Alternatives: Walkyries, Alaisiagae, Anglo Saxon:Wælcyrgie
Pronunciation: Valk-eer-ee
The Valkyries (“choosers of the slain”), are held to be the adopted daughters of Odin, they appear as the beautiful warrior-maidens on winged horses, armed with helmets, armor and spears. Their purpose is to visit battlefields and chose the most heroic of those who have died in battle (called Einherjar), and carry them off to the halls Valhalla and Folkvang. This was necessary because Odin needed warriors to fight by his side at the preordained battle at the end of the world, Ragnarok.
The Valkyries were originally seen as frightful battle-spirits accompanying Odin in his work of marking men for death in war. They appear in a more pleasant aspect in Valhall, where they carry out the traditional womanly duty of bearing drink to the Einherjar. The most famous of the valkyries, known chiefly through Wagner’s Ring Cycle, is Brunnhilde, demoted from her position for defending a hero against Odin’s will and punished by being forced to fall in love with Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer.
The Valkries are said to protect his heroes through life and to choose amongst the dead who goes to Valhalla. They serve as purveyors of wisdom, protection, and at death to help the fallen hero make the difficult journey to Valhalla. The Valkyries are often associated with the Norns and this may be due to their role at death. In myth they have been seen as both very fierce ugly hags relishing in blood shed and as beautiful young women living to serve the hero to which they are assigned. Both aspects are most likely true. The former view seems to go back to an earlier time when they were seen, like their god, as beings of rage and wind, the fury of battle. However, this does not stop them from taking on other aspects of Wóden which are much gentler. Odin was also seen as a agricultural God in Germany, known for the giving of gifts and even a great degree of kindness. His advice in the Hávamál reveal Odin to be much more concerned with common sense than with uncontrolled rage. It could be that the Valkyries who also imbued wisdom carried these kinder qualiites as well, and that the separate views of their personalities are only a reflection of a more complex figure.
The Valkyries also acted as Odin’s messengers. Their armor, which shone while doing his bidding, were once thought to have caused Aurora Borealis.
Richard Wagner adapted one of the Valkyrie myths, dealing with the Valkyrie Brunhilde and her love for the warrior Siegfried, into his opera: Die Walkure.
List of the Valkyries:
Brunhilde – Bright Battle
Geirolul – Spear waver
Göll – Tumult
Göndul – Wand wielder
Gudrun – Battle Rune
Gunn – War
Herfjoturr – Host fetter
Hildr – Battle
Hlokk – Noise
Hrist – Shaker
Mist – Cloud
Randgrid – Sheild truce
Radgrid – Counsil truce
Reginleif – Power trace
Skeggjold – Axe age
Skogul – Shaker
Skuld – Debt
Sigrdrifa – Victory urger
Sigrún – Victory Rune
Svafa – Sleep maker
