Valkyrie. A Woman in the World of Vikings

Valkyries… Mysterious beings of Scandinavian culture. The myths of the Vikings about them attempt to elevate the tragedy of war – to make pain and suffering into heroic feats. The intertwining of the realities of the earthly and the afterlife, ancient legends, the spirit of the beautiful warriors, and their personal stories have for centuries made scholars ponder who valkyries really are and whether they actually existed. Drawing on the latest historical, archaeological evidence and ancient captivating texts, the author tries to reconcile the legends of monstrous mothers and fearsome warrior maidens with the everyday lives of these women, showing them in their childhood, youth, maturity, and on the brink of death. Joanna Katherine Fridriksdottir studied at the universities of Reykjavik and Brighton before obtaining a PhD in medieval literature at the University of Oxford in 2010. She then undertook research internships at Harvard University.