The Valkyries Facts & Worksheets

The Valkyries were goddesses of war in Norse mythology and legend. They were thought to soar above battlefields, selecting the strongest and most heroic fighter to join the Valhalla warriors. Freya, the goddess warrior, was believed to be the Valkyries‘ leader.

See the fact file below for more information on the Valkyries, or you can download our 30-page Valkyries worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORIGIN

• The Valkyries are well known for their combat abilities.
• Their name is derived from two Old Norse words: valr, which refers to those who perished in combat, and kjosa, which means “to choose,” since they were the “choosers of the slain.”
• The Valkyries appeared at the battleground. While ancient accounts disagreed on whether they were directly responsible for deaths, they did agree that these warrior ladies would note anyone who displayed remarkable courage and power.
• The Valkyries would choose those who battled and died bravely for a seat in Valhalla.
• They would join the Einherjar, Odin’s daily hall where warriors who battled feasted.
• For example, in the myth of the great king Helgi Hjorvardsson, he meets a lovely Valkyrie named Svava. She claims that unbeknownst to him, she had protected him numerous times in a battle.
• A Valkyrie is discovered asleep on a battlefield in the story of another hero, Sigurd. Odin, the Valkyrie claims, gave her a sleeping potion as punishment for killing a man he wanted to live.
• The tale of the Valkyrie implies that the warrior goddesses not only chose men after they died but also chose at least some men for death on their own.
• The Valkyries’ ability to influence fate is mentioned in multiple sources.
• Skuld, for example, is the name given to one of the Valkyries. She was considered the “youngest of the Norns,” the goddesses who spun the threads of fate under the roots of Yggdrasil, according to custom.
• As a result, some people believed that the Valkyries took a much more active role in combat than simply ferrying souls to Valhalla. According to Odin’s intentions or the established threads of fate, they might both defend and kill human soldiers.
• The Valkyries were commonly described as Odin’s slaves. Several traditions and poems associate them with the chief of the gods.
• One nickname for them was “Odin’s maids,” In one poem, a seeress referred to them as “women of the War Lord.”
• Valhalla, Odin’s hall, was considered the afterlife destination for those who died in combat. Being chosen by the Valkyries for this fate was the greatest honor a Viking-age man could aspire for.
• While the Valkyries were closely associated with Odin and Valhalla, particular readings of Norse poetry have concluded that they may have also served another deity.
• Freya, the goddess of beauty and enchantment, was a warrior as well. While this part of her personality is less well-known, it is mentioned multiple times in Norse poems and sagas.
• According to legend, Odin was not the only god transporting slain warriors to the afterlife. 
• Folkvangr, Freya’s pasture, also welcomed numerous fighting men.
• In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson, a 13th-century writer, even claimed that Freya, rather than Odin, had first pick of men who died in combat. The remainder would join the Einherjar in Valhalla only once she had chosen her share of the best fighting men.
• While Folkvangr did not have as prominent a place in the popular imagination, it is likely that the warriors there were just as famous as those sent to Odin. And they were chosen in the same manner.
• According to reports of Freya’s choice after the battle, some academics believe she was the Valkyries’ leader. As a result, she had first pick of the warriors, while the rest were sent to Valhalla.
• If such a notion existed, it was most certainly not widespread. Some believe two warrior traditions existed, one swearing to Odin as their principal god and the other to Freya.
• Sadly, the nature of Freya’s function as a goddess of war is still being determined based on the surviving information. 
• On the other hand, the narrative of Freya as a chooser of the slain suggests that she was a Valkyrie in her own right.
• The typical image of the Valkyries is of them fighting. They were also claimed to have performed various functions outside of battle.
• Their role in the Einherjar’s afterlife did not finish when they delivered the warriors to Valhalla. They were there in Odin’s hall every day.
• While they weren’t battering, the Valkyries served Odin and the men of Valhalla. Several writings mention their roles as cupbearers, serving feasts, and preparing the hall for newcomers.
• Small amulets depicting women holding drinking containers or horns have been discovered at Viking Age sites, particularly in graves. 
• These drawings are commonly understood as depictions of the Valkyries, especially since comparable female figures with swords and shields have been discovered.
• Archaeologists believe these amulets were placed in tombs to protect the deceased. As depicted in the poems, the Valkyries could protect the fallen and guide them to the afterlife.
• According to some tales, the Valkyries might play a significant role among the living.
• Valkyries appear in several sagas that describe the stories of famous kings and heroes. While they are occasionally seen in battle, these female figures are frequently seen as the spouses and mothers of mighty men.

NAMES OF THE VALKYRIES

• The heroes and monarchs who married Valkyries did not necessarily marry into a godly household.
• The Valkyries are sometimes called deities, although their lineage was more complicated.
• The Valkyries goddesses were more complicated than the gods, often separated into two known pantheons, the Aesir and the Vanir. These two categories only included some.
• A few, like Freya, were assigned to one of the two pantheons. Some claimed to be elves, Jotnar, or members of other magical races.
• The same might be said for the Valkyries. Some were named jotnar, some were elves, and one was possibly Thor’s daughter.
• Some were even described as gorgeous human ladies, generally young queens. They were even classified as asynjur, or “goddesses.”
• While some writings mention twenty-nine Valkyries, others only mention a few. Other later texts even suggested that innumerable Valkyries functioned similarly to the current concept of a guardian angel or personal spirit.
• While the lists of Valkyries were only somewhat consistent, specific names appeared in multiple texts. These were some examples:
• Skuld: Skuld was one of six Valkyries named by the seeress Odin consults in Hel, and her name meant “debt” or “future.”
• Skogul: Her name translates to “Shaker,” and she was mentioned in a few places.
• Gunnr: Her name, “War,” is now masculine in several European languages.
• Hildr: This Valkyrie’s name, which means “Fight,” became Hilda. She is also known as Brynhildr and appears in numerous stories.
• Gondul: Her name translates as “Wand Wielder,” which most likely refers to a form of sorcery.
• Geirskogul: The final of the six mentioned by the seeress and referred to as the “Spear Shaker” in other accounts.
• Hrist: Odin mentioned her in the Poetic Edda, and her name also meant “Shaker.”
• Mist: Mist translates to “Cloud.”
• Skeggjold: Odin designated her as one of the Valkyries who served in Valhalla. Her given name was “Axe Age.”
• Thrud: Thor’s daughter is occasionally called Thrud, which means “Power.”
• Hlokk: A broad term meaning noise, Hlokk was frequently used to allude to the din of combat.
• Herfjottar: Her name was Herfjottar, which means “Host Fetter.”
• Goll: Described as an Einherjar servant, her name meant “tumult.”
• Geirahold: This name means “Spear Battle.”
• Randgrid and Radgrid: These two similarly named truces were mentioned in the same list.
• Reginleif: Her name referred to a third kind of truce.
• Svava: The “Sleep Creator” was the human king’s daughter who wed King Helgi of Norway.
• Sigrun: Her name meant “Victory Rune,” and she was thought to be the reincarnation of Svava.
• Kara: In the third poem retelling Helgi Hjorvardsson’s saga, “The Wild One” was a reincarnation of Sigrun.
• Sigrdrifa: In the hero Sigurd’s narrative, she was a Valkyrie who Odin punished for killing a warrior he wished to live.
• Svipul: Her moniker, “Changeable,” was a combat word and an allusion to Fate.
• Rota: Her name translates as “Sleet,” She appears in various works.
• While certain Valkyries, like Brynhildr and Sigrun, had distinct roles in specific legends, others are just mentioned in lists. These names were frequently descriptive, as seen by their translations.
• Most Valkyries’ names can be translated easily as nouns describing features of their function. Gunnr, for example, means “War,” but Hildr represents “Fight.”
• These recurring names could be due to their literal connotations rather than a sense of the Valkyries as fully formed personalities. 
• Several scholars compare them to Greek daimones, who were personifications of functions with little specific personality or characteristics.
• Their names, as personifications of the battlefield, were merely words used to represent various aspects of fighting.
• Many people believe that the names of the Valkyries were added to Norse mythology relatively late. Some historians believe the titles were mainly the consequence of creative imagination.
• They believe that the original Valkyries were far scarier than the attractive maidens depicted in subsequent works.
• One theory about the development of the Valkyries is that they began in a more demonic form.
• Some argued that Valhalla was not always a form of heaven. While later writings characterized the daily conflicts as a source of joy and excitement for the Einherjar, Valhalla may have originally been a place of endless warfare without the feasts that made it pleasant.
• The Valkyries may have been more terrifying in this tradition than they were later depicted. Rather than bringing the courageous to a land of glory and renown, they carried the dying to a place where they would never know peace again.
• Even in later years, the Valkyries were occasionally connected with the darker aspects of their domain.
• They were sometimes represented alongside ravens, carrion birds that typically scavenged the carcasses left behind after combat.
• Likewise, while most were most likely added later, the names of the Valkyries also emphasize the cruelty of combat rather than concepts of recompense or valor.
• But, as mythology progressed and evolved, so did the perception of Valhalla. It altered people’s perceptions of the types of beings associated with Odin’s hall.
• The Valkyries became more human as they became more favorable figures. Love stories with gorgeous Valkyrie princesses were most likely among the last legends contributing to their mythology.
• This hypothesis would account for seemingly inconsistent references to the Valkyries in literature other than the well-known poems.
• For example, a Valkyrie is described as a “bad woman” who must be avoided in one runic inscription. Other legends also suggested that the Valkyries were Fury-like entities who preyed on men out of wrath or spite.
• The Valkyries appear to have been related to a group of spirits known as the Idisi or disir. Usually represented in feminine form, these entities were in charge of fate.
• The Idisi derived their name from a phrase for a wise lady or a witch. They, like the Valkyries, were frequently referred to as Norns, the goddesses who made fate, albeit they played a more intimate role.
• The Valkyries and Idisi are thought to have descended from the same source, a mystical female entity associated with fate and magic. 
• The Valkyries were eventually connected with battle, while the Idisi had a wider sphere.
• They could have reflected two different sorts of magic. The Valkyries, associated with Odin, symbolized war magic, but the Idisi were associated with seidr, the magic of fate.

FREYJA THE VALKYRIE

• There is a theory that there are two heavenly halls for the slain warriors because Freyja herself is a Valkyrie; thus, she picks half of her people to accompany her in Fólkvangr.
• Sessrmnir (‘seat room’ or ‘room with many seats’) is the name of her hall, and it is also the name of a ship.
• Therefore some believe there may be some doubt as to its actual nature and function.
• Another belief is that Freyja is just the Valkyries’ prototype. Odin may have thought of this as a nice idea as she went into combat and picked half of the deceased to join her in the afterlife.
• The most frequent hypothesis for why we need two afterlife halls for warriors is that it entails distinct types of initiation for the warriors. Or both the Aesir and the Vanir may require an army for Ragnarok.
• The Norse gods are divided into two primary clans: Aesir and Vanir. The primary gods are Odin, Frigg, Thor, Loki, Balder, Hod, Heimdall, and Tyr, the most elevated manifestations of Aesir. 
• The fertility gods are represented by the Vanir clan, which includes Njord, Freyr, and Freyja. 

The Valkyries Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Valkyries across 30 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the Valkyries. The Valkyries were goddesses of war in Norse mythology and legend. They were thought to soar above battlefields, selecting the strongest and most heroic fighter to join the Valhalla warriors.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. The Valkyries Facts
2. Valkyrie
3. The Norse Clans
4. Guess Who?
5. Fact or Bluff
6. Valkyries in Game
7. Norse Vs. Greek
8. The Ragnarok
9. Freyja
10. In Pop Culture
11. The Fate Enchantresses

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Valkyries?

The Valkyries are female figures from Norse mythology who were believed to serve Odin, the chief god of the Norse pantheon. They were often depicted as warrior women who rode flying horses and selected the slain warriors on the battlefield to bring them to Valhalla, the great hall of the fallen heroes.

What is the role of the Valkyries in Norse mythology?

The Valkyries played a crucial role in Norse mythology. They were responsible for choosing which warriors would die in battle and which would be granted a place in Valhalla. They were also associated with fate and served as messengers between the gods and humans.

How were Valkyries portrayed in Norse mythology?

In Norse mythology, Valkyries were often depicted as strong and fearless warrior women. They were skilled in combat and had the ability to fly, riding their winged horses. They were also known for their beauty and often wore armor and carried weapons.

Can Valkyries be killed?

Valkyries were considered divine beings and were generally immune to harm. However, there are a few instances in Norse mythology where Valkyries are depicted as being killed or harmed. For example, in some tales, Valkyries are slain by mortal heroes or face punishment for disobeying Odin’s commands.

Are Valkyries worshipped today?

Valkyries are not actively worshipped in modern times. They are primarily known through the surviving Norse mythological texts and have become popular figures in various forms of media, such as literature, art, and movies. Some modern Heathen and pagan groups may incorporate Valkyrie imagery and symbolism into their practices, but they are not worshiped as deities in their own right.

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