The Tale of Hervor

When you hear the term 'Viking' you picture a muscular, shirtless, blonde, bearded man, standing in front of a hoard of others like him preparing to charge into battle. But yet, some of their most famous songs were sung about their 'Shieldmaidens', women warriors who were immortalised in Scandinavian folklore.

Born after her father's death (Angantyr the Berserker, a great Viking warrior), Hervor grew up stronger than the boys of her age and showed great skill in archery, horse riding and swordsmanship. She often dressed like a boy and wore what she wanted without much care of what everyone expected from a young woman. When she learned of the true identity of her father, she decided to follow in his footsteps and set out in search for 'Tyrfing', his legendary sword.

Legend has it that a dwarf named Dwerger was forced to forge this sword by Angantyr. The sword with gold ornaments was more deadly than any sword on earth, making its owner invincible. But it was also cursed by the dwarf in spite of Angantyr. Whenever Tyrfing was unsheathed, blood must be spilt.

Fun fact: J.R.R. Tolkien's character of Éowyn from the Lord of the Rings was loosely based on Hervor.

Hervor sailed for Munarvágr, the island where her father laid in his grave. When she arrived she shouted and summoned her father. She spoke so loudly and with such harsh words that her fathers voice could be heard pleading with her not to pursue her quest as the sword would only bring death to her clan, but Hervor would not take no for an answer and continued to demand for her rightful inheritance. Eventually, Angantyr's grave revealed itself, and with it, Tyrfing was now Hervor's to wield.

With Tyrfing in her possession, Hervor proved herself worthy of possessing such power responsibly and was victorious in all of her battles. Eventually, she settled down, married and had two sons, whilst Tyrfing laid dormant - never to reveal its poisoned steel to the world again. Until one day, both of her mischievous sons crossed paths with Tyrfing. Tempted by their curiosity they just had reveal the sword and the dwarf's curse took one of their lives - but that's a story for another day.

Now that you know the tale of Hervor, you can see why we named our brand after her - a woman who didn't let society's gender expectation limit her abilities, nor her sense of fashion.