A popular class of female warriors from Scandinavian mythology was known as a shield-maiden. Many sagas, including the Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and the Gesta Danorum, make reference to shield-maidens. They also show up in tales of Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni, three more Germanic ethnic groups. Such shield-maidens might well have served as the inspiration for the mythological Valkyries. The historical authenticity of the Shield-Maidens has however been contested. Yet that they were real, is suggested according to the most recent study, which includes work of archaeologist Neil Price. Some academics have though claimed a dearth of proof for skilled or professional female fighters, including professor Judith Jesch. Women have been believed to participate in fighting throughout the Viking Age, according to historical evidence. Women participated in combat when Sviatoslav I of Kiev battled the Byzantines in Bulgaria in 971, according to the Byzantine historian John Skylitzes. When the Varangians were decimated during the Siege of Dorostolon, the victorious army was shocked to see armed women among the dead soldiers. In certain interpretations of the Hervarar saga, there are depictions of two shieldmaidens. The earliest of these Hervors is believed to have adopted stereotypically masculine behaviours early in her upbringing and frequently preyed on travellers in the woods while costumed as a man. Later in life, she stole the cursed blade Tyrfing from the location of final resting place of her father and turned into a seagoing raider. After some time, she got married. Hervor, another granddaughter of hers, led troops against invading Huns. [Information and Image Credit :: Shield-maiden, Wikipedia] [Image : Hervor dying after the Battle of the Goths and Huns, by Peter Nicolai Arbo ] [The work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927] [Source-Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Nicolai_Arbo-Hervors_d%C3%B8d.jpg ] #Mythology
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