Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

by Janina Ramírez

Kennings describing the Valkyries emphasise their bloodthirstiness, and one describes them as ‘the desiring goddess of the excessively drying veins.’40 They are women thirsting to feed from the ruins of war; they swoop over the battlefield like the carrion beasts of Odin, pecking over their spoils. These stories were not for the faint-hearted, and they position female spiritual beings at the vanguard of warfare. It’s important to note that our very notion of modern warfare is at odds with the Viking Age. Today we envisage war as a moment when two distinct forces engage in battle. Warrior culture for the Vikings was a way of life that fed into, and was fed by, their spiritual practices.