VALKYRIE

Valkyrie

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens, and sometimes connected to swans or horses.

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valkyrie

Noun

  1. Any of the female attendants of Odin, figures said to guide fallen warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla.
    Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (published 1853) famously features valkyries.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: valkyrie
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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