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Shield-maidens
A shield-maiden ( ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology. The term most often shows up in fornaldarsögur such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks''. However, female warriors are also mentioned in the Latin work ''Gesta Danorum''. Both the fornaldarsögur and Gesta Danorum were written after the Viking Age and are considered fictional. Earlier reports of fighting women occur in some Roman sources from Late Antiquity. They are often associated with the mythical Valkyries, which may have inspired the shieldmaidens. They may have also been inspired by accounts of Amazons. Etymology and meaning The term Shield-maiden is a calque of the . Since Old Norse has no word that directly translates to warrior, but rather drengr, rekkr and seggr can all refer to male warrior and bragnar can mean warriors, it is problematic to say that the term meant female warrior to Old Norse speakers. Judith Jesch researched the word in an attempt to find its origin. While she found tha ...
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Peter Nicolai Arbo-Hervors Død
Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Culture * Peter (actor) (born 1952), stage name Shinnosuke Ikehata, a Japanese dancer and actor * Peter (1934 film), ''Peter'' (1934 film), a film directed by Henry Koster * Peter (2021 film), ''Peter'' (2021 film), a Marathi language film * Peter (Fringe episode), "Peter" (''Fringe'' episode), an episode of the television series ''Fringe'' * Peter (novel), ''Peter'' (novel), a 1908 book by Francis Hopkinson Smith * Peter (short story), "Peter" (short story), an 1892 short story by Willa Cather * Peter (album), ''Peter'' (album), a 1972 album by Peter Yarrow * ''Peter'', a 1993 EP by Canadian band Eric's Trip * "Peter", 2024 song by Taylor Swift from ''The Tortured Poets Department, The Tort ...
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Tyrfing
Tyrfing, also rendered as Tirfing or Tyrving, was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the ''Poetic Edda'' called '' Hervararkviða'', and the Hervarar saga. The name is also used in the saga to denote the Goths. Description As described in its legends, Tyrfing wasthe keenest of all blades; every time it was drawn a light shone from it like a ray of the sun. It could never be held unsheathed without being the death of a man, and it had always to be sheathed with blood still warm upon it. There was no living thing, neither man nor beast, that could live to see another day if it were wounded by Tyrfing, whether the wound were big or little; never had it failed in a stroke or been stayed before it plunged into the earth, and the man who bore it in battle would always be victorious, if blows were struck with it. Certain stories seem to imply that Tyrfing is capable of deicide, as shown when King Heidrek recognizes t ...
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Valkyrie Fra Hårby
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). When the are not preparing for the cataclysmic 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. Valkyries are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the ''Prose Edda'', the (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century magical formula, charm, and in various runic inscriptions. The Old English cognate term appears ...
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Fáfnir
In Germanic heroic legend and Germanic folklore, folklore, Fáfnir is a Germanic dragon, worm or dragon slain by a member of the Völsung family, typically Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Hreiðmarr, and brother of Regin and Ótr and is attested throughout the Völsung Cycle, where, Fáfnir slays his father out of greed, taking the Andvaranaut, ring and hoard of the Dwarf (folklore), dwarf Andvari and becoming a worm or dragon. Fáfnir's brother Regin later assisted Sigurð in obtaining the sword Gram (mythology), Gram, by which Fáfnir is killed. He has been identified with an unnamed dragon killed by a Völsung in other Germanic works including Beowulf, the Nibelunglied and a number of skaldic poems. Fáfnir and his killing by Sigurð are further represented in numerous medieval carvings from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and a single axe head in a Scandinavian style found in Russia. The story of Fáfnir has continued to have influence in the modern period, s ...
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University Of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868. As the publishing arm of the University of California system, the press publishes over 250 new books and almost four dozen multi-issue journals annually, in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and maintains approximately 4,000 book titles in print. It is also the digital publisher of Collabra and Luminos open access (OA) initiatives. The press has its administrative office in downtown Oakland, California, an editorial branch office in Los Angeles, and a sales office in New York City, New York, and distributes through marketing offices in Great Britain, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. A Board consisting of senior officers of the University of Cali ...
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Sigurd
Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred to with the epithet "Fáfnir's bane" (, , , ), and is also widely known as "the Dragon Slayer". In both the Norse and continental Germanic traditions, Sigurd is portrayed as dying as the result of a quarrel between his wife (Gudrun/Kriemhild) and another woman, Brunhild, whom he has tricked into marrying the Burgundian king Gunnar/Gunther. His slaying of a dragon and possession of the hoard of the Nibelungen is also common to both traditions. In other respects, however, the two traditions appear to diverge. The most important works to feature Sigurd are the , the ''Völsunga saga'', and the ''Poetic Edda''. He also appears in numerous other works from both Germany and Scandinavia, including a series of medieval and early modern Scandinavi ...
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Gunther
Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine into Roman Gaul. He was involved in the campaigns of the failed Roman usurper Jovinus before the latter's defeat, after which he was settled on the left bank of the Rhine as a Roman ally. In 436, Gundahar launched an attack from his kingdom on the Roman province of Belgica Prima. He was defeated by the Roman general Flavius Aetius, who destroyed Gundahar's kingdom with the help of Hunnish mercenaries the following year, resulting in Gundahar's death. The historical Gundahar's death became the basis for a tradition in Germanic heroic legend in which the legendary Gunther met his death at the court of Attila the Hun (Etzel/Atli). The character also became attached to other legends: most notably he is associated with Siegfried/Sigurd an ...
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Gudrun
Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingian dynasty, Brunhilda of Austrasia and Fredegund. In both the Continental (German) and Scandinavian traditions, Gudrun/Kriemhild is the sister of the Burgundian king Gunther/Gunnar and marries the hero Siegfried/Sigurd. Both traditions also feature a major rivalry between Gudrun and Brunhild, Gunther's wife, over their respective ranks. In both traditions, once Sigurd has been murdered, Gudrun is married to Etzel/Atli, the legendary analogue of Attila the Hun. In the Norse tradition, Atli desires the hoard of the Nibelungen, which the Burgundians had taken after murdering Sigurd, and invites them to his court; intending to kill them. Gudrun then avenges her brothers by killing Atli and burning down his hall. The Norse tradition then tells of ...
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Brunhild (Postkarte), G
Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a shieldmaiden or valkyrie, who appears as a main character in the and some Eddic poems treating the same events. In the continental Germanic tradition, where she is a central character in the , she is a powerful Amazon-like queen. In both traditions, she is instrumental in bringing about the death of the hero Sigurd or Siegfried after he deceives her into marrying the Burgundian king Gunther or Gunnar. In both traditions, the immediate cause for her desire to have Siegfried murdered is a quarrel with the hero's wife, Gudrun or Kriemhild. In the Scandinavian tradition, but not in the continental tradition, Brunhild kills herself after Sigurd's death. Richard Wagner made Brunhild (as ) an important character in his opera cycle . The majority o ...
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Webiorg
Webiorg, Wigbiorg or Veborg (died 750), was a legendary Scandinavian shieldmaiden who, according to the sagas, participated in the Battle of Bråvalla, which occurred in Sweden in approximately 750. She was of Swedish or Danish origin. The battle was between King Harald Hildetand of Denmark and Sweden, and his Viceroy King Sigurd Hring of Sweden; Sweden was during this age several little kingdoms, but Harald Hildetand had been elected king over most of them. King Sigurd had plans to unite all these kingdoms under one crown permanently, while King Harald wished to keep the possibility of electing different kings to each one, and the battle was therefore between unionists and separatists. It is said that both sides drew mercenaries from Russia, England, Germany and Ireland, and three hundred female soldiers, so-called Shieldmaidens, were on Harald's side; the most famous one, besides Visna and Harald's own daughter, Princess Hed, was Veborg; these three women are described as the ...
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Heiðr
Heiðr (also rendered Heid, Hed, Heith, Hetha etc, from the Old Norse adjective meaning "bright" or the noun meaning "honour") is a Norse female personal name. Several individuals by the name appear in Norse mythology and history. A seeress A seeress and witch (''völva'') named Heiðr is mentioned in one stanza of ''Völuspá'', related to the story of the Æsir-Vanir war: :Heith they named her :who sought their home, :The wide-seeing witch, :in magic wise; :Minds she bewitched :that were moved by her magic, :To evil women :a joy she was. : ::—''Völuspá'' (22)Bellows’ translation The general assumption is that here, "Heiðr" is an alternate name for the witch Gullveig, mentioned in the previous stanza, who, in turn, is often thought to be a hypostasis of Freyja. But it is sometimes argued that the ''völva'' who recites the poem refers to herself. Heiðr is also a seeress in several works such as ''Landnámabók'' ( S 179 / H 45), '' Hrólfs saga kraka'' (3) and '' � ...
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Battle Of Brávellir
The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle, said to have taken place c. 770, that is described in the sagas as taking place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Hring, king of Sweden and the Geats of Västergötland, and his uncle Harald Wartooth, king of Denmark and the Geats of Östergötland. Sources The battle is recounted in several sources such as the Norse sagas '' Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'', ''Bósa saga ok Herrauðs'' and '' Sǫgubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum'', but it is most extensively described in the nationalistic Danish history ''Gesta Danorum'' by Saxo Grammaticus. Cause Harald had inherited Sweden from his maternal grandfather Ivar Vidfamne, but ruled Denmark and East Götaland, whereas his subordinate king, Sigurd Hring, was the ruler of Sweden and West Götaland. According to legend, Harald realised that he was now old and might die of old age and therefore not go to Valhalla. He consequently asked Sigurd if he would let him leav ...
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