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What is a Shield Maiden?

By definition, a shield-maiden was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology. She not only took care of the household & children, but she also went to battle and fought alongside the men. Historians disagree about whether they truly existed or not. But I think, one look at a modern day women tells you that they did indeed exist.

As a Christian I have been taught to worship one god. Still, the idea of “THE GODS” has always fascinated me. Throughout history there is much evidence to suggest multiple gods.

You have your Greek Mythology, featuring the great Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite. We First learn of these gods and goddesses in school, When reading things like the Iliad and the Odyssey. But the story never fully describes or introduces us to these gods because at the time when it was written, these gods were already well known. We have also touched on Greek gods as children in classic Disney movies such as Hercules.

There is also Norse mythology, where they worshiped the All father Odin, as well as Thor, Loki, and Freya just to name a few. Wait a second, Thor?! Now do I have your attention. Thor was the Norse God of War and Fertility, god of the people. Different then the Greek gods, Norse gods possessed human traits. We have seen Norse mythology depicted in modern day culture for years. With the introduction first coming in comic books, then later in blockbuster hits such as Thor & The Avengers, also hit TV series GAME OF THRONES & VIKINGS (just to name a few).

Shield-maidens though, were not gods. They were Viking women, who were skilled in the art of battle.

In more recent years as Mike McRae writes in his piece: This Viking DNA Discovery is Our Best Evidence to Date of Female Viking Warriors

“Researchers from Uppsala University and Stockholm University conducted genetic and isotope analyses on bones taken from a 10th century grave near the Swedish Viking town of Birka, just outside of Stockholm. The grave, coded Bj 581, consisted of no ordinary burial. Excavated and mapped well over a century ago, it was found to contain an axe, sword, spear, amour-piercing arrows, a battle knife, a pair of shields, pieces for a table-top war game, and the bones of a mare and a stallion. Based on these goods, and the fact most such high ranking warriors of the period were considered to be men, the skeleton was readily assumed to belong to a male. But the bones didn’t seem all that masculine, and a full osteological inspection of Bj 581’s skeleton suggested the esteemed official was in fact a woman of at least 30 years in age.”

(Want to read more on Mike Mcrae’s Piece… you can find it here: https://www.sciencealert.com/this-viking-dna-discovery-says-there-really-were-shield-maidens)

Wonder Woman, a fictional character first written about in the DC comic books in 1941, was written as a Greek goddess, human, but possessing god like qualities as her father was believed to be Zeus. And although she was created from Greek mythology, she was without question a Shield-maiden.

And perhaps our most frequent modern day shield maiden, although she is a fictional character as well, would be Katniss Everdeen.

The year is 2020, and although we still have a long way to go in the ways of equal rights, it is not uncommon to see a women, fighting alongside a man. We do it every day, and not just in Actual battle, but in our every day life. I stand firmly beside my husband as we raise or children, make a home, and work towards our common goals and interests. Although I do not go out and plunder for riches. I fiercely defend our household against dust mites, fight off the crowds at the grocery store, and often plunder our own pantry for a midnight snack. I am a 21st Century Shield-Maiden.