Shieldmaiden stones

SHIELD MAIDENS – VALKYRIES According to the old legend from this area, Augvald had two daughters who were shield maidens and fought with their father in all the battles. Shield maidens were female warriors who could “ride the wind over land and sea”. They could also be goddesses of fate, related to the Norns. Odin sent shield maidens to the battlefield to choose which of the fallen should be taken to Valhalla. They were therefore called “Odin’s maidens”. The legend relates that Augvald’s shield maidens were buried at Stavasletta. Here, there are still two standing stones which are called The Shield Maidens. These two stones were originally part of a star-shaped burial monument which resembles the burial site named “The Five Foolish Virgins” at Norheim by the strait Karmsund. At the burial site at Stavasletta, there are now only two stones left, but as late as in 1965, 5 standing stones were registered here. Two had fallen down and one had been incorporated into a stone fence.