Webiorg, Wigbiorg or Veborg (died 750), was a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

ary

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

shieldmaiden A shield-maiden ( non, skjaldmær ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and Norse mythology, mythology. Shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' and in ''Gesta Danorum''. They also appear in ...

who, according to the sagas, participated in the

Battle of Bråvalla A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, which occurred in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in approximately 750. She was of Swedish or Danish origin. The battle was between King

Harald Hildetand Harald Wartooth or ''Harold Hiltertooth'' (Old Norse: Haraldr hilditǫnn; Modern Swedish and Danish: Harald Hildetand; Modern Norwegian: ''Harald Hildetann''; flourished 8th century) was a legendary king of Denmark who is mentioned in several trad ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and Sweden, and his

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

King

Sigurd Hring Sigurd Ring (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hringr'', in some sources merely called ''Hringr'') according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden a ...

of Sweden; Sweden was during this age several little kingdoms, but Harald Hildetand had been elected king over most of them. King Sigurd had plans to unite all these kingdoms under one crown permanently, while King Harald wished to keep the possibility of electing different kings to each one, and the battle was therefore between unionists and separatists. It is said that both sides drew mercenaries from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and three hundred female soldiers, so-called Shieldmaidens, were on Harald's side; the most famous one, besides Visna and Harald's own daughter, Princess Hed, was Veborg; these three women are described as the generals of the female troops. Veborg's contribution in the battle is described in detail; One of the strongest warriors of King Harald was Ubbe from Friesland, who defeated three Swedish princes and the fighter Agnar before he was killed by one of the greatest warriors of the unionists, Starke. Veborg then rushed forward to attack Starke. She cut off his jaw, but he managed to escape and cut off the arm of the shieldmaiden Visna, who was holding the separatists' banner. Veborg, described as very brave, then fought the warrior Thorkell the Stubborn in a long and furious struggle, until Thorkell, "after many wounds and much verbal arguing", finally managed to kill her.

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

reported that shieldmaidens fought on the side of the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

at the

Battle of Brávellir The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle, said to have taken place c.770, that is described in the sagas as taking place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Hring, king of Sweden and the Geats of Västergötland, and ...

and that Veborg or Webiorg was among them:

References

* Herman Lindquist: Historien om Sverige. Från islossning till kungarike (English: "History of Sweden. From Ice age to Kingdom") (In Swedish) * Karsten Friis-Jensen, 2005, ''Gesta Danorum'' , * Peter Zeeberg, 2000, ''Saxos Danmarkshistorie'' (completo) (vol 1) {{ISBN, 87-12-03535-1 (vol 2) 8th-century births 750 deaths Year of birth unknown 8th-century women Germanic women warriors Women in medieval European warfare