Did Viking shield-maidens really exist?
Were such fearsome 'shield-maidens' a historical reality? Or just a romantic creation?
Image: Vikings
In Sky History’s myth-busting podcast, Not What You Thought You Knew, Dr Fern Riddell shines a light on the shadowy corners of the past. In episode one she kicked things off by looking at the legend of the Viking warrior woman Inghen Ruaidh. Were such fearsome, sword-wielding 'shield-maidens' a historical reality? Or just a romantic creation of the modern imagination, rooted in contemporary society’s more enlightened view of gender roles?
Famous shield-maidens in Viking folklore
While scholars continue to debate the reality of Viking shield-maidens, tales of their courage have endured for centuries in both historical chronicles and legendary sagas. One of the most famous shield-maidens from Viking folklore is Lagertha, whose story is told by Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum.
According to this chronicle, Lagertha was a warrior who fought alongside the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, helping him to reclaim his kingdom. Saxo describes her as being ‘braver than a man’, and the imagery of her leading troops into battle captures the imagination. She is showcased as the figure of a fearless, powerful woman at odds with the societal norms of her time.
Even if shield-maidens never actually existed, their legend certainly pre-dates characters like Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings. These formidable female fighters turn up in a number of old Scandinavian sagas, including the 13th century 'Hervarar saga ok Heidreks'.
This features a shield maiden called Hervor, who defies the expectations of her gender from an early age. Preferring archery and sword-fighting to sewing and home-making, she grows up to sail the high seas, fight and pillage like her burly brethren.
Historical accounts and the role of Viking women in combat
In addition to folklore, other historical accounts mention warrior women, blurring the lines between legend and reality. The 10th century Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan met Vikings on the Volga River. Comparing Viking women with women in the Islamic world at the time, he noted Viking women had a much more visible role. Fadlan’s writings suggest that Viking women were sometimes seen handling weapons and had significant control over household and communal affairs. This adds more weight to the possibility that women might have participated in combat.
In Gesta Danorum, 12th century writer Saxo Grammaticus tells of Rusla, 'whose prowess in warfare exceeded the spirit of a woman.’ According to this chronicle, she led an uprising in Denmark, was forced into exile and became a brutal, marauding pirate known as Inghen Ruaidh, or the 'Red Girl', in Irish lore. Elsewhere in the Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus goes further and explicitly states that 'there were once women among the Danes who dressed themselves to look like men', rejected 'dainty living' and 'offered war rather than kisses'.
More contemporary evidence supporting the existence of warrior women includes recent archaeological finds across Scandinavia. One example is the Kaupang burial site in Norway, where the remains of a woman were found buried with an axe.
Some argue that the weapon may have had symbolic importance rather than a practical use. But whatever side of this idea you may be, it raises questions about whether women of status may have held roles as fighters.
Archaeologists have also uncovered graves from the Viking Age containing female skeletons alongside swords, spears and shields. Discoveries like these suggest that these women were warriors, or at least closely connected to battle in some form.
Another notable figure, Freydís Eiríksdóttir, from the Icelandic Sagas, brings a layer of historical complexity to the shield-maiden debate. Freydís, the half-sister of Leif Erikson, is famously described in The Saga of the Greenlanders as a fierce and ruthless woman.
She was described as fighting off Indigenous attackers during a voyage to Vinland (modern-day North America). Armed only with a sword, Freydís is said to have repelled the attackers by beating her chest with the weapon, terrifying them into retreat.
While her story may be exaggerated, it demonstrates that women in Viking sagas were occasionally portrayed on the battlefield - using both physical strength and cunning to achieve victory.
Case closed? Not quite. We should remember that Saxo Grammaticus was weaving a rich tapestry of triumphant propaganda, and many academics believe there’s no conclusive proof that these great women warriors were any more real than the characters we see in fantasy films and TV shows today. Judith Jesch, Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham who joins Fern as a guest in episode one, is one prominent scholar who is sceptical about such folkloric accounts.
Jesch also dismisses trinkets like a Danish figurine depicting a woman brandishing a sword, which was uncovered in 2012. While conceding that the figurine bears all the hallmarks of Viking art, Jesch argues that 'if it is intended as an image of a woman warrior, then it is not a realistic one', since the garments are too ornate and impractical, and the figure lacks any kind of head protection. Jesch sees it as a symbolic incarnation of idealised womanhood, similar to the Valkyries – the handmaidens of the god Odin who would choose which Norse fighters would live and die in battle.
'Valkyries were an object of the imagination, creatures of fantasy rooted in the experience of male warriors,' Jesch writes. 'War was certainly a part of Viking life, but women warriors must be classed as Viking legend.'
The Birka Grave discovery: evidence of a female Viking warrior?
But those who believe there is some truth to the legends will point to the Birka grave, one of the most intriguing and controversial finds in the history of Norse studies. First excavated in the late 19th century in the Viking Age settlement of Birka (present-day Sweden), it was long thought to contain the remains of a male warrior. But then, in 2017, DNA analysis proved it was actually a woman. The researchers made the seismic claim that this was ‘the first confirmed female high-ranking Viking warrior’.
Why high ranking? Well, there’s the fact that the body had been buried with an array of weapons and two horses, not to mention pieces from a board game. In the words of one of the study’s authors, Anna Kjellström, 'Only a few warriors are buried with gaming pieces, and they signal strategic thinking.'
The study caused a media ruckus. An article in the Washington Post excitedly likened the Birka warrior to Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, while a piece in the Guardian pondered the implications of the discovery for our understanding of women in the Viking era – was she an outlier, or 'did she represent a category of women that has been largely relegated to mythology?'
Birka sceptics have cautioned against getting carried away, arguing that – since the site was excavated well over a century ago – there may have been genetic contamination of the remains. And if the DNA analysis is accurate, there’s always the possibility that the weapons buried with the mystery woman had no bearing on her role in Viking society and may have had some more mundane symbolic significance we’re not fully aware of.
Of course, the natural rebuttal to this argument is that we don’t question the relevance of weapons buried alongside male bodies, so there seems to be a double-standard at work with the Birka burial. As Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, one of the authors of the 2017 study, puts it: 'Since [the site] was excavated in the 1870s, it has constantly been interpreted as a warrior grave because it looks like a warrior grave and it’s placed by the garrison and by the hillfort. Nobody’s ever contested it until the skeleton proved to be female, and then it was not a valid interpretation anymore.'
The prevailing consensus is that, in the words of Judith Jesch, 'Viking women lived in a man’s world', and that while they did enjoy a high status in society, theirs was largely a domestic domain. But the Birka burial does offer a compelling counterpoint to this view of the Vikings, hinting at a more complex picture we’re only just beginning to glimpse.
The debate about shield-maidens is naturally raising questions about the role of gender in Viking society. Some historians argue that while women like those described in sagas might not have fought regularly in battles, they still enjoyed a level of autonomy that was uncommon for their time. Viking women had the right to own property, request divorce and manage family affairs, which gave them considerable social influence even if they weren't wearing shields and swords. This unique structure in society could have allowed some women to step into roles typically reserved for men. Especially during times of conflict when manpower was scarce.
One interesting point to think about is the role of women in Viking religious practices. The Valkyries, powerful female figures in Norse mythology, were believed to have the power over which warriors would die and which would live on the battlefield.
These mythological figures, often confused with shield-maidens, might have later blended the lines between fact and fiction when it came to the idea of historical female warriors.
The enduring legacy of shield-maidens in modern culture
Today, the romanticised image of shield-maidens remains popular, reflecting modern views on gender equality and the evolving understanding of women's roles in history. Shows like Vikings and films that feature strong female characters draw heavily from these legends, highlighting the idea of women warriors who fought alongside the men. But, whether historical shield-maidens existed in large numbers or not, they have an enduring legacy. Here to serve as a powerful reminder of the complex and multifaceted nature of Viking society.
Ultimately, the question of whether Viking shield-maidens really exist remains unanswered. The discovery of female remains in warrior graves and their presence in Norse mythology suggest that women in Viking society may have had more varied roles than first thought.
Whether shield-maidens fought on the battlefield or only in the legends, they represent the idea of female empowerment in a world often dominated by men. The mystery surrounding them still endures, offering tantalising glimpses of what might have been.
For more on the mystery of the shield maidens, and their place in history and myth, listen to our podcast, Not What You Thought You Knew.
For more articles about the history and culture of the Vikings, check out our Viking history hub.
