MUSPILLI. - Title of a poetic fragment of 105 alliterative verses in Bavarian dialect from the 9th century, originating from the monastery of St. Emmeram in Ratisbon, and so named, following the example of J. A. Schmeller, who was its first editor in 1832, from the word *mu-spille* which recurs in the 57th verse of the fragment in the sense of “end of the world,” “universal judgment.”
The brief composition, which is believed to have been transcribed by the hand of Louis the German himself—since it was found on the blank pages of a Latin codex belonging to him—describes, in prophetic tone and vivid colors, the fate of souls after death, the struggle of celestial and infernal spirits for possession of the soul, and the duel of Elijah with the Antichrist, interwoven with numerous admonitions and counsels of piety. It is certainly the work of a layman, as appears from the not always perfect knowledge of Church doctrine, and possesses some artistic merit, although a certain liveliness of description is occasionally noted and some fine poetic images are to be admired here and there. It must, however, have been quite well known in its time, OTFRIDO DI WEISSENBURG (v.) inserted an entire verse (the 14th) from it into his *Liber Evangeliorum*. Since certain conceptions of Nordic mythology are evident in the content of the fragment—such as it developed artistically in the books of the *Edda* (v.) and particularly in the description of the *ragnarök* (the twilight of the gods)—cf. GERMANI, RELIGIONE dei)—some scholars in the past believed they could trace in it the eschatological concepts of Germanic paganism, identifying Elijah with Odin and the Antichrist with the wolf Fenrir. Today, however, all agree in holding that those elements—less perhaps the word *muspilli*—have their root solely in Christian traditions, which also form the basis of the epic edifice, albeit freely reworked in some parts.