valkyries

Valkyries are female figures in Norse mythology who serve Odin. They are described as choosing the slain on the battlefield and guiding those selected to the afterlife, commonly to Valhalla, Odin’s hall, and in some traditions to Freyja’s abode at Fólkvangr. The name valkyrja means "chooser of the slain" from Old Norse valr ("slain") and kyrja ("to choose" or "to select"). In early sources they appear as warrior maidens rather than divine beings with a fixed status.

Their primary role is to decide who dies and who survives in combat, thereby shaping the ranks of the Einherjar, the honored dead who prepare for Ragnarök. They are described as powerful and martial, often depicted bearing spears or swords and riding to battle on horseback. While Odin presides over the pantheon’s war-fate, valkyries operate as his agents in the distribution of the slain; some sources mention that Freyja also receives a portion of the fallen at Fólkvangr.

Medieval poetry and prose present Valkyries with varied appearances: they may be radiant maidens, stern warriors, or carriers of doom. Some accounts name individual valkyries, though lists differ by source, and the figures sometimes function as symbols of fate, war, and the capriciousness of battle rather than as a uniform set of deities.

In modern culture, valkyries appear in literature, art, comics, and film, where they are often used as symbols of female power and supernatural combat. Scholarly discussions typically interpret them as manifestations of Norse concepts of fate, honor, and the afterlife, reflecting attitudes toward warfare and the status of warrior women in Norse-era belief.