Shield-maiden as a shield-maiden in the text. Saxo Grammaticus reported that shield-maidens fought on the side of the Danes at the Battle of Brávellir in the year 750: Examples of shield-maidens mentioned by name in the Norse sagas include Brynhildr in the "Vǫlsunga saga", Hervor in "Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks", the Brynhildr of the "Bósa saga ok Herrauðs", the Swedish princess Thornbjǫrg in "Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar" and Princess Hed, Visna and Veborg in "Gesta Danorum". Two shield-maidens appear in certain translations of the "Hervarar saga". The first of these Hervors was known to have taken up typically masculine roles early in
Norse mythology messenger squirrel Ratatoskr and the perching hawk Veðrfölnir. The tree itself has three major roots, and at the base of one of these roots live a trio of Norns. Elements of the cosmos are personified, such as the Sun (Sól, a goddess), the Moon (Máni, a god), and Earth (Jörð, a goddess), as well as units of time, such as day (Dagr, a god) and night (Nótt, a jötunn). The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of Hel—a realm ruled over by a female being of the same name, may