Study › Runes & Norse › Göndul and Skögul
Göndul and Skögul are the two valkyries of the poem Hákonarmál. Odin sent them to the battle of Fitjar to choose which king would come to him.
Who are Göndul and Skögul?
The poem Hákonarmál, made by the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir around 961, shows two valkyries at their work. Odin sends Göndul and Skögul to the battle of Fitjar, to choose among the kings which of them will come to him. King Hakon the Good wins the battle, but falls wounded, and Göndul, leaning on her spear, says that the company of the gods will now grow, for Hakon is called home to them. Hakon asks why they gave him no victory, and Skögul answers that it was their doing that the field was won and his enemies fled — and that now they ride to the green homes of the gods, to tell Odin the king is coming. In the valkyries of Hákonarmál the old idea is plain: victory and death are both theirs to give.
Read Hakon the Good and the names of the valkyries.
Questions
Who did Göndul and Skögul choose?
King Hakon the Good, at the battle of Fitjar.
What is Hákonarmál?
The poem the skald Eyvindr made for Hakon around 961.