What Is A Shieldmaiden?
The word shieldmaiden, also spelled shield-maiden, is used in Nordic folklore to describe a female warrior. The Old Norse word for shieldmaiden is “skjaldmær.”
Historically speaking, there is no hard evidence proving the existence of formally trained female warriors in ancient Scandinavian culture, but there are archeological sites in Europe which contain the remains of females that were originally assumed to be males because they were buried with a warrior’s traditional armor and weaponry.
The word skjaldmær and the concept of the shieldmaiden originate primarily in the Norse sagas. Several shieldmaidens were mentioned by name, including:
Brynhildr, or Brunhilda, a female warrior of the Vǫlsunga saga, whose story showcased a strong female concerned with honor, duty, and straightforward dealing - all traits traditionally associated with male warriors at the time
Hervör, a female Viking of the Hervarar saga, whose story involved a cursed sword and the complexities of gender and family roles in Old Norse society
Hlathgerth, or Lagertha, a female warrior and cultural leader in Norway, whose story is recorded not in a traditional saga but a history written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus
The concept of the female warrior is not unique to Northern European culture. Countries around the globe have stories of women who trained in weaponry and tactics, including the warrior queen Boudica (Roman Britain), soldier Hua Mulan (China), Apache warrior and prophet Lozen (America), and empress Zenobia (Syria).
Old Norse society was in many ways an oral tradition society; though runes were used to mark names and deeds at particular sites, the Norse people did not use books, parchment, or tablets to record their history. Knowledge and wisdom was passed down through stories like the sagas; the written accounts we do have now were mostly recorded hundreds of years after they originated, and often by people who were not Norse by birth. As a result, much of the ancient lore has been lost entirely, or reconstructed and shaped by the dominant cultures that followed.
A shieldmaiden could be young or old, married or single, muscular or willowy. It was not unheard of for a shieldmaiden to leave her home to fight for a cause or go raiding, only to return and reengage with domesticity, get married, and/or have children. Some shieldmaidens were warriors for life, while others died young or sought more quiet lives after adventure. Shieldmaidens would have used all the weaponry available to male warriors at the time, and there are accounts of women going viking and fighting in shield walls with their male warrior compatriots.
The concept of the shieldmaiden has persisted into modern times. Wagner’s Ring Cycle showcases many female legends from Old Norse sagas and mythology, including Brynhildr and the Valkyries; J.R.R. Tolkien named the female warriors of Rohan as shieldmaidens; and several popular TV shows, including History Channel’s Vikings, reinvent Old Norse sagas thought a modern lens.
Though little concrete evidence remains, history and the human spirit pains a picture of the shieldmaiden as a woman who cared about honor, prided herself on both inner and outer strength, and fought for the people and the causes that she loved. The shieldmaiden spirit lives on in any person who holds these things dear.
