This post is a kind of continuation of 3 my earlier posts related with Vikings and their mythology and with women heroism in general:
RUNES
Link: http://blog.bitcomet.com/post/22410/
Freya - Goddess of love
Link: http://blog.bitcomet.com/post/22448/
and
Amazons
Link: http://blog.bitcomet.com/post/21873/
And is telling about some very important beings in Norse mythology.
Valkyries, - maidens who served Odin as choosers of slain warriors,
who were taken to reside in Valhalla
Valkyries are female spirits of battle who serve Odin, the ruler of the gods in Norse mythology. The Valkyries ("Choosers of the Slain") are beautiful young women, mounted upon winged horses and armed with helmets and spears.
The Valkyries rode through the air in brilliant armor, directed battles, distributed death lots among the warriors, and conducted the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla, the great hall of Odin. They apportion victory in battle according to Odin's commands, and scour the battlefields for those who are particularly brave, or show particular skill in the arts of combat. When such warriors die, the valkyries then carry them over Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, and to Valhalla.
Once in Valhalla they also serve the slain warriors meat and drink. (This should not at all be seen as a servile role, rather just the opposite. Sometimes in viking society a queen would serve a particularly honored guest herself, as a sign of great respect, and it is in this sense that the valkyries serve the einherjar who feast there.)
The Valkyries are also Odin's messengers and when they ride forth on their errands, their armor causes the strange flickering light that is called "Aurora Borealis" (Northern Lights). When the Northern Lights were in the sky, our paleopagan ancestors said that it was caused by the light reflected from the shields the Valkyries were beating their swords against.
Another function the valkyries serve in Valhalla is to guide the warriors in their battle-training, and to heal and/or reanimate them after a day of battle-practice. They also give warnings of battle via dreams and visions, and also of impending death.
Sometimes, the valkyrie guides and protects her chosen human, and may become his lover. She teaches him the ways of Odin, and brings him wisdom and inspiration from the god, and when the time comes she kills him and brings him home.
It would seem then that valkyries are the intermediaries between the human world and Odin. Valkyries are often called swan maidens, and are said to be able to become swans with the aid of feathered cloaks. In this respect they are a sort of a fairy being. They can be captured by stealing their swan-cloaks while they are bathing, as Wayland did, though they are prone to leaving their husbands and seeking out battle again, or their old homes.
As was told in Runes, Nazi used the Norse mythology for their symbolism and it had a very bad influence on people who were interested in learning more about that heroic people, who were Vikings. It is very pity, because Norse mythology doesn't have anything to do with the Second World War and it is not right to relate Norse mythology with the Nazi.
But I want to mention here, in contexts with story about Valkyries, a talented German composer Richard Wagner, who wrote a beautiful heroic music and who's RIDE OF VALKYRIES piece of art you can hear here:
