Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Síða 139

Riti Kroesen
137
valkyries, Göndul and Skögul, to the king to guide him to Valhöll. In the dialogue
between Hákon and the two women the latter reveal themselves to be very
sympathetic beings, “spilling the milk of human kindness”.
7. Valkyries are not to be identified with shield maidens. However, it is to be
expected beforehand that if the Christian Saxo’s sources told him something about
valkyries, he would try to eliminate both the supernatural elements and especially
the connections with Óðinn. It seems possible that many of Saxo’s warlike women
originally were valkyries, and there are delightful stories about them. However,
as nothing can be proved here, we take leave of most of these stories, although
reluctantly. We make a few exceptions, though, the reasons for which will be
explained later on.
Some doubts have also been expressed concerning the valkyries of the Helgi
Lays. The word valkyrie is only found there in the prose passages. Yet these women
clearly are depicted as supernatural beings: they can fly through the air and rays
of light surround them. In addition, their Iovers are adherents of Óðinn, who
plays an active part himself in the second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbani. Yet after
Helgi has gone off to Valhöll, Sigrún does not await him there to offer him the
cup of welcome. She stays behind, and he has to return to the earth to meet her
again.
It seems best to call the maidens of the Helgi Lays valkyries for the following
reasons: they are supernatural beings, and a link with Óðinn is clearly discernible,
either a direct one or one through their lovers. These characteristics must be kept
in mind during the analysis of the Helgi Lays and also the other heroic stories.
Thus we will be able to escape confúsion with the shield maidens.
We will refrain from discussing the Vólundarkviða. In the first place it is not
really a heroic story. In the second place it is very doubtful whether the swan
maidens, who belong to a widely spread Wandergeschichte, really deserve the name
of valkyries.3 To be sure, both Ellis Davidson and Hauck have tried to prove on
the basis of iconographic material (the Frank’s Casket and the Ardre-VII stone of
Gotland) that the three valkyries formed an integral part of the story and that
they never were anything but valkyries. They also thought that these valkyries
were much more important than might be guessed from the place they take in
the Eddic Lay. Their materials and conclusions are very difficult to evaluate for
someone who is not specialized in this subject. In any case, these valkyries are
very different from the heroic valkyries. Hauck himself has argued that the story
of the smith is not really a heroic story.38
Now that we can start at last with the valkyries of heroic literature, we shall
first discuss the valkyries of the Helgi stories and a few other ones that resemble
37 Holmström (1919).
38 Hauck (1917), Ellis Davidson (1969).