Shield-maiden

Hervor dying after the Battle of the Goths and Huns, by Peter Nicolai Arbo

A shield-maiden (Old Norse: skjaldmær [ˈskjɑldˌmæːr]) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology.

The term Old Norse: skjaldmær most often shows up in fornaldarsögur such as Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks. However, female warriors are also mentioned in the Latin work Gesta Danorum.[1] Both the fornaldarsögur and Gesta Danorum were written after the Viking Age and are considered fictional. Earlier reports of fighting women occur in some Roman sources from Late Antiquity.[2] They are often associated with the mythical Valkyries, which may have inspired the shieldmaidens.[3] They may have also been inspired by accounts of Amazons.

  1. ^ Jesch, Judith (2021). "Women, War and Words: a Verbal Archaeology of Shield-maidens". Viking Wars. 84. doi:10.5617/viking.9054. S2CID 244733568.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reallexikon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Jesch, Judith (2015). The Viking Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN 9781317482543.