Webiorg, Wigbiorg or Veborg (died 750), was a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

shieldmaiden 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 Da ...

who, according to the sagas, participated in the

Battle of Bråvalla A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, which occurred in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in approximately 750. She was of Swedish or Danish origin. The battle was between King

Harald Hildetand Harald Wartooth or ''Harold Hiltertooth'' (Old Norse: ''Haraldr hilditǫnn''; Swedish language, Modern Swedish and Danish language, Danish: Harald Hildetand; Norwegian language, Modern Norwegian: ''Harald Hildetann'')Röreksson was a semi-Germani ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and Sweden, and his

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

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 Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 generals of the female troops. Veborg's contribution in the battle is described in detail; One of the strongest warriors of King Harald was Ubbe from Friesland, who defeated three Swedish princes and the fighter Agnar before he was killed by one of the greatest warriors of the unionists, Starke. Veborg then rushed forward to attack Starke. She cut off his jaw, but he managed to escape and cut off the arm of the shieldmaiden Visna, who was holding the separatists' banner. Veborg, described as very brave, then fought the warrior Thorkell the Stubborn in a long and furious struggle, until Thorkell, "after many wounds and much verbal arguing", finally managed to kill her.

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

reported that shieldmaidens fought on the side of the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

at the Battle of Brávellir and that Veborg or Webiorg was among them:

References

* Herman Lindquist: Historien om Sverige. Från islossning till kungarike (English: "History of Sweden. From Ice age to Kingdom") (In Swedish) * Karsten Friis-Jensen, 2005, ''Gesta Danorum'' , * Peter Zeeberg, 2000, ''Saxos Danmarkshistorie'' (completo) (vol 1) (vol 2) {{Authority control Legendary Danish people Legendary Swedish people 8th-century births 750 deaths Year of birth unknown 8th-century women Germanic women warriors Women in medieval European warfare