"A goddess or valkyrie, not told of in the Edda but one to whom Haakon Jarl had a special devotion." (p. 604)
"...goddess or valkyrie..." is vague and ambiguous. I wondered whether "...not told of in the Edda..." meant "...invented for this novel by Poul Anderson." However, googling does unearth some information, not much, about this Thorgerd. I found no image for her, which is why we behold instead a generic "flight of the valkyries" picture.
Thorgerd makes her dramatic entrance to protect her devotee from Gunnhild's sending:
"Out of the storm rode one to meet her. The stallion was black, his eyes fire-coals, his mane wild in the wind over which he galloped. The rider's cloak flapped like hawk wings. Helm and byrnie cast back the fleeting light. Blood ran from the spear she gripped. Her scream ripped the sky." (p. 440)
Seeing this, Gunnhild's spirit flees in horror and she counsels her sons to make peace. By now completely out of sympathy with the manipulative, murderous, Machiavellian Gunnhild, I am pleased that she encounters a "Chooser of the Slain" who has this effect on her (p. 440).
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