Includes bibliographical references and index.

Valkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows and sword blades into the bodies of others. Viking myths about Valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war - to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings. The fateful agency of women is widespread in Norse sources. Norse sagas and Viking myths tell stories of war and strife, loyalty and betrayal, murder and revenge, privation and success. The women in these stories take full part in the power struggles and upheavals in their communities and families, for better or worse. But in some spheres, women are systematically oppressed or excluded because of their gender, and the sagas comunicate heartbreaking stories of girls' and women's traumatic experiences that resonate strongly today. In Valkyrie, Jóhanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir introduces readers to the dramatic and fascinating texts recorded in medieval Iceland. It was a culture able to imagine women in all kinds of powerful roles, pulling the strings not just in this world but in the other-world too. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological evidence, this book uncovers the reality behind the myths and legends to reveal the dynamic, diverse lives of Viking women.