Yes, That Viking Warrior Buried with Weapons Really Was a Woman

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Saw this story on the news feed and immediately thought of Nancy Cole's "The Legend of Alfhildr"

https://www.livescience.com/64816-woman-viking-warrior-buria...

"The ancient warrior was given a prestigious Viking burial, complete with deadly Viking weapons, a bag of gaming pieces (possibly to represent military command) and two horses, one bridled for riding. This mighty warrior — long thought to be be a man — made headlines in 2017 when researchers in Sweden announced that the individual was, in fact, a woman."

"The Legend of Alfhildr" is a great story if you haven't read it you should. Great to read again if it's been a while.

Comments

correct me I'm wrong

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BarbieLee's picture

The women who fought battles with the men, or did the men fight battles with the women?
The women were called Shield Maidens. They were and could be just at deadly or more so then the men. Sadly the role of the Viking women warriors were down graded by Europeans who were writing history. Probably because their own manhood could not fathom women as other then weak playthings for men's entertainment.

The same thing happened to the Amazon women history tried to bury and forget. They are there buried in obscurity but if one digs deep enough they were real. They existed in the northern part of what is now Europe, Russia, German, Ukraine, etc.

I guess Warrior Women would be most men's ultimate nightmare. Thus their efforts to loose them in the annals of history.
always,
Barb

Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl

Shield maiden is 1 version

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Shield maiden is 1 version for Norse female warriors. I've also seen stuff to the effect that the Norse called females that dressed like the men did and went viking (raiding, pillaging, etc.) men. It seems individuals' actions, instead of their reproductive equipment, mattered more.

Yes, the verb (viking), over time, became the proper noun (Viking).

G/R

Valkyries: not just a myth

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Beoca's picture

The concept of female warriors is firmly within Norse Mythology, most notably the shield-maidens who delivered mortals to Valhalla. Apart from that, Norse Mythology is also well-known for its use of gender bending: Odin and Loki both spend time as females in different stories, while Thor has to dress up as a bride (and go through a wedding) to retrieve his hammer Mjolnir. Rick Riordan alluded to this in his "Magnus Chase" series when he made one of the principal characters gender-fluid.

Amusing

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I found it amusing that the idea of female warriors upsets some of the "experts". There is nothing that prevents a woman from being just as dangerous as a man; a fact that probably scares the piss out of some men! :-)

"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Sooo...

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I've heard an old adage in Ireland. "We often fight with our men and, when necessary, alongside them!" That sounds about right.

Kelly the Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrat

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