University of Chicago Divinity School
Emma Yeager is a graduate student at the University of Chicago Divinity School where she studies the history of Christianity with an emphasis on religion and ecocriticism in the medieval north. A native of Appalachia, she has presented her award-winning research at the Australian Early Medieval Association and holds a fellowship at Disciples Divinity House while she pursues her studies at Chicago.
Inhabitants of the medieval north knew environmental distress all too well. As such, the literature of this period was saturated with mythology, sermons, and theological treatises that looked directly at ecological disaster and named it for what it was—signs of the end of the world. Old Norse mythology presented Ragnarok—the apocalyptic event that would destroy everything in existence—as the episode the dying world was hurtling towards. Likewise, Old English sermons and poetry acknowledged the impending end of the world and stressed themes of anthro-ecological dependence, the need for active change, and the promise of a new creation. In this paper, I integrate these medieval responses to ecological disaster and construct a response for our times. Namely, I draw on Kate Rigby’s thesis that apocalypse is not always synonymous with the end of the world, but could be understood as the end of a world; ie. a set of practices or beliefs. To the question, “Is Ragnarok inevitable?,” I argue for a nuanced “yes.” The end of many worlds must occur in order for new world-making to begin—for real ecological preservation to begin. We need a new slate and Old Norse and Old English literature provides helpful perspectives on the crisis of the Anthropocene and how to live in a world that must end. Attention is given to the Norse world-tree Yggdrasil and its implications for anthro-arboreal health, as well as the way Old English poetry may be read as creative reflections and responses to the environmental scene of Anglo-Saxon England. Thus, this paper contributes a medieval ecocritical response to the question of ecological preservation. How do we preserve a world that is hurtling toward Ragnarok? We rise from the ash and create a new world in partnership with the earth and in hope of future permanent restoration.