At Valkyries make up the mythology of the Nordic and Germanic peoples who inhabited the northern region of Europe. Characterized as warrior virgins who rode steeds, they were linked to the pantheon of Odin, the main deity of the polytheistic religion professed by these peoples.
Odin was one of the three sons of the being born from the ice licked by the cow Audumbla. After destroying the giant Ymir and with the body of death forming the earth, Odin and his brothers began to establish several of the characteristics that make up the world, such as day and night, and also the emergence of new beings, such as the humans.
Odin inhabited Asgard, the abode of the gods, consisting of an infinity of palaces, among which the Valhalla, where Odin resided, stood out. A lover of feasts and battles, it was in Valhalla that they took place, with its protagonists being the heroes killed in the battles that took place on Earth.
One of the functions of the Valkyries was to roam the battlefields in search of the most valuable warriors, chosen by Odin, to be sent to Valhalla. The Valkyries were the messengers, known as "those who choose the dead", who prepared, in this way, the Odin's army for the day of confrontation with the giants, in the decisive battle against the descendants of Ymir.
When they rode on their steeds, the glow of the shields carried by the Valkyries produced in the skies Nordics a strange light, known as the aurora borealis, a celestial phenomenon that occurs in regions polar. They were the representation of female warrior spirits and, in this way, formed the mythology of the times of Germanic paganism.
German Empire seal symbolizing a Valkyrie. Mythology was used in the formation of German nationalism.*
From the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Age, the Valkyries were also part of the popular culture of the Germanic peoples. In this sense, they were used as component elements of 19th century German nationalism, which was one of the strands that helped in the unification of the current German State.
The Valkyries were immortalized in the opera The Valkyries, by Richard Wagner, who composes the tetralogy The Ring of Nibelung. Act III of the opera, The Ride of the Valkyries, became very famous for being used extensively in cinema, popularizing the work.
* Image Credit: Igor Golovniov and Shutterstock.com
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/mitologia/as-valquirias-mitologia-nordica.htm
