Alternatives: Surtr, Surt
Pronunciation: Sert-er
Surtur (“The Black One”) is the leader of the fire giants in the south, and the ruler of Muspelheim, the realm of fire. He was married to Sinmore. His sword is flaming and at the end of the present world – Ragnarok, he is destined to make war against the Gods and triumph over them and burn the whole world with fire. Only Hodmimir’s Forest will remain, because that is the only thing his sword can not destroy.
The familiar version of this mythological holocaust is the last scene of Richard Wagner’s opera ‘Götterdämmerung (‘Twilight of the Gods’).
In the final battle, Surtur and his Fire-Giants burst forth:” In Surtur’s grasp the Sword of Revenge blazes, adding a blood red colour to the twilight of the whole world.”
At the end of the gods and the world, as it is said in Völuspá:
Surtur from the south wielding fire
The gods’ swords shine in the darkness,
like stars in the night
Mountains collapse into rubble
And fiends shall fall
Man walks the road to ruin
as the sky splits in two’
Interestingly Surtsey, meaning “Surt’s Island”, is a new volcanic island that surfaced off the south coast of Iceland in 1963.
