Women, War and Words: a Verbal Archaeology of Shield-maidens
In discussions about female Viking warriors, archaeology is usually to the fore, but attention to words and texts brings out the nuances in this debate.
This research contributes to ongoing discussions, both public and academic, about women warriors in the Viking Age.
The key to understanding the complex roles of real and mythological women in the Viking Age, including possible female warriors, is the careful study of terminology in context. Using a method described as the 'stratigraphy of texts', this paper traces the development of the Old Norse concept of the skjaldmær,‘shield-maiden’, through a variety of texts, suggests a probable origin for the concept in the Amazons, and also considers how the shield-maiden differs from the ‘valkyrie’ (Old Norse valkyrja).
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19th November 2021
Viking. Norsk arkeologisk årbok, published by Norsk arkeologisk selskap/Norwegian Archaeological Society
I've always been interested in the different roles played by both real and mythological women in the Viking Age. Close attention to the texts that associate women and war can reveal all kinds of interesting complexities in how these roles were represented or imagined in Old Norse texts.
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