Shield-maiden and female fantasy as well as emblematic of the danger of abandoning gender roles. Brynhildr of the "Vǫlsunga saga", along with her rival in love, Guðrún Gjúkadóttir, provides an example of how a shield-maiden compares to more conventional aristocratic womanhood in the sagas. Brynhildr is chiefly concerned with honor, much like a male warrior. When she ends up married to Gudrun's brother Gunnarr instead of Sigurðr, the man she intended to marry, Brynhildr speaks a verse comparing the courage of the two men: Brynhildr is married to Gunnarr and not Sigurðr because of deceit and trickery, including a potion of
Norse mythology include Gylfi, the first King of Sweden, in the Gylfaginning, King Geirröth in the [Grímnismál], and two peasant children Þjálfi and Röskva, who are tricked into bond service to Thor by Loki and appear in Skáldskaparmál and the Gylfaginning. The Prose Edda also describes the afterlife for humans, with honorable warriors feasting and battling endlessly in Valhalla, while those who died dishonorably or out of battle were sent to Niffelheim. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain.