Valkyries; the female warriors of Valhalla

Valkyries; the female warriors of Valhalla

Many times we have been moved by these extraordinary Nordic warriors, sent by Odin as they say, to rescue the fallen in battle and lead them to Valhalla, a paradise where they can enjoy banquets irrigated with exquisite mead.

These wonderful warriors served Odin under Freyja's command. According to Nordic legends, they only chose the best heroes who fell, as Odin needed the most valuable warriors to fight alongside him in the final battle, the Ragnarök.

By Ragnarök was known mitics battle of the end of the world that would begin a bloody crusade between the gods liberated by Odin and the giants of fire, which would join the jotuns, allies of Loki.

Valkyries in the cinema

In the very famous Thor:Ragnarök film, starring the most famous Thor in contemporary cinema, Chris Hemsworth, we saw one of the Valkyries played by African-American actress Tessa Thompson.

The young woman gave life to "Recolectora" basing her character on the myth of Brunilda. In the film, Thompson is a warrior who helps Thor against Hela, the character who attracts Ragnarök to Asgard.

Even in the video game "God of War" we also see the appearance of several valkyries.

Normally, in modern art, valkyries are represented as beautiful warriors riding on the back of winged horses, coming to battle to offer their help to other warriors.

On the other hand, in some sculptures they are usually represented with wings on their helmets and not on a winged horse.

The warriors of Freyja

This name, Valkyrie, certainly means "the one who chooses the fallen".

In his hands was the power to choose who died and who lived, and then take them through the Bifröst, the rainbow bridge we told you about earlier in the blog.

Some of the fallen warriors were led by Freyja to Folkvangr the goddess' residence, while the rest followed the Valkyries to Vingólf, the palace located near Valhalla, awaiting the arrival of the final great battle.

We are fascinated by these warriors and their task to save the warriors.

But what attracts us most is the fact of imagining the celebration festivities that were organized in the halls of Vingólf and the toasts that they would make, both warriors and valkirias, with their horns full of mead.

Shall we drink to these brave warriors?

Skål!