Infopanel 34
The role of women
Compared to most other European cultures, Scandinavian women had significantly more freedom to shape their own lives. Even before the Viking Age, there were Swedish dynasties descended from women. In other parts of Scandinavia, princesses and queens were also buried in magnificent ship and wagon graves, indicating their high social status.
However, it is not certain whether the so-called “maiden queens” known from later saga literature – princesses who refused to marry and wanted to rule their country independently and freely – really existed.
The same applies to the figure of the shield maiden (skjaldmær), a female character from Norse mythology and folklore. She is said to have chosen a life as a warrior instead of marriage. On Viking-era brooches, she is depicted armed with a shield and spear, yet at the same time very feminine, dressed in a gown and train. Perhaps the figure had a purely representative function?
The figure of the Valkyrie (valkyrja, Old English wælcyrge) underwent a long development in meaning. Originally, she represented a female death demon who, as the meaning of the name suggests, selected the dead on the battlefield (valr) to accompany them to the afterlife. Later, in poetry, the Valkyries merged with the shield maidens to become romantic figures.
The true women of the Viking Age were the peasant women of Scandinavia. They often bore the brunt of the Viking Age. During the absence of their husbands, who were often away on raids for months or even years, they had to run the farms on their own. Of course, they were also responsible for raising the children and supervising the servants and slaves. They also had to trade in order to secure an income from the farm's surplus.
It was no coincidence that women held the keys to the house, farm, and chests – visible from afar by the keys hanging from their belts. As widows, they also had the right to remarry without the consent of male relatives and to inherit independently. They could also get divorced if they wanted to – for example, if their husband was violent or refused to give them the keys.
So it's no surprise that women in Scandinavia are still much more self-confident than elsewhere in Europe and fought for their rights early on. Iceland, Norway, and Denmark were among the first European countries to introduce women's suffrage before 1918. In addition, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have a comparatively small gender pay gap.