The Norse poem that recounts the prophecy of Ragnarök is Völuspá. Its title means “Prophecy of the völva,” or seeress, and the poem presents a visionary account spoken to Odin.
Völuspá is the best-known poem of the Poetic Edda and probably dates from the tenth century. It surveys the entire mythic arc: the creation of the cosmos, the ordering of the worlds, the death of Baldr, the binding of Loki, and the destruction and renewal associated with Ragnarök.
The poem survives most completely in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts, both medieval Icelandic witnesses. It is written in fornyrðislag, a traditional Old Norse alliterative meter. Although it is often treated as a pagan source, scholars have debated possible Christian influences in its imagery and composition.
A common mix-up is confusing Völuspá with Gylfaginning. Gylfaginning is a prose narrative in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda that retells and expands many myths; Völuspá is the poetic prophecy itself.