Rusla


Rusla, nicknamed the "red maiden", was a legendary Norwegian skjaldmö warrior who is mentioned in Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus and Irish annals. According to Saxo, Rusla was the daughter of a 5th or 6th century king of Telemark called Rieg, and sister of Tesandus, who was dispossessed of his throne by a Danish king named Omund. Rusla formed a pirate fleet to attack all Danish ships as revenge for the affront to her brother. Rusla was always accompanied by another woman Stikla, who was her deputy in all raids. Stikla turned to piracy to avoid marriage, and her name is the origin of the Norwegian city Stiklestad.
Rusla indiscriminately attacked ships and coastal towns in Iceland, Denmark and the British Isles. However, Omund was a trickster king and persuaded Tesandus to side with the Danes, taking him as a foster son. Tesandus eventually captured his sister Rusla, grabbing her by the braids while his crew killed her with blows from rowing oars.
According to Irish Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib, the sons of a woman by this name died at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Her nickname comes from the Irish Gaelic "Ingean Ruagh", and she had a reputation as bloodthirsty and custom of taking no prisoners. The Irish annals also cite Rusla and Stickla's participation in the Battle of Clontarf. They were part of the body of mercenaries hired by the Vikings who fought against Brian Boru, and Rusla lost her sons on the battlefield. Rusla went down in history as the most cruel of all warrior Norse women.
Although it has been suggested that these two Rusla are the same woman, Alexander Bugge argued that the Irish author of Cogad Gaedal re Gallaib misinterpreted the Old English name Rodla, which refers to the Viking man Rollo of Normandy. The two sons who die at Clontarf are called John the Baron and Richard, which fit a Norman milieu.