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
Shield-maiden Shield-maiden A shield-maiden (), in Scandinavian folklore and mythology was a female warrior. They are often mentioned in sagas such as "Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks" and in "Gesta Danorum". Shield-maidens also appear in stories of other Germanic peoples: Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni. The mythical valkyries may have been based on the shield-maidens. The historical existence of shield-maidens is heavily debated, but scholars including Neil Price, argue that they existed while others, like scholar Judith Jesch disagree, citing a lack of hard evidence for trained or regular women warriors. There are few historic attestations that Viking Age women took part in