richard schmid and jeremy lipking portrait painting of a shield-maiden old norse: skjoldmø [ˈskjɑldˌmɛːz̠] was a female warrior from scandinavian folklore and mythology. shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as hervarar saga ok heiðreks and in gesta danorum. they also appear in stories of other germanic peoples: goths, cimbri, and marcomanni.[1] the mythical valkyries may have been based on such shield-maidens.[ full-figure