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Definition
Valkyrie
A Valkyrie is a figure in Norse mythology depicted as a warrior woman on horseback, a wolf or boar, and armed with a spear, who decides the fate of warriors in battle and carries the dead to Odin’s Valhalla. Valkyrie means "chooser of the...
Interview
Interview: The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women by Nancy Marie Brown
In this interview, World History Encyclopedia is joined by American author Nancy Marie Brown, who is talking to us about her new book The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women. You can find the entire interview on our...
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Valkyrie Pouring Mead
Statue of a Valkyrie pouring mead by Danish sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen, 1835. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo by Bloodofox. The work depicts the Valkyrie tending to the warriors in the afterlife realm of Valhalla...
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The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women
Cover of The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women by Nancy Marie Brown.
Definition
Valhalla
Valhalla ("Hall of the Slain") is the afterlife realm in Norse mythology for fallen heroes selected by Odin’s Valkyrie to become members of the army that will fight against the forces of chaos at Ragnarök. The concept of Odin’s Hall seems...
Definition
Norse Mythology
Norse mythology refers to the Scandinavian mythological framework that was upheld during and around the time of the Viking Age (c. 790- c. 1100 CE). Complete with a creation myth that has the first gods slaying a giant and turning his body...
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Nancy Marie Brown
Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women.
Video
Women and Valkyrie in the Viking Age, Interview with Nancy Marie Brown
Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Real Valkrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women joins us to talk all about female Vikings, warrior women and women in the Viking Age. Nancy uses two very different kinds of sources in The Real Valkyrie...
Video
Female Viking Warriors in History: Legendary Valkyries Shield Maidens
From the sagas, the most famous type of female Viking warrior was the shield maiden who took up arms and fought side by side in battle with the men. Mirroring them in the spiritual world is the Valkyries (whose name literally means choosers...
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Valkyrie Riding to Battle
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie in a modern interpretation of Norse mythology as portrayed in the movie Thor Ragnarok (2017). Valkyries were maidens whose role was to participate in battles and to decide which warriors should die in battle. They...