The untold way of life of the vikings

Very few people realise that many early Vikings mostly worked as farmers. Many Vikings only fought when raiding expeditions were organised. This chapter provides an insight into the everyday life of the Norse people when they were not at sea. Societal structure It was not until towards the end of the Viking Age eighth century to the twelfth century that the separate nations of Scandinavia began to emerge.

Visit Website Like many traditional civilizations, Viking Age society at home and abroad was essentially male-dominated.

What jobs did Vikings do?

The majority of Viking burials found by archaeologists reflect these traditional gender roles: Men were generally buried with their weapons and tools, and women with household items, needlework and jewelry. But women in Viking Age Scandinavia did enjoy an unusual degree of freedom for their day.

They could own property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended. Women tended to marry between the ages of 12 and 15, and families negotiated to arrange those marriages, but the woman usually had a say in the arrangement.

Islamic Ring Found in 9th-Century Viking Grave

If a woman wanted a divorce, she had to call witnesses to her home and marriage bed, and declare in front of them that she had divorced her husband. The marriage contract usually stated how family property would be divided up in case of a divorce.

Norse women had full authority in the domestic sphere, especially when their husbands were absent. If the man of the household died, his wife would adopt his role on a permanent basis, singlehandedly running the family farm or trading business.

Many women in Viking Age Scandinavia were buried with rings of keys, which symbolized their roles and power as household managers. Some women rose to a particularly high status. Later in the ninth century, Aud the Deep-Minded, the daughter of a Norwegian chieftain in the Hebrides islands off northern Scotland married a Viking king based in Dublin.

Were there female warriors in Viking Age society? Though relatively few historical records mention the role of women in Viking warfare, the Byzantine-era historian Johannes Skylitzes did record women fighting with the Varangian Vikings in a battle against the Bulgarians in A.

In his famous work Gesta Danorum, Saxo wrote of a shieldmaiden named Lagertha, who fought alongside the famous Viking Ragnar Lothbrok in a battle against the Swedes, and so impressed Ragnar with her courage that he sought and won her hand in marriage. Most of what we know about women warriors in the Viking Age comes from literary works, including the romantic sagas Saxo called upon as some of his sources.

Given the prevalence of these legends, along with the greater rights, status and power they enjoyed, it certainly seems likely that women in Viking society did occasionally take up arms and fight, especially when someone threatened them, their families or their property.

We strive for accuracy and fairness. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.A Viking's life expectancy at birth was 20 years old. If a child lived to adulthood, they might expect to live to their late 30s or early 40s. Few parents lived to see their children marry, and even fewer lived to see their first grandchild.

Viking and Muslim Interactions: The Untold Stories

Vikings - The Untold Story. K likes. Vikings - The Untold Story. What was Viking society like? At the top of Viking society was the king.

He was the most powerful person in all the land and everyone looked up to him.

Right and wrong, gender roles, sexual morality, daily life, the timing of festivals; in all these circumstances the free man was evaluated by standards of honor. A man of honor was a principled man.

He was given to moderation, was hospitable and generous and offered a helping hand to friends in need. In the fourth season of Vikings, the show got a little extra boost of star power when Major League Baseball player Josh Donaldson dropped in for a little cameo appearance. Women in the Viking Age enjoyed more freedom and held more power in their society than many other women of their day.

Technically, women couldn’t even be Vikings. As Judith Jesch, author of.