At one time there was a lot of talk about the role played by women in the Viking Age. Were they warriors who wielded shields and swords alongside men? Did they go with them on the famous Viking voyages to such distant places as Europe, Russia and North America? Although in some cases it is difficult to separate myth from reality, it becomes clear that Scandinavian women in the Viking Age society enjoyed more freedom and power in their communities than many other women of the time. Recent studies show that many Norwegian women are more likely to travel with men than previously thought. This suggests that women also played an active role in the colonization of new lands.
Why can't Scandinavian women be called Vikings?
Technically, women can't even be called Vikings. The fact is that the Old Norse word vikingar was applied only to men, as a rule, to those who set off from Scandinavia in their famous long boats to the distant shores of Great Britain, Europe, Russia, as well as to the islands of the North Atlantic and North America in 800-1100 years of our era.
But while these Vikings became infamous as fierce warriors and fierce invaders, they were also traders who established trade routes around the world. They formed settlements, founded cities (Dublin, for example) and influenced the language and culture of the places where their ships stopped.
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Participation in hikes
While early historical research on the Vikings suggested that Scandinavian sailors traveled in male companies, perhaps due to the lack of desirable companions in Scandinavia, more recent research tells a very different story. In a new paper published in late 2014, scientists used mitochondrial DNA as evidence that Norwegian women joined their men on their travels to England, Shetland and Orkney, and Iceland. Moreover, they were important participants in these processes of migration and assimilation. Especially in previously uninhabited areas such as Iceland, Norwegian women have been extremely important for the settlement of new settlements and their prosperity.
Viking Age Society
As with many traditional civilizations, the Viking Age was essentially male dominated. They engaged in hunting, fighting, trade, and agriculture, while women's lives focused on cooking, caring for the home, and raising children. Most Viking-era graves found by archaeologists reflect these traditional gender roles: men were generally buried with weapons and tools, while women were buried with household items, handicrafts, and jewelry.
Liberty
But women in Viking Age Scandinavia did enjoy an unusual degree of freedom for that time. They could own property, ask for a divorce and return their dowry if their marriage ended. Women typically got married between the ages of 12 and 15. It was organized by families, but women had a say in this matter. If a woman wanted a divorce, she had to call witnesses to her home to the marriage lodge and announce to them that she was divorcing her husband. The prenuptial agreement specified how the family property would be divided in the event of a divorce.
Who was in charge of the family?
Although the man was the head of the family, the woman played an active role in managing both the husband and the household. Norwegian women had complete power in the domestic sphere, especially when their husbands were absent. If a man in the family died, his wife took over all the responsibilities and worked independently on the family farm or in the trade business. Many Viking Age Scandinavian women were buried with key rings that symbolized their role and power as housewives.
High social status
Some women were of particularly high status. One of the largest burials ever found in Scandinavia belongs to the "queen" - a woman who was buried in a magnificently decorated ship along with many valuables in 834 AD. Later, in the ninth century, the daughter of the Norse chieftain of the Hebrides (islands off northern Scotland) married a Viking king in Dublin. When her husband and son died, she left the household and organized a boat trip for herself and her grandchildren to Iceland, where she became one of the colony's most important settlers.
Scandinavian women warriors
Were there female warriors in Viking Age society? Although relatively few historical records mention the role of women in Viking battles, Byzantine historian Johannes Scylitz left testimonies of women who fought alongside men in the battle against the Bulgarians in 971. AD. In addition, the 12th century Danish historian Saxon Grammaticus wrote about a special female community, whose members dressed like men and devoted themselves to teaching swordsmanship and other martial skills.
Moreover, some of them took part in the Battle of Brovalle in the middle of the eighth century. In his famous Acts of the Danes, Saxon wrote about a woman from this community named Lagertha, who fought alongside the famous Viking Ragnar Lozbrook in the battle against the Swedes and impressed him so much with her courage that he decided to marry her.
Much of what we know about the female warriors of the Viking Age comes from literary works, including the romantic sagas of Saxon. The tales of female warriors known as Valkyries may have been based on accounts of these women's communities from Viking times, and they are undoubtedly an important part of Old Norse literature. Given the prevalence of these legends, along with the broader rights, status and power they enjoyed, it seems likely that women in Viking society did indeed sometimes take up arms and fight, especially when someone threatened them, their families, and property. …
Anna Pismenna
