There are a lot of female characters in Vikings, and some of them, like Lagertha, are known as “shield-maidens” – but what does that mean? Created by Michael Hirst, Vikings debuted on History Channel in 2013, and even though it was originally planned to be a miniseries, it was so well-received it was renewed for a second season, and thus viewers got to really know the stories of Ragnar, Lagertha, Floki, Rollo, and more. Vikings lived on for five more seasons, and a sequel series, titled Vikings: Valhalla, is now in development.
Vikings initially followed legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels alongside his Viking brothers, from the Lindisfarne raid, onward. As the stories progressed, Vikings shifted its focus to Ragnar’s sons, who took the lead of the series after Ragnar’s death in season 4. Although Ragnar didn’t make it to Vikings season 6, another big character did: Lagertha (Katherine Winnick), whose arc came to an end in the first part of season 6. Lagertha was known as a “shield-maiden”, but who are they and what’s the mythology behind these women?
Lagertha was a warrior and fought alongside Ragnar and the rest, as well as next to other shield-maidens, such as Torvi and Astrid. Shield-maidens are considered the female equivalent of Vikings, as they fought against and alongside them. In Viking culture, there weren’t as many gender barriers as in other societies and cultures and were quite ahead of their time in that sense. Shield-maidens are a good example of that, as they show that women were active within military office – but just like Ragnar and many other elements in Vikings, it’s not clear if shield-maidens existed or not.
Shield-maidens are mentioned in sagas, such as Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and Gesta Danorum, this last one being key in the building of the figure of Ragnar Lothbrok. Shield-maidens also appear in stories of other Germanic groups, and the figure of the Valkyries – the guardians in Valhalla – is believed to have been based on them. Now, while some historians argue that shield-maidens existed, others are not convinced due to lack of evidence. Although graves of female settlers have been found containing weapons, researchers don’t agree on how these findings should be interpreted, and even after DNA tests confirming that some of these do belong to females, many scholars maintain that it’s still a premature conclusion.
To make the history behind shield-maidens even more complicated, there are a couple of historical accounts that point at Viking Age women taking part in warfare. However, some of these are not explicitly referred to as a shield-maidens, thus leaving the debate over their existence still open. Historians might not agree on the existence of shield-maidens, but truth is that women had more freedom in this culture, and Vikings captured the essence of shield-maidens quite well.