 In the poem Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar , a prose narrative says that an unnamed and silent young man , the son of the Norwegian King <unk> and <unk> of <unk> , witnesses nine valkyries riding by while sitting atop a burial mound . He finds one particularly striking ; this valkyrie is detailed later in a prose narrative as Sváva , king Eylimi 's daughter , who " often protected him in battles " . The valkyrie speaks to the unnamed man , and gives him the name Helgi ( meaning " the holy one " ) . The previously silent Helgi speaks ; he refers to the valkyrie as " bright @-@ face lady " , and asks her what gift he will receive with the name she has bestowed upon him , but he will not accept it if he cannot have her as well . The valkyrie tells him she knows of a hoard of swords in <unk> , and that one of them is of particular importance , which she describes in detail . Further into the poem , Atli <unk> with the female jötunn Hrímgerðr . While flyting with Atli , Hrímgerðr says that she had seen 27 valkyries around Helgi , yet one particularly fair valkyrie led the band : 
