from Bullfinch's Mythology I
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"The Valkyrie are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses and armed with helmets and spears. Odin, who is desirous to collect a great many heroes in Valhalla to be able to meet the giants in a day when the final contest must come, sends down to every battlefield to make choice of those who shall be stain. The Valkyrie are his messengers, and their name means "Choosers of the stain." When they ride forth on their errand, their armor sheds a strange flickering tight, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what men call the "Aurora Borealis", or Northern Lights."
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