Valkyries in popular culture

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In modern media, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, accompanied by the Ride of the Valkyries, is one of the most recognizable visual and aural motifs from opera, notwithstanding the fact that, in Act III of Die Walküre, the Ride takes place before she appears on stage. These depictions have subsequently led to modern representations of valkyries less as gore-spattered, shrieking and wolf-riding figures in a battle's sky but more commonly as angelic, pristine white and gold clad figures riding winged horses.

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[edit] Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner incorporated Norse tales that included the valkyrie Brünnhilde (Brynhildr) and her punishment and subsequent love for the warrior Siegfried (Sigurðr) into his operas Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. Her sisters, fathered out of wedlock by Wotan (Odin), are named Helmwige, Ortlinde, Gerhilde, Waltraute, Siegrune, Rossweisse, Grimgerde, and Schwertleite. The number of valkyries in Wagner's opera was probably derived from a prose link in the Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar (Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson), one of the Heroic Lays in the Poetic Edda, which describes how Helgi was “once sitting on a hill, when he saw nine valkyries riding...”.

Wagner's valkyries are often described as the daughters of Erda ('Earth'), but only Brünnhilde is actually called Erda's daughter. Her sisters (or, rather, half-sisters) are the issue apparently of Wotans's adulterous liaisons with other deities. In Die Walküre Wotan's wife Fricka refers to the diverse origins of the other valkyries in the following terms:

Die treue Gattin trogest du stets;
wo eine Tiefe, wo eine Höhe,
dahin lugte lüstern dein Blick,
wie des Wechsels Lust du gewännest
und höhnend kränktest mein Herz.
Trauernden Sinnes mußt' ich's ertragen,
zogst du zur Schlacht mit den schlimmen Mädchen,
die wilder Minne Bund dir gebar....
(Die Walküre, Act II, Scene 1.)
Thy faithful wife thou hast always betrayed!
Never a deep, never a height,
but there turned thirsting thy gaze,
as thy fickle humour allured thee,
and stung my heart with thy scorn.
Saddened in spirit, I must behold thee
fare to the fight with those uncouth maidens [i.e. the valkyries],
whom lawless love hath given to thee....
(Adapted from Frederick Jameson's English translation.)

Deryck Cooke (1979), however, believed that all nine were borne by Erda.

[edit] Depictions in modern popular culture

Depictions of valkyries and valkyrie-like characters vary from source to source in both historical accuracy and function.

[edit] Anime

In the Anime show "Mai HiMe", 4 of the twelve HiMe's are called the Valkyries. These Hime's being Tokiha Mai, Minagi Mikoto, Kuga Natsuki and Sanada 'Sister' Yukariko. These four HiMes play key roles in the Anime.

In the Grand Championship arc of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Zigfried von Schroeder, the main villain in the arc, used a deck composing of Valkyrie monsters and spell and trap cards that support them. Most of the cards do not exist in the real game.

In the series Macross and Robotech, a certain type of modern fighter aircraft, called the VF-1 Valkyrie, can transform into three different modes for different combat environments. These transformations would include a regular aircraft fighter mode, a full battle humanoid form, and a walker mode (a combonation of the aircraft and humanoid mode).

In UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie, the princesses came from planet Valhalla.

[edit] Games

  • Two games created by Namco place a Valkyrie in the starring role. They are Valkyrie no Bouken - Toki no Kagi Densetsu for the Nintendo Famicom, and Valkyrie no Densetsu, an arcade game which later appeared in Namco Museum Volume 5 for the PlayStation, and also received a translation as The Legend of Valkyrie in the English-language release of that compilation.
  • The PlayStation video game Valkyrie Profile uses elements from Norse mythology in that the player takes on the duty of a valkyrie named Lenneth Valkyrie. As the player, one must recruit worthy fallen warriors for Odin's army, in preparation for the battle at the end of the world. However, there are many deviations in the game- these are most apparent in the factions involved, and the names tied to said factions. The game is re-released for the PSP re-named Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Also a sequel for PlayStation 2 is developed, titled Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. The game's storyline is more reminiscent of Wagner's play than it is of the actual mythology.
  • In Fire Emblem, a Valkyrie is the promoted version of the mounted staff user known as Troubadour. However, in Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance, Mist, the only cleric in the game, later promotes to a Valkyrie. It should also be noted that Mist is the name of a Valkyrie serving Odin.
  • In the MMORPG Dark Age Of Camelot, the valkyrie is a playable character class.
  • "Valkyrie" is one of the four playable heroes in the Gauntlet series of arcade and video games.
  • "Valkyrie" is also one of the selectable character classes in the RPG Nethack and its derivatives.
  • In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Valkyries are enemies that can fly and attack you with swords.
  • In Diablo II, an Amazon is able to summon a Valkyrie with a spell to fight alongside her.
  • Ragnarok Online and Shot Online borrow many names from Norse mythology.
  • GunValkyrie for Xbox
  • In Age of Mythology, a real-time strategy computer game, Valkyries are myth units capable of healing other units.
  • Too Human for Xbox 360.
  • In StarCraft: Brood War, the Valkyrie-class missile frigate is the name of a new Terran unit. It is one of the few female units in the game, and is used for attacking other air vessels.
  • In Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, the Valkyrie is a unit class for female soldiers that fights with a lance and can cast offensive magic spells. The character portrait is depicted with a pair of small wings on the sides of her head.
  • In Tales of Phantasia the Valkyrie shows up at one point of the game, claiming back Gungnir from the player for Odin.
  • In the Heuristic Park game Wizards & Warriors, the Valkyrie is one of the three elite classes.
  • In Disciples II, the Mountain Clans can summon Valkyries.
  • Valkyrie is a type of medium scout drone in the MMORPG EVE Online.
  • In Namco's Ace Combat 5 the Razgriz are similar to the valkyries.

[edit] Music

[edit] Television

  • The Charmed TV series, season 6, episode "Valhalley of the Dolls, Parts 1 & 2" tells us about Island of Valhalla, a mythical place ruled by warrior-maidens - Valkyries.
  • In Battlestar Galactica a Battlestar is featured known as Valkyrie. It is part of the 41st Battlestar Group. It operated prior to the attack on the Twelve Colonies and participated in a recon mission into Cylon territory.

[edit] Comics

[edit] Books

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Cooke, Deryck (1979). I Saw the World End. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-315318-1.

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