“There through some battlefield, where men fall fast,
Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride,
And pick the bravest warriors out for death,
Whom they bring back with them at night to Heaven,
To glad the gods and feast in Odin’s hall.”
Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).
VALKYRS RIDING TO BATTLE.—P. N. Arbo.
These maidens, young and beautiful, with dazzling white arms and flowing golden hair, wore helmets of silver or gold, blood-red corselets, carried glittering spears and shields, and boldly charged hither and thither on their mettlesome white steeds. These horses galloped over the quivering Bifröst and through the realms of air, carrying not only their fair riders, but the heroes slain, who were thus immediately transported to Valhalla, after having received the Valkyrs’ kiss of death.
The clouds.