The Sleeping Shieldmaiden

The tradition also tells of one who was punished for choosing wrongly. In the Eddic poem Sigrdrifumal a valkyrie is found asleep in armour on a mountain ringed with fire; she had given victory to the wrong king, and Odin pricked her with a sleep-thorn and declared she would marry. Woken, she does not weep — she teaches runes: victory-runes, ale-runes, healing-runes, speech-runes, an inventory of practical magic. Later Volsung material identifies her with Brynhild. A figure that began as a force at work in battle ends the poem as a teacher with a grievance.