Any association between valkyries and swords, on the other hand, is very rare as a sword, closely associated with masculinity, would be incongruous on a female figure. When carrying out their duties on the battlefield, however, valkyries needed to be armed and the literary texts suggest that they were usually equipped with helmets, mail-coats and spears. This literary understanding is confirmed by many Viking Age images of female figures, with long hair and gown, rather like the Hårby figurine, but holding out a drinking horn. There, the valkyries acted as hostesses, welcoming the dead warriors and serving them drink, as in the anonymous poem about Eirik Bloodaxe cited above. He would send them to battle to choose those warriors who were worthy of dying and going to Valhalla, the hall of the slain, where they prepared themselves for the final battle of Ragnarok. The medieval Icelanders understood the function of valkyries literally from their name (valkyrja means 'chooser of the slain'), and presented an image of them as handmaidens of the war-god Odin. We know about them mainly from Old Norse literature, the poetry and prose written down in Iceland in the thirteenth century and later. Valkyries are interesting and significant figures in the warrior cultures of the Viking Age. So we are left to conclude that the figure must be symbolic, rather than realistic, and most experts are inclined to label her as a valkyrie. Male warriors did not always have helmets, as these were expensive, but would have had some kind of protective headgear like a leather cap. Her garment is elaborate and beautifully decorated, and would be a real hindrance in combat, as would her uncovered head and its pony-tail. If it is intended as an image of a woman warrior, then it is not a realistic one. The function of this figurine is unknown, and what it represents is also mysterious. What is unusual is that she is carrying an upright sword in her right hand and a shield in her left. It undoubtedly represents a woman: she has the knotted pony-tail and long garment characteristic of many other representations of female figures in Viking art. AD 800, Hårby, Funen, Denmark, Silver, niello, H 3.4 cm, National Museum of Denmark, C 39227 (Photo: © Mationalmuseet, Copenhagen)Ī very small silver figurine, found in Hårby, in Denmark, in late 2012, may seem to contradict this. Women can boast of many achievements in the Viking Age yet, in a quarter of a century of studying them, I find that the one thing I get asked about most often is the one thing I do not think they 'achieved', which was to become warriors.įigurine, possibly a Valkyrie (view from 4 sides). Also, women were an absolute prerequisite for the lasting establishment of a successful new nation in the uninhabited island of Iceland. There is evidence for female traders in Russia, for instance, for far-travelling women, for queens and mistresses of large estates, as well as for women as victims and slaves. Nor did these women all stay at home while their menfolk went out into the wide world of raiding and trading. A more nuanced view of the Viking Age would recognise that even large, aggressive and bearded men had mothers, and very likely sisters, wives and daughters, and if you look closely at the exhibition you will find some personal items associated with such women. As that suggests, much of this world is a male world, and this chimes with popular perceptions of the Vikings as large, aggressive and bearded men. The BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend promises to reveal 'a world of warriors, seafarers and conquerors' and its iconic image is a sword. I’m expecting some renowned heroes from the human world my heart is glad! made the Valkyries bring wine, as a prince was coming. Odin: What a dream! I dreamt I woke at dawn to tidy Valhalla for the fallen ones I.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |