Hampshire HistBites

Valkyries in the Water-Meadows: A Little-Known Piece of Winchester Folklore

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Episode notes

It’s amazing how we can learn so much about a place from its past, and Winchester is no different! Dating from the Anglo-Saxon period, Winchester’s folklore not only tells us more about the city, but it also highlights some details about an unusual creature: the English version of the Old Norse Valkyrja.  

Join Dr Eric Lacey as he shares with us the story of the valkyries in the Water Meadows, how the English version of the valkyries was understood and how different it was from its somewhat romanticised Old Norse counterparts. 

If you are interested in finding out more be sure to check out Dr Lacey’s chapter, ‘Wælcyrian in the Water Meadows: Lantfred’s Furies’, in the edited book Early Medieval Winchester: Communities, Authority and Power in an Urban Space, c.800-c.1200, which will be published September 2021.

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