The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women is part history, part archeology, and part social criticism of the later re-interpretations of the Icelandic sagas. Brown admits that much of the book is speculation based on archeological finds throughout the Vikings historical range and beyond. The book, though, is a much-needed correction to the male-centric, misogynic attitudes first put forth by Snorri Storlusson and his ilk as they rewrote the Icelandic sagas. Those ideas were repeated and amplified in the nineteenth century which, with its desire to “catalog” everything, also rewrote much of the world’s history to conform to Victorian ideals.
Brown’s speculation is based in part on fact: in 2017, a high-level presumed-male warrior buried in Birka, Sweden is shown, through DNA testing, to be female. Brown also accesses Snorri Storlusson and others who were trying to document the Icelandic sagas, albeit with a medieval male-oriented Christian bent. Her expansive knowledge of Viking history and sagas bring Viking society to life. The Real Valkyrie reveals how medieval and modern biases shaped our vision of Viking women even more than data and facts have.
The Real Valkyrie gives this female Viking a name and envisions her life and her experiences. Each chapter begins with the imagined life of this woman warrior. This book blends both history and historical fiction, thus readers who prefer straight fiction or straight history may find this book maddening. I found this book to be beautifully written and researched. I loved the rich details Brown provides as well as her take on what a female Viking might have experienced.
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