O professor Johnni Langer (UFPB/NEVE) acaba de publicar o artigo The wolf's jaw: an astronomical interpretation of Ragnarok no periódico russo Archaeoastronomy and Ancient Technologies (AaATec), mantido pela Southern Federal University.
O estudo envolve análises de fenômenos celestes que podem ter auxiliado na popularização do Ragnarok, durante o século X.
Abstract: This paper aims
to explain the eschatological outbreak that occurred during the X century in
Scandinavia and northern Europe, which gave rise to a great iconography of
Ragnarök, stemmed primarily from the Old Norse mythology. Our basic hypothesis
is that various astronomical phenomena which occurred during in the VIII and IX
centuries (total eclipses of the sun and passages of comets, both related to
the constellation of Wolf´s Jaw - the Hyades) have aroused in the Nordic man
his eschatological fears, impelling him to create a large amount apocalyptic
images close of the year 1000 AD. We identified thirteen celestial phenomena
(comet passages and total eclipses of the Sun) that may have been collected in
the construction of the Ragnarök image among the ancient Norsemen. Our main
methodology is the Cultural Astronomy, coupled with the prospects of the
cultural history of myths. Aided by several studies on medieval astronomical
folklore, especially those related to comets and eclipses. We also use some
recent research on the theme of celestial myths and Old Norse Astronomy
developed by European and American scholars, such as Gísli Sigurðsson, Thomas
DuBois, Christan Etheridge and Dorian Knight.
Keywords:
Comets and eclipses; Cultural Astronomy; Folk Astronomy; Hyades; Viking Age; Norse
Mythology; Ragnarök.
O artigo pode ser acessado clicando aqui.
