Valkyrie

The Valkyries (Old Norse: Valkyrjur, singular valkyrja - “choosers of the slain”) are female figures in Norse mythology; they are a group of female warriors of Odin who do not get married.
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Alternatively the Valkyries are servants to Freya.  She negotiated with One Eye that her shield maidens would sort the honourable dead on the battlefield. Freya had first choice of half of the dead to come to Sessrumnir, the other half were to be delivered to One Eye at Valhall. 

Freya had fierce and respected warriors. They are responsible for choosing who lives and dies in battle, singling out those worthy of paradise. After battle, the Valkyries carry those whom they have chosen off to Valhalla, an enormous and majestic hall that lies in Asgard. Once there, these eïnherjar, as they are now called, are shared between Odin and Freyja, with half of them going to Valhalla and the other to Fólkvangr, Freyja's realm. In Valhalla, the eïnherjar feast as they are served and cared for by the Valkyries themselves. 

The old Norse people thought that Valkyries rode giant wolves, and that they had black wings like ravens; these two creatures both scavenge corpses on the battlefield symbolizing death and destruction. With the spread of Christianity the idea of what a Valkyrie was like changed more and more to a  Romantic description of a beautiful woman. 
Operas
Richard Wagner composed some operas featuring Valkyries (German: Walküren, singular: Walküre). These operas are Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. They feature a story of a Valkyrie Brünnhilde, her punishment for disobeying her father, and her falling in love with Siegfried.  The music for the opening of Act Three of Die Walküre is very famous. It is called the Ride of the Valkyries.

Related pages

Nibelungenlied
Der Ring des Nibelungen

Category:Norse mythology