thumb|320px|The Valkyrie's Vigil, by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Robert Hughes. Hughes down-plays the warrior aspect of the valkyrie, depicting instead a beautiful young woman in an ethereal dress. Her armor and weapons are present, but set aside and unused.In Norse mythology the valkyries (Old Norse Valkyrja "Choosers of the Slain") are dísir, minor female deities, who served Odin. The valkyries' purpose was to choose the most heroic of those who had died in battle and to carry them off to Valhalla where they became einherjar. This was necessary because Odin needed warriors to fight at his side at the preordained battle at the end of the world, Ragnarök. In Valhalla the valkyries also ?serve drink and look after the tableware and drinking vessels? (Prose Edda Gylfaginning 36). It appears, however, that there was no clear distinction between the valkyries and the norns. Skuld is for instance both a valkyrie and a nor

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS