The Valkyrie?

[oldman]

Can someone tell how the Valkyrie came to be associated with the Dragon, or a Viking ? The Valkyrie was a Norwegian mythical blond haired, blue eyed, winged Warrior Goddess, known as the chooser of the slain. In the sixties the US built a Mach III bomber called the Valkyrie, I can see the how that would be associated with a winged warrior of death, and I can see how our Valkyrie could be associated with a Mach III jet . But, when and how did the Dragon or Viking image come into play, curiosity got the best of me ???

[Houdini]

A quick Google came up with this;

"The reason for calling the Valkyrie the Dragon is the definition of a Dragon.
 
"*Dragon;(n.)  A legendary fire breathing beast of great size.  Renowned for its immense power and ability to fly."

This is why we call the Valkyrie the "Dragon", it just sort of caught on".

http://www.vrccuk.co.uk/the_dragon_explained.htm

Sounds reasonable to me.

I assume the viking association is the obvious one, the bike is called a Valkyrie.

Chuck

[oldman]

"*Dragon;(n.)  A legendary fire breathing beast of great size.  Renowned for its immense power and ability to fly."

Excellent defination of a Valk, I like it!! Ok curiosity  cured ..

Thanks Chuck!!

[Thalas'shaya]

The Valkyrie were more complex than death goddesses, at least according to the sources I've seen.  They flew down to the fields of battle and picked up the VALIANT fallen Viking warriors to carry them safely to Valhalla where they feasted in the company of Odin forevermore.  They wore armor, but carried no weapons, although sometimes they carried shields and in some poems they have spears and do actually fight.  It was terrible bad luck to hit a Valkyrie with your spears or arrows, because if you pissed one off, she and her sisters might choose to ignore your dead butt and leave you on the field of battle with the cowards for the crows and wolves to eat.   

So a Valkyrie was the means by which the brave Vikings got to heaven, where they got food and mead.  Not a bad definition, either! 

[oldman]

The Valkyrie were more complex than death goddesses

Same myth, I just condensed my definition a little .

So a Valkyrie was the means by which the brave Vikings got to heaven

Yeah , but that would be brave DEAD Vikings .

All this came up while trying to decide what theme I might want to put on my freshly painted Valk.
Dragon, Viking, B-70 mach III bomber or winged warrior goddesses. I'll probably just replace the chrome emblems , at least for a while, like next winter .
Thanks!!