Exploring the Role of Women in Viking Society: Rights and Roles

This essay delves into the significant roles and rights of women during the Viking Age, spanning from 793 AD to 1066 AD. It highlights the greater freedom and independence enjoyed by Viking women compared to their counterparts in other societies, focusing on their involvement in trading and business. The essay explores their rights regarding property ownership, marriage, divorce, and the reclamation of dowries. Furthermore, it discusses the roles women played in managing households, particularly when male family members were absent or engaged in other duties. The essay also examines the concept of shield-maidens, brave female warriors from Scandinavian folklore, and concludes by emphasizing the inspiration Viking women provide to modern society, advocating for overcoming prejudices through historical insights.

Role of Women in Viking Society
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Life of people during Viking Age
• A Viking Age talk about a period that lies within
793 AD to 1066 AD is a remarkable period in the
history of Europeans (Hedenstierna‐Jonson et al.
2017.
• It is a period during which Scandinavian
Norsemen visited many parts in Europe through
seas as well as rivers for the purpose of
colonization, conquering various areas, trade as
well as raids.
• The current discussion talks about women playing
a leading role during Viking Age with respect to
their rights on property, marriage-impact, and their
rights against divorce and discusses about Shield-
maidens.

Women playing a leading role in trading and business
• Women during the Age of Viking had greater
freedom as well as independence than most other
females who belonged to other societies.
• People belonging to Viking Society were known to
be infamous as they were mostly fierce warriors or
brutal raiders.
• They were famous due to trading business that
they have been able to spread throughout the
world.
• They succeeded in terms of settling in various parts
of the world, towns as well as cities and their
culture and local language became famous all over
wherever they landed in ships (Adam, 2014).

Authority of women with respect to their marriage or divorce
• Women who belonged to this civilization enjoyed greater
degree of freedom as they had their right to own properties
of households, request for a certification of divorce as well
as they also enjoyed the authority of reclaiming back their
dowries if their marriages get ended.
• Rather than most other women who were forced by their
parents to get married at very young age, Viking women
had a say regarding their marriage arrangement and they
usually used to get married at the age between 12 to 15
years.
• If a woman was in demand for divorce from her husband
she had the right to call people from her family who shall
be the witnesses to her divorce from her husband.
• In those days an agreement that a woman used to make
with her husband on terms of marriage used to act as the
evidence that ways in which properties would get shared if
there is a divorce between the couple.

Role of women in managing households
• Women had so much of her rights that even if the male
member was the head of the family, wife played a leading
part in taking care of her spouse, the children as well as
the entire household.
• Women of Norse society had sole authority to exercise
their powers in the domestic environment during the time
the head of the family remains absent or may be busy with
some other work (Jesch,2015).
• If the husband would suffer a death then the wife used to
take over the responsibilities of entire family, look after
them with care and compassion singlehandedly and also
used to run the family trading business.
• Certain women who belonged to Viking Society after
embracing death were usually buried with a ring
consisting of keys that were made out of gold that were
symbolic of their authority and power for playing the role
of responsible managers throughout their lives.

Act of Shield-maidens
• Shield maiden belong to the folklore as well as mythological
society of Scandinavia who acted as brave female warrior.
• Two of such shield-maidens were proved to be brave
belonging to the society of Hervarar saga.
• They were known to be famous as they took the role of
males since their early childhood and known to have
travelled through dense woods, in the attires of men.
• They took over the swords of their father known as Tyrfing
and turned into a raider and travelled overseas
(Clatterbaugh, 2018).
• Famous scholars like Judith Jesch as well as Jenny Jochens
have suggested that when shield maidens used to suffer
defeat or if they would have suddenly turned into taking the
role of female, this served as a testament to their success as
well as achievements in terms of male as well as a female
and they proved to be a unique symbol of power and
authority.

Inspiration to Modern Generation
• Therefore from the previous discussion, it can be concluded
that women were successful in Viking Ages and they serve in
the forms of inspiration to women belonging to modern age
and society.
• The prejudices that still prevail against women in many parts
of the world till today can easily be overcome if people look
back into the past, these historical evidences would be enough
sources of knowledge as well as power to inspire millions of
women across the world.

Bibliography
Hedenstierna‐Jonson, C., Kjellström, A., Zachrisson, T., Krzewińska, M., Sobrado, V., Price, N., Günther, T.,
Jakobsson, M., Götherström, A. and Storå, J., 2017. A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 164(4), pp.853-860.
Jesch, J., 2015. The Viking Diaspora. Routledge.
Clatterbaugh, K., 2018. Contemporary perspectives on masculinity: Men, women, and politics in modern
society. Routledge.
Adam, J., 2014. The Lives of Women in The Viking Age: The Role of Critical Feminist and Historical.
Athabasca, Canadá.