A Lady's Life in the Viking Age, Part 5: Shield Maidens and Sorceresses

Season 6, Episode 10. In this series, we're exploring what life was like for women in the Viking (Norse) Age. In this episode, we're exploring one of our favorite Viking archetypes - the shield maiden, or shield maid. Were there really axe-weilding, braid rocking warriors who went on raids alongside the men? We'll examine the Norse myth about the Valkyries, then dive into what archaeologists have to tell us about the fighting women of the Viking age. We'll also talk about the mysterious sorceresses known as volva, and the power these religious practioners wielded in Viking society. Our experts for this series are Eleanor Barraclough , a broadcaster and author whose latest book studies the physical remains the Vikings left us, and Nancy Marie Brown , who has been writing about Vikings, and particularly warrior women, for decades. Ways to support The Exploress: Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the full episodes with both our Viking experts and some extra Viking content Grab a book by one of our guests, or read the current Exploress Book Club pick, at the Exploress Bookshop Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and its sequel FYREBIRDS

You can listen to A Lady's Life in the Viking Age, Part 5: Shield Maidens and Sorceresses online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

A Lady's Life in the Viking Age, Part 5: Shield Maidens and Sorceresses is an episode from The Exploress Podcast by Kate J. Armstrong.

This episode is 48:56 long.

This episode was published on Jul 23, 2025.

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