Study › Runes & Norse › The Swan Maidens
The swan maidens of the Poetic Edda are three valkyries who took off their swan cloaks by a lake, married three brothers, among them Völund the smith, and after seven winters flew away.
Who are the swan maidens?
The poem Völundarkviða in the Poetic Edda opens with three brothers — Slagfiðr, Egil and Völund the smith — who find three women spinning flax on the shore of a lake, their swan cloaks lying beside them. 'They were valkyries', says the poem. Two were daughters of King Hlödvér, Hlaðguðr svanhvít, 'swan-white', and Hervör alvitr; the third was Ölrún. The brothers took them home as wives, and for seven winters they stayed. Then the swan maidens longed for battle, took up their cloaks and flew away, and did not come back. Two of the brothers went out searching for their wives; Völund stayed at home forging rings of gold, waiting for his to return — and so he was taken by King Níðuðr, whose cruelty drives the rest of the poem.
They were valkyries.
Questions
Were the swan maidens valkyries?
Yes, the poem says so.
Why did they leave?
They longed for battle, took up their cloaks and flew away.