Viking Women: Roles and Influence in Norse Society
Explore the role of women in Viking Age Scandinavia — the shieldmaidens, the rune-magic workers, the merchants and landowners, and the great queens of the North.
The women of the Viking Age are among the most fully documented of any pre-modern European society, and the great body of Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders) of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries preserves a picture of the Norse woman that is remarkable for its fullness and its complexity. The Norse woman of the Viking Age was not the downtrodden drudge of nineteenth-century caricature, but a free legal person who could own property, sue and be sued in court, divorce her husband, and travel abroad. The Norse woman of the heroic age appears as the valkyrie of the Eddic poems, the shieldmaiden of the sagas, the queen of the great royal houses, and the völva (seeress) of the cult of Odin and Freyja.
The Legal Status of Norse Women
The legal status of Norse women is one of the most fully documented of any pre-modern European society. The Norse law-codes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries — the Grágás of Iceland, the Gulathing’s Law of western Norway, the Frostathing’s Law of Trøndelag, the Jutland Law of Denmark, the Helsinge Law of Sweden, the Uppland Law of Sweden, the Västgöta Law of Sweden — all preserve elaborate provisions for the legal rights of women, and the provisions are the basis of the modern understanding of the Norse woman.
The Norse woman could own property in her own right, and she could inherit, buy, and sell property without the intervention of a male guardian. The odal (freehold) of the Norse farm could be inherited through the female line as well as the male, and the Norse woman could be the head of an odal household in her own right. The Norse woman could also divorce her husband, and the Grágás of Iceland preserves elaborate provisions for the division of property on divorce. The Norse woman could also sue and be sued in the courts, and the Grágás of Iceland preserves the records of a number of cases in which women are the principal plaintiffs or defendants.
The Norse Woman in the Family
The Norse woman in the family had a central role in the economic and social life of the household. The Norse farm (ból or bú) was the principal unit of Norse society, and the Norse woman was the principal manager of the farm in the absence of her husband. The Norse farm of the Viking Age was a complex economic unit that included the cultivation of grain, the raising of cattle and sheep, the fishing of the rivers and the sea, the production of cloth, the brewing of ale, and the management of the dairy. The Norse woman was the principal manager of all of these activities, and the survival of the farm depended on her skill.
The marriage customs of the Norse are preserved in the law-codes and in the Íslendingasögur. The Norse marriage was a complex legal act, with the consent of the bride and the bridegroom, the payment of a bride-price (mundr) by the bridegroom to the bride’s father, and the payment of a dowry (heimanfylgja) by the bride’s father to the bridegroom. The bride retained the right to her mundr in the case of divorce or widowhood, and the mundr was a substantial sum. The Norse marriage was, in this sense, a partnership of two free legal persons, and the Norse woman was not the chattel of her husband.
The divorce customs of the Norse are preserved in the law-codes. The Norse woman could divorce her husband for a number of causes, including impotence, sterility, infidelity, and physical violence. The Grágás of Iceland preserves elaborate provisions for the division of property on divorce, and the provisions are designed to protect the woman against the loss of her property in the case of divorce. The Norse woman could also seek the protection of the courts in the case of physical violence, and the Grágás of Iceland preserves the records of a number of cases in which a woman has successfully sued her husband for physical violence.
The Norse Woman in the Cult
The Norse woman in the cult had a central role in the religion of the Viking Age. The Norse religion of the period was centred on the great Æsir and Vanir gods of the pantheon, and the principal gods of the Norse were Odin, Thor, Freyja, Tyr, Heimdall, Baldr, and the Norns. The cult of these gods was a public cult, with the great blót (sacrifice) of the year at the great temple of Uppsala in Sweden, at the great hof (temple) of Lejre in Denmark, and at the great hörgr (outdoor altar) of the Norse farm.
The völva (seeress) of the Norse religion was a woman of great power, and the figure of the völva is one of the great religious figures of the Viking Age. The völva was a religious specialist who could see the future, prophesy the doom of the heroes, and interpret the will of the gods. The völva of the Völuspá of the Codex Regius is the supreme example of the figure, and the poem is one of the great religious poems of the Old Norse tradition.
The dís (female spirit) of the Norse religion was a goddess or female spirit who was the object of a special cult, and the dísir were the protectresses of the Norse family. The cult of the dísir was a central part of the Norse family religion, and the dísablót (sacrifice to the dísir) was one of the great feasts of the Norse year. The dísir were associated with the Freyja and the Vanir of the Norse pantheon, and the cult of the dísir was one of the principal channels through which the older religion of the Vanir was preserved in the Christian period.
The seiðr (a form of Norse magic) was a cult that was particularly associated with the Norse woman, and the figure of the seiðr-worker is one of the great religious figures of the Viking Age. The seiðr was a form of magic that involved the use of incantations, the manipulation of magical objects, and the prophetic trance. The figure of the seiðr-worker is preserved in the Ynglinga saga of the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson, in the Eiríks saga rauða, in the Gísla saga Súrssonar, in the Hervarar saga, and in a number of other sagas. The figure of the Freyja as the patroness of the seiðr is treated on her own page.
The Shieldmaiden
The shieldmaiden (skjaldmey) of the Norse tradition is one of the great legendary figures of the Viking Age, and the figure has become a permanent part of the European imagination. The shieldmaiden was a woman who fought as a warrior, and the figure is preserved in the Íslendingasögur, in the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus, in the Völsunga saga, in the Hervarar saga, and in the Hrólfs saga kraka. The shieldmaiden is also treated on the Brynhild, Shieldmaiden and Queen page, which is one of the cluster pages of the present site.
The Saxo Grammaticus description of the shieldmaiden Lagertha is the most famous of the prose descriptions of the shieldmaiden. Saxo tells the story of the Danish king Ragnar who is fighting a war against the Swedish king, and who is impressed by the valour of a Norwegian warrior in the Swedish army. The warrior turns out to be a woman, Lagertha, and Ragnar wins her by the same valour that she had displayed in the battle. Saxo also tells the story of the shieldmaiden Hetha, who fights alongside the Danish king in his wars.
The Völsunga saga and the Hervarar saga preserve other examples of the shieldmaiden. The Hervarar saga preserves the story of the Hervör alvitr, the daughter of the Swedish king Angantýr, who is raised as a girl but who cuts her hair, takes up weapons, and rides alone to the burial mound of her father to demand the cursed sword Tyrfing from the ghosts within. The Völsunga saga preserves the story of the Hildr, the valkyrie who fights alongside the Völsung champions in the last stand of the saga. The Hrólfs saga kraka preserves the story of the Skuld, the valkyrie who is the daughter of the Danish king, and who is the central figure of the great hall of the saga.
The archaeological evidence for the historical existence of the shieldmaiden is debated. The most famous example is the Birka warrior burial (Bj 581), discovered in 1878 in the great cemetery of Birka on Lake Mälaren in Sweden. The burial was long thought to be that of a male warrior, but a re-analysis of the bones in 2017 by Anna Kjellström of the University of Stockholm showed that the warrior was in fact a woman. The re-analysis is not universally accepted, but it has reopened the question of the historical existence of the female warrior in the Viking Age.
The Norse Queen
The Norse queen of the Viking Age had a central role in the political and religious life of the great royal houses, and the figure of the Norse queen is one of the great figures of the period. The Norse queen of the period was not the consort of the king but a partner in the kingship, and she had her own household, her own lands, and her own retinue. The Norse queen had her own stallari (steward), her own meykóngr (king of the maidens, or marshal of the household), and her own hird (retinue). The Norse queen had her own seal, her own coinage, and her own legal personality.
The great queens of the Viking Age include the Danish queen Thyra (consort of Gorm the Old, c. 936), the English queen Emma of Normandy (consort of Æthelred the Unready and of Cnut the Great, r. 1002–1013 and 1017–1035), the Swedish queen Estrid (consort of Olof Skötkonung, c. 1000), the Danish queen Gyda (consort of Harald Bluetooth, c. 965), and the English queen Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (r. 911–918), who ruled Mercia in her own right. The figure of the Norse queen is preserved in the Íslendingasögur, in the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus, in the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
The great shield-queens of the Norse heroic tradition include Brynhild, the valkyrie of the Völsung cycle; Guðrún, the queen of the Gjükungs and the Huns; Auðr/Unnr djúpúðga Ketilsdóttir, the settler of the western fjords of Iceland; and Melkorka, the Irish princess of the Laxdæla saga. The figure of the Norse queen is treated in detail on the Brynhild, Shieldmaiden and Queen page, which is one of the cluster pages of the present site.
The Norse Woman in Trade and Craft
The Norse woman in trade and craft had a central role in the economic life of the Viking Age, and the figure of the Norse woman as a merchant, a craftswoman, and a money-lender is one of the great figures of the period. The Norse woman could own and manage a business in her own right, and the Íslendingasögur are full of stories of Norse women who manage farms, who run trading-vessels, who engage in money-lending, and who travel abroad on business. The figure of the Norse woman as a money-lender is preserved in the Laxdæla saga of the thirteenth century, in which the heroine Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir is a wealthy and powerful woman who manages a great farm.
The Norse woman in craft was a master of the textile arts, and the weaving of cloth was the principal craft of the Norse household. The Norse woman could also be a smith, a leather-worker, a comb-maker, a jeweller, and a shipwright, and the Íslendingasögur are full of stories of Norse women who engage in these crafts. The figure of the Norse woman as a shipwright is preserved in the Eiríks saga rauða, in which the heroine Freydís Eiríksdóttir is the leader of a Norse expedition to Vinland.
The Norse woman in trade was the principal manager of the farm in the absence of her husband, and the Norse woman could also be a merchant in her own right. The Grágás of Iceland preserves elaborate provisions for the legal status of the woman-merchant, and the Gulathing’s Law of western Norway preserves the records of a number of cases in which a woman is the principal party in a commercial transaction.
The Norse Woman in the Sagas
The Norse woman in the sagas is one of the great literary figures of the medieval world, and the great body of the Íslendingasögur of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is the most extensive body of medieval literature that is concerned with the lives of women. The greatest of the female characters in the sagas include Auðr/Unnr djúpúðga Ketilsdóttir of the Laxdæla saga and the Landnámabók, the great settler of the western fjords of Iceland; Melkorka of the Laxdæla saga, the Irish princess who is sold into slavery; Hallgerður Höskuldsdóttir of the Njáls saga, the great heroine of the longest of the sagas; Gudrun Osvifsdottir of the Laxdæla saga, the great heroine of the longest of the western sagas; Bergthora of the Njáls saga, the great heroine of the burning of Bergthorshvoll; Freydís Eiríksdóttir of the Eiríks saga rauða, the great heroine of the Vinland voyages; and Hervör alvitr of the Hervarar saga, the great heroine of the Tyrfing legend.
The great female characters of the sagas are not mere passive objects of male exchange. They are the principal agents of the stories in which they appear. The figure of Hallgerður of the Njáls saga is the central agent of the burning of Bergthorshvoll, in which her refusal to give her husband Gunnar the locks of her hair to wick the fire to its origin is the cause of the great catastrophe of the saga. The figure of Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir of the Laxdæla saga is the central agent of the long series of feuds and reconciliations of the saga.
The Norse Woman and the Law
The Norse woman and the law is one of the most fully documented of any pre-modern European society, and the Grágás of Iceland is the most extensive body of medieval Norse law. The Grágás preserves elaborate provisions for the legal rights of women, and the provisions are the basis of the modern understanding of the Norse woman. The Norse woman could be a plaintiff or a defendant in the courts, and the Grágás preserves the records of a number of cases in which a woman is the principal party.
The legal personality of the Norse woman is preserved in the law-codes. The Norse woman could own and dispose of her own property, and she could inherit and bequeath property in her own right. The Norse woman could also enter into contracts in her own right, and the Grágás preserves the records of a number of cases in which a woman is the principal party to a contract.
The rights of inheritance of the Norse woman are preserved in the law-codes. The Norse woman could inherit the odal of her father in the absence of male heirs, and she could inherit the property of her husband in the case of widowhood. The Norse woman could also make a will, and the Grágás of Iceland preserves elaborate provisions for the testamentary freedom of the Norse woman. The Norse woman could also be the arfi (heir) of her father in the case of intestacy, and the Grágás preserves elaborate provisions for the inheritance of the daughter in the absence of male heirs.
The Norse Woman in the Cult of the Dead
The Norse woman in the cult of the dead had a central role in the funerary practices of the Viking Age. The funeral of the Norse of the period was a complex ritual, with the burning or burial of the dead, the sacrifice of animals, the laying out of grave-goods, and the erection of a memorial stone or a raised mound. The Norse woman had a central role in the ritual, and the Íslendingasögur are full of stories of Norse women who preside over the funeral of their husbands, their fathers, or their sons.
The grave-goods of the Norse woman of the Viking Age are extensive, and they include jewellery, clothing, household goods, and personal weapons. The great Oseberg ship-burial of c. 834 contained the bodies of two women, who had been buried with a great treasure of objects. The great Mästermyr chest of the tenth century, found in Gotland, is the principal piece of Norse craftsmanship of the period.
The Norse Woman in the Christianisation
The Norse woman in the Christianisation had a central role in the conversion of the Viking Age. The Norse woman of the period was the principal repository of the older religion, and the conversion of the Norse was in part a conversion of the women. The Icelandic decision of 1000, in which the Icelandic chieftains agreed to accept baptism in a single day, was made with the proviso that the older customs of the Norse religion could continue in private. The proviso was, in effect, a recognition that the women of the Norse religion could continue to practise the older cult.
The Christian women of the Viking Age include the English queen Emma of Normandy, who was a Christian and who founded the great abbey of Barking in Essex; the Danish queen Gyda, who was a Christian and who founded the great church of Hedeby in Denmark. The Christian women of the Viking Age were the principal agents of the conversion, and the conversion was in part the work of the women.
The Norse Woman in the Modern Reception
The Norse woman in the modern reception has become a permanent part of the modern popular culture, and the figure of the Norse woman as the shieldmaiden, the seeress, the queen, the völva, and the heroine of the saga has been taken up in the modern fantasy literature, the modern popular fiction, the modern films, the modern television series, and the modern video games. The figure of the Norse woman is one of the great iconic figures of the modern world, and her image is preserved in the modern popular culture of the world.
The modern scholarship of the Norse woman is one of the most active and exciting fields of medieval Scandinavian studies. The great works of the Jenny Jochens of the Johns Hopkins University, the Margaret Clunies Ross of the University of Sydney, the Judy Quinn of the University of Cambridge, and the Cara K. Corsaro of the Berkeley have transformed the modern understanding of the Norse woman. The modern scholarship has shown that the Norse woman of the Viking Age was a free legal person who could own property, sue and be sued in court, divorce her husband, and travel abroad. The modern scholarship has also shown that the Norse woman had a central role in the cult, in the trade, in the craft, in the family, in the saga, in the law, and in the Christianisation of the Viking Age.