Scholarly theories have been proposed about the relation between the valkyries, the Norns, and the dísir, all of which are supernatural figures associated with fate. The Old English cognate term wælcyrġe appears in several Old English manuscripts, and scholars have explored whether the term appears in Old English by way of Norse influence, or reflects a tradition also native among the Anglo-Saxon pagans. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, and in various runic inscriptions. Valkyries are attested in the Poetic Edda (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the Prose Edda, the Heimskringla (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the Njáls saga (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written-or compiled-in the 13th century.

Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar ( Old Norse 'single (or once) fighters' ). In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ('chooser of the slain') is one of a host of female figures who guide half of the souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla, whereas the other half go to Freyja's afterlife field, Fólkvangr.

The 'valkyrie from Hårby', silver-gilt figurine depicting a female with a sword and shield, often interpreted to be a valkyrie

Red brave valkyrie