Quote:
Originally Posted by Hans Norling
They were more frequently healers and magicians as opposed to warriors, in this context, but it wasn't unheard of for women to take up arms. The swedish term for them is 'sköldmö' (shield maiden). While one might find some historical examples of individuals, the era itself have always been a bit short on personal accounts and history of specific individuals etc.
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Well we know they existed and served in such elite units as the Varangian Guard, because the Byzantine chronicler Johannes Skylitzes tells us as much. He doesn't have any reason to distort that. It would also be interesting to see if the mass of unpublished and not widely known sagas have references to female warriors.
Plus remember that among the Scythians; for example, we know of several famous female warriors (not least the last consort of Mithradates) and there is some evidence that the ancient Germans and Gauls also had them as well.