Editing Valhalla (section)

== Women of Valhalla and their role in the afterlife ==
The women of Valhalla and their role in the theology of the Norse afterlife is in stark contrast to the commonly male-dominated perceptions of Viking society, mythology, and cultural practices. Those chosen for Valhalla are often associated with heroic deeds in battle; the god Odin was said to have employed women - battle-maidens called [[Valkyrie|valkyries]] - to carry the dead to his hall. These valkyries play a vital role in the functioning of Valhalla, and shape the Norse afterlife and fate of the dead. They are seen as active agents in the cosmic balance of life, death, and honor. 

Valkyries are often described as "Odin's Vultures", whose purpose is to select the most glorious of men who die in battle. They are women of violence that were seen as precursors to both honor and horror. Valkyries were physically important to the processing of men into Valhalla, which inherently entwined their fate with Viking warriors and they were heavily associated with the death of men. The valkyries haunted their dreams and looked over the slaughter of battle, making them culturally dreaded creatures.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Meredith Catherine |date=2015 |title=Dread Sisterhood: Conceptions of the Feminine in Norse Depictions of Death |journal=University of Iceland}}</ref> Over time, this view of valkyries in Valhalla softened, making them into protective spirits. They are the women who serve the men of Valhalla in feasts and care for the warriors until Ragnarök. This later shift from violent overseers to sustainers of life shows how the image of women changed within Norse culture with the introduction of Christianity.<ref name=":4" />

Valhalla is also the only hall of the dead that is ruled by a man. All the other realms are tended to by women. [[Hel (mythological being)|Hel]], the jötunn and daughter of [[Loki]], presides over the eponymous Hel, where those who die of illness or old age dwell. [[Freyja]], the goddess of love and war, claims half of the fallen warriors in her realm of [[Fólkvangr]]. [[Rán]], the sea goddess, gathers the drowned into her underwater hall. These female goddesses further enforce this image of women as the overseers of death. Women in Norse Mythology then, "collect the dead, women portend death, they care for the dead and women keep the dead. In all respects except Óðin’s, it seems like an almost exclusively feminine role to keep”.<ref name=":4" />