This idea, if it existed, was likely not universal. Thus, she had the first choice of warriors and the remainder were taken to Valhalla. And it seems likely that they were chosen in the same way.īased on accounts of Freya’s choice after battle, some scholars believe that she may have been thought of as the leader of the Valkyries. While Folkvangr does not hold as prominent of a place in the popular imagination, therefore, it is likely that the warriors there were just as renowned as those who were sent to Odin. Only after she chose her half of the best fighting men would the remainder join the Einherjar in Valhalla. In the Prose Edda, 13th century writer Snorri Sturluson even said that it was Freya, instead of Odin, who had the first choice of men who died in battle. Freya’s field, Folkvangr, also welcomed many fighting men. While this aspect of her character is less well-remembered today, it was referenced several times in Norse poems and sagas.Īccording to some accounts, Odin was not the only god who took fallen warriors to the afterlife. While the Valkyries were closely connected to Odin and Valhalla, however, some interpretations of Norse poems have come to the conclusion that they may have served another deity as well.įreya, the goddess of beauty and magic, was also a goddess of war. To be selected by the Valkyries for this fate was the highest honor a Viking Age man could aspire to. Odin’s hall, Valhalla, was said to be the place where those who died in battle went in the afterlife. One name that was sometimes given to them, for example, was “Odin’s maids.” In one poem, a seeress called them the “ladies of the War Lord.” They are linked to the chief of the gods in many legends and poems. The Valkyries were usually described as servants of Odin. They could both protect and kill human warriors based on Odin’s wishes or the predetermined threads of fate. It would seem, therefore, that some people believed that the Valkyries played a far more active role in fighting than just ferrying souls to Valhalla. One source even said that she was the “youngest of the Norns,” the goddesses who wove the threads of fate beneath Yggdrasil’s roots. One name that is frequently given for one of the Valkyries, for example, Skuld, references fate. The idea of the Valkyries somehow influencing fate is referenced in more than one source. The implication in this Valkyrie’s story is that the warrior goddesses not only chose men once they had died, but also that they singled out at least some men for death on their own. She says that she was given a sleeping potion by Odin as punishment for killing a man he wished to live. In the story of another hero, Sigurd, a Valkyrie is found unconscious on a battlefield. She says that she had, unbeknownst to him, protected him many times in battle. While the primary role of the Valkyries was to choose which of the dead men went to Valhalla, some stories claimed that they had other roles on the battlefield as well.įor example, in the story of the heroic king Helgi Hjorvardsson, he meets a beautiful Valkyrie called Svava. They would join the Einherjar, the warriors who fought and feasted each day in Odin’s hall. Those who fought and died well would be chosen by the Valkyries for a place in Valhalla. While ancient sources do not entirely agree on whether they were responsible for deaths themselves or not, they did agree that those who showed exceptional courage and strength would be noticed by these warrior women. The Valkyries appeared at the scene of battle. Their name comes from two Old Norse words, valr referring to those who died in battle and kjosa meaning “to choose.” They were the “choosers of the slain.” The Valkyries are most well-known for the role they played in battle. This popular image of the Valkyries was certainly known during the Viking Age, but was there more to these goddesses of the battlefield than just their selection of the slain? The Valkyries on the Battlefield These chosen fighters are then taken to Valhalla, the paradise of those who died in battle, where they will fight and feast until Ragnarok. They fly above the battlefield and swoop down to choose the bravest, most noble warriors at the moment of death. The Valkyries are typically depicted as fearsome but beautiful warrior women. From contemporary art and literature to later operas, the goddesses of the battlefield have been a popular part of the mythology for centuries. The image of the Valkyrie is one of the most enduring of the Norse Era.
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