Gunnhildr Freysdottir of Vikingrunionen (Norse)

A remake of the original concept drawing for the Viking Woman Warrior (Norse Viking Shieldmaiden) of the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited  which is a recreation of the original HWS series based on the  AD 800 - AD 1400 era of warfare. Vikingrunion is a rather anachronistic representation of the various Scandinavian Norse under one single banner, based on the the real-life Scandinavian Vikings during the Viking age.

Inspired by the music: Sovngarde (EOS Skyrim OST)by Jeremy Soule



'789: In this year King Beorhtric took to wife Eadburh, daughter of King Offa. And in his days there came for the first time three ships of Northmen, from Hörthaland: and the reeve rode thither and tried to compel them to go to royal manor - for he did not know what they were - and they slew him. These were the first ships of the Danes to come to England.' - Thus, the first written report of the Viking Raids by the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings first victim and later on, their swore enemies. In our modern society, the Norse Vikings have occupied a rather romanticized image, especially in popular media. While their portrayal lies somewhere between the most fantastic of fantasy, to the grimmest accuracy, it is without doubt that these so called Norse vikings that originated from Scandinavia, have left a long lasting mark in the history of Europe....and perhaps, even beyond that of what we now perceive.



I have been noticing that the "landscape" drawings in the series could be a disadvantage when it comes to accommodating it in the book later, as opposed to the portrait orientation which became the norm in my recent drawings. Re-drawing is pretty impossible, so I opted out for a remake of the original one. This will serve not only to bring more detail, but also as a means of improving the the overall image representation.

Here in this drawing, Lady Gunnhildr, daughter of Frey, is depicted in a very stylized nordic armor, whose inspiration drawn from various era. Her helmet is a decorated helm based on the findings dating back to the Vendel era, while her armor and weapons are based on those used during the Viking era. The same goes for her retainer behind her; wether they be her houscarl, thane or fellow nobles, one thing that is common about their equipment was that, most of these were prohibitively expensive which meant that only the rich could afford to use them.

Speaking of which, One thing that I notice about Shieldmaiden is that, most of their depiction are those where nordic beauty is combined with the armaments or fashion from the Viking era. Think of a maiden, give her some armor and weapon and puff, a shieldmaiden. On the other hand, I can't really say if my drawing is the ideal image of a shieldmaiden, but rather, a warrior woman whose display of strenght and power serves as an inspiration, rather than from her beauty alone. Judging by her equipment, she would have been very rich, putting her in a prestigious status like the nobility class. As such, ralistically speaking, she would have had many scars and her body would have developed proper muscle structure due to the physical demand of taking part in war. Managing wealth would also be something that she must pay attention too, so not only that she must be proficient in fighting, she would also be skilled in managing her household, servants, wealth, friends and enemies. What she lacks in beauty, she makes it up in her strength and power, earning respect from her subjects and fear from her foes.

The historical accuracy of this drawing is very subjective and could be very Historically Wrong Indeed. Shield-maiden, as far as Historians concerned, only briefly mentioned in Scandinavian Saga from Iceland, written long after end of Viking Age. There is no historical evidence that suggested if Women took part in Viking Era Warfare. Still, their depiction remains a staple within the artistic communities. On the other hand, the Anglo-Saxons did have a woman warrior who fought in their ranks, a woman by the name of Aethelflaed of Mercia.