This blog we’re taking it back to the old Gods and looking at some ancient mythology. I haven’t written a lot about Norse Mythology before, and the only thing I really know about it is that which I’ve picked up in Final Fantasy XIII, Marvel and Lost Girl, which leads my knowledge on the subject, very limited. So, let’s see if I can do the Norse God’s proud and not embarrass myself too much, while we learn about the Valkyries.

The old Norse way of saying Valkyrie depends on which text you read; some are referred to as Völuspá and some, valkyrja, meaning something along the lines of Those Who Choose the Dead, Chooser of the Fallen or Chooser of the Slain. Valkyries were all women and they were both admired and feared. Valkyries are referenced as being all supernatural, but occasionally are referenced to being humans who obtain powers. They more often than not, were seen to bring hope and strength to the battlefield.

Some stories depict Valkyries as beautiful heroines, riding into battle on horses with armor and shields; others, say they flew through the air with their massive wings. They would protect and soothe the fallen soldiers. After the soldier passed, the Valkyries would choose which soldiers to take to Odin for the final battle at the end of days, Ragnarök, to stop Loki and his army; or whether they would go to Fólkvangr (loosely translated to field of the host). This place was just as good as Valhalla (maybe even better), it was run solely by Freyja and it was basically paradise for the dead warriors. Some say the Valkyries even protected ships of those close to them. Most of the stories that revolve around Valkyries being the heroes, are from the myths that say they weren’t allowed to meddle in the politics of human wars.

In other stories, Valkyries were feared. They would use magic to choose which side won the battle and to ensure the ‘perfect’ candidate for Odin while sitting at a loom and weaving the fate of warriors, using fallen warrior’s intestines for thread, heads for weights, while chanting about the role that they themselves would play in this war. They were said to fly above the battlefield, purely searching for the dead to take to their boss.

Then, later on they were seen Odin’s virgin shield-maidens, with their luscious flowing golden hair, they were put to work as basically the bartenders of Valhalla, serving food and drink in the halls. Back then however, this was seen as one of the highest positions, even the queens on the ground would serve certain guests as a sign of respect. They would still travel to the battlefield and pick the dead, and some say that they would become trapped if they returned without a soul.

Other legends say that Valkyries were the ones to lead warriors into battle and train them. In order to train a warrior properly, there would be death at the end of a tough training day. The Valkyries job would be to resurrect the ones who had fallen in training. They would give advice and wisdom to their human warriors; like casting spells in the warriors dream to grant them immortality, or warning them of their demise. In folklore it’s also said that the Northern Lights are caused by Valkyries beating their swords on their shields.

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A few cases even state that, sometimes Valkyries would fall in love with mortals and teach him the ways of Odin.

One tale told was that of a Valkyrie that was bathing in her female form. A man happened to stumble upon her and took one of her cloaks. He and her fell in love, but years after she finds the cloak he took, and she is reminded of her time as a Valkyrie and flies back home. The husband is so deeply in love with her that he travels far and wide to get his love back, and a King of the Animals (an old man in the woods) tells him how to reach her. The husband finds his wife, but he must succeed in three trials. The man succeeds and they all live happily ever after.

The second popular tale, starts off with a gentleman and Valkyrie falling in love. They’re both happy until the Valkyrie is murdered by another woman who wants the man. The murderous lass however, didn’t realise the wife was a Valkyrie, and the Valkyrie manages to track her down from the afterlife and kills her.

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Freyja:

Freyja is classed as the most important part of the Valkyries in Norse mythology; she was the leader of Fólkvangr. Some people say that Freyja was a Valkyrie herself, others say that she [in theory] ran the Valkyries [for example, in the TV Show Lost Girl, they portray Freyja as a Valkyrie who keeps Fólkvangr running smoothly, making sure the Valkyries do their job]. Freyja in old Norse stands for “Lady” and she was a member of the Vanir tribe, which was full of Gods and Goddesses; later on, she was classed as an honourary member of Aesir (the “rivals” if you will) after her and two other Gods were sent to the tribe as a truce after the Aesir-Vanir War. Her brother is called Freyr [guess mom and dad really liked the name] and her husband is none other than the big guy, Odin! She had 2 children with him called Hnoss and Gersimi. It’s believed by some that she also has something to do with Friday, as some Gods and Goddesses were linked to weekdays; this is disputed though.

Freyja was the wild child of the Aesir tribe because our lass had a soft spot for love, fertility, beauty and the finer things in life. Yes, sex, magic and gold were some of Freyja’s favourite things, but so were war and death. Freyja lived in Asgard and her residence was called Sessrumnir, next to the field of Fólkvangr. She was always given first choice of the warriors to take from the field (implying that she was the one and only Valkyrie, or that she was the one who ultimately decided soldiers fate).

Then we fast forward to the Vikings, and Freyja made an appearance here too. In this age though she was a sorceress who traveled around helping people with her magic abilities; she’d trade her talents for lodging, food and other gifts. This is when she became both feared and loved.

So, lets have a look at some Valkyrie folklore; one of the most popular stories of the time was that of Brunhilde and her love:

Brunhild [or if you know her as I do, Brunhilde] is the Valkyrie featured in Völsunga Saga and also in the Nibelungenlied. Brunhild was a Valkyrie and some say she was the daughter of Odin. In some of the legends, it is Odin that punishes Brunhild and imprisons her in a ring of fire; that it until a man called Siegfired breaks the spell and falls in love with her.

Völsunga saga

In the Völsunga saga, Brynhildr (as it’s spelt) is a Valkyrie and the daughter of Budli. In this version she must decide who wins a battle; Hjalmgunnar or Agnar. Brynhildr sides with Agnar, as she knows that Odin favoured him; but, (ironically) Odin decided that he didn’t like the fact she picked who he’d prefer, and condemned her to a mortal life and locked her away in a castle surrounded by a ring of fire, until someone rescues and marries her.

Sigurðr Sigmundson (or good ol’ Siegfried) a dragon slayer and heir to the clan Völsung, had heard of Brynhild’s beauty and goes to find her and set her free. When he gets to the castle he wakes Brynhildr by dramatically taking off her helmet and cutting off her chain-mail. Siegfried proposes to Brynhild with a magic ring called Andvaranaut, and they even have a child named Aslaug; but all good things come to an end, and Sigurd/Siegfried decides it is time for him to leave, promising to return when he had completed his quests.

Plot twist, the Andvaranaut was cursed and on the way back to Burgundy, a witch called Gudrun had a dream about Siegfried. She knew that she was going to marry him, but that he would die by her family’s hand. Gudrun’s mother, Grimhild made a love potion and Gudrun gave it to her husband to be. Siegfried forgot all about Brynhildr and Siegfried and Gudrun were married quickly. Grimhild, then decided that her son, Gunnar needed a wife and Gunnar’s choice? Brynhildr, of course! This made for an awkward family outing when Siegfried and Gunnar went to go and fetch Brynhild.

Gunnar was no hero though, and only Siegfried, the dragon slayer, could cross the flaming ring that Blidr had put down to protect his daughter. Gunnar had no other option than to ask Sigurd to impersonate him and bring Brynhild back to Burgundy with him.

Sigurd (still disguised, by shape-shifting spell) married Brynhildr and they then returned to Burgundy. Gudrun and Brynhildr got into a good ol’ fashioned “No my husband is better” argument when she arrived; this was when Gudrun revealed it was really Sigurd who went through the ring of fire.  Sigurd finally remembered the truth about Brynhildr and attempted to calm her anger, but Brynhildr decided it was time to plot her revenge. Brynhildr used her new husband to assassinate her former lover, but Gunnar had sworn an oath of brotherhood to Sigurd. The youngest of Gunnar’s brothers attempted to kill Sigurd in his sleep, and managed to, but in his dying breath, Sigurd threw a sword and killed Gutthorm.

Brynhildr was heartbroken after Gutthorm killed Sigurd. She then decided to take the life of their son (who was now only 3), and then she threw herself onto the flames of Sigurd’s cremation and died in his arms.

The Nibelgenlied:

In Nibelgenlied the first part of the story says, a prince called Siegfried is trying to court a princess called Kriemhild. When he arrives in Worms, where princess Kriemhild is, Hagen (Kriemhild’s brother, King Gunther’s henchman) recounts Siegfried’s heroic deeds. War is then declared by the Danes and Saxons, Siegfried volunteers to lead the Burgundian effort, and proves his worth in the battle. When he returns, Kriemhild agrees to meet him for the first time and this is where they “fall in love”.

After this, the court hears that a queen (our lass Brunhild) with exceptional strength and beauty’s love can be won, but only by a man who can match her.  So, naturally, Gunther decides that he will court Brunhild and that Siegfried will help. Siegfried only agrees to this as Gunther promises he will be able to marry Kriemhild if Gunther wins Brunhild over. Brunhild is defeated by Gunther (Siegfried in an invisibility cloak helps), Brunhild accepts Gunther as her new life partner and Siegfried and Kriemhild are married… what a happy ending… BUT NOT FOR LONG! Brunhild realizes something is not right about Gunther, and works out Gunther could not have won the battle alone. Brunhild decides to bring this up with Kriemhild and they have another epic argument of “no, my husband is better”; they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Kriemhild finally tells Brunhild about Gunther and Siegfried’s con.

[Sometimes history is really hard and annoying because] Hagen now joins the party, as an ally with Brunhild plots her revenge. Hagen works as a kind of double agent for Brunhild and becomes friendly with Kriemhild; by doing this, he figures out what makes Siegfried vulnerable and kills him. The poem carries on, but Brunhild more or less vanishes out of it.

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The last story I will talk about is that of Sigrún.

Sigrún was in an arranged marriage. You see, even though Sigrún was a Valkyrie, who was in love with Heigl; she was being forced to marry another man her father had chosen. Heigl knew how much their love meant to one another, and he challenged the betrothed to a fight and he won! Which was fantastic! Until, Sigrún‘s brother disagreed and refused to let Sigrún marry Heigl; her brother decided the only way to stop their marriage from happening, was to kill Heigl and leave Sigrún to deal with the consequences. Sigrún is said to be one of the only Valkyries to die of a broken heart.

After all these stories and a few hundred years later, Valkyries were said to be mortal women, who fought with their family and friends. A lot of researchers think that this is where the stories of Valkyries that we know today, had been based on these women, passed down in beautifully spoken poems and tales.

This was really interesting to write. I loved finding out about the origins of all these different myths. I hope you guys enjoyed it too, and hopefully it won’t be too long until I write some more about Norse Legends!