Shieldmaidens in Anglo-Saxon England: historical possibility or wishful thinking?

Scandinavian women are regularly depicted as warriors, or shieldmaidens, fighting both in international raids and in defending their homes in the popular television series Vikings. But is this portrayal likely to be accurate? Following an examination of the depiction of warrior women in the series, this paper will try to answer this question by focussing on one of the regions that shieldmaidens in the series are shown fighting in, Anglo-Saxon England. England benefits from having primary written sources for the Viking Age, as well as numerous excavations, including the burials of three females with weapons, making them potential shieldmaidens.