyer of all.

Tsjuder - Surtr

Lyrics

I am the oldest one

Primordial dweller in black emptiness

Slayer of worlds

Unholy destruction

Ravishing fire, king of ashes

Total death, world eater

I am the black one

Ancient as the land of fire

Volcanic force, death thrower

Eater of your nine worlds

I erupt in fire from the abyssic depths

Shattering the shining celestial bridge

I fling fire over the earth and incinerate your world

Your gods and temples are dust by my feet

Slayer of worlds

Ravishing fire

Total death

World eater, king of ashes

With hellsword in hand I incinerate it all

And the abyss is all that remains

I dwell in black emptiness

Pictures Videos Music and Additional Reading

Surtr The Great Black Fire Giant Jotunn Guardian

Surtr Card Greeting By Daniel Lown

Source: https://pixels.com/featured/surtr-daniel-lown.html?product=greeting-card

Dark Ambient

Enter the fiery realm of Surtr, the primordial giant from Norse mythology, with this haunting dark ambient music soundscape. Layered textures of crackling flames and deep, resonant tones evoke the power and destruction he wields as he prepares for Ragnarok. Allow the intense atmosphere to transport you to a world on the brink of chaos, where the forces of fire and fate collide in an eternal dance of annihilation.

The Giant with the Flaming Sword (1909) by John Charles Dollman

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In Norse mythology, Surtr (Old Norse "black" or more narrowly "swart", Surtur in modern Icelandic), also sometimes written Surt in English, is a jötunn; he is the greatest of the fire giants and further serves as the guardian of Muspelheim, which is one of the only two realms to exist before the beginning of time, alongside Niflheim.

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Surtr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Surtr is foretold as being a major figure during the events of Ragnarök; carrying his bright sword, he will go to battle against the Æsir, he will battle the major god Freyr, and afterward the flames that he brings forth will engulf the Earth.

Burzum - Surtr Sunnan (Black from the South)

Lyrics Language is Icelandic translated into English

Hrymr goes from the east,

a great spring before,

Jörmungandr roars

in giant rage;

the serpent drives away,

but the eagle rejoices,

the scythe reaches the hilt,

Naglfar is loosed.

Kjóll goes from the east,

Muspell's followers will come,

but Loki steers;

all go foolish

with a scythe,

with those who are the brother

of Býleist in the party.

Surtr goes from the south

with a lion's bow,

the sun shines from his sword;

the rocky cliffs gnaw,

but the gyres find their way,

the tails trample the road of hell,

but the sky splits.

Then comes Hlínar's

other grief,

when Odin goes

with the wolf's path,

but the death of Belja

is bright at Surti;

then Frigg will

fall in love.

Now Garmr is making a great attack on Gnipahelli, the fast will break, but the swift will flow; I know how to tell, I see further ahead, the raging waves of the scythe. Then comes the great Sigföður, Víðarr, the road to the wild beast. May he make Hveðrungs' mouths stand upright, then the father will be avenged.

Norscan Warlord - Surtr

Lyric Video

Source: https://thevikingherald.com/article/surtr-the-fiery-giant-of-norse-mythology-and-his-role-in-ragnaroek/771

Source: https://surflegacy.net/surtur-norse-mythology/