What Is A Valkyrie

Valkyrie came from very early Norse legends which changed from the original ghoulish depiction and evolved to a more feminine and beautiful image of the female warriors.  The name in Old Norse, valkyrja, means literally, "chooser of the slain." The Valkyrie is related to the Celtic warrior-goddess, the Morrigan.   Between the third and eleventh centuries, the Valkyries began to assume much softer and less threatening  aspects. Small amulets and pictures on memorial stones had the figure of the beautiful woman welcoming the deceased hero with a horn of mead (early ale or beer) to the afterlife. Valkyries are usually represented as blonde, blue eyed and fair skinned. They wear scarlet corslets and carry shields and spears often riding great winged horses. The Valkyries were  suppose to be the daughters of Odin, as foster-daughters, just as the einherjar (the chosen warriors of Odinn) are foster sons .  Freyja is said to be the first of the Valkyries, called Valfreyja, "Mistress of the Slain," she pours ale at the feasts of the Aesir .

The Valkyries primary duty was to choose the bravest of those who have been slain, gathering the souls of dying heroes or warriors found deserving of afterlife in Valhalla. They scout the battle ground in search of mortals worthy of the grand hall. If you are deemed by the Valkyries as un-worthy of the hall of Valhalla you will be received after death by the goddess Hel in a cheerless underground world. The Valkyries would visit battlefields and bring dead heroes back to life, and carry them on their winged horses up to Valhalla. Then, each day, the heroes would fight until they were all dead except one, the Valkyries would bring them back to life again, and they'd spend the evening feasting in the great hall. The Valkyries also have duties  once back from the battlefield in the great hall. There, having exchanged their armor for pure white robes, they will serve the warriors they have chosen.  All this was to get them ready for Ragnarok, the final battle at the end of the world. 

Valkyries are also Odinn's messengers and when they ride forth on their errands, their armor causes the strange flickering light that is called the "Aurora Borealis"  or more often known as the "Northern Lights".  Depending on the writer of the legend the exact number of Odinn's daughters that ride as Valkyries will vary from 3 to 16, and depending on which Norse country the names can vary as well, the best known in most tellings of the story are Freyja and Brunhilda or Brunhilde.

Many Centuries later composer Wagner wrote the Ring Opera, which consisted of 4 Opears one of which was named "The Valkyrie".  Wagner's Ring Opera brought back to life the ancient legend of the Valkyrie and wrote a piece that is known by its continual use in modern TV and Movies which is called 'The ride of the Valkyries".  Its best remembered in more recent years as background music in the Vietnam War epic, Apocalypse Now.  Wagner's part of the Valkyries was based on his interpretation of original Norse Legend of the female warriors on winged horses in the skies over the battlefields.