Women's Rights in the Viking Age

Over the last few weeks, women’s rights have been under attack from many different sides, and it goes beyond the abortion issue. It is the way that women are being treated when they are upset at their treatment. Now, I’m going to avoid being overly political in the blog, but I will say this much: I am an ally to equal rights for everyone. I have fought for it loudly and occasionally physically. I offer my assistance to anyone who needs aid in these issues. 

Very often, we see two conflicting ideas on the women’s rights movement: first, that women only started fighting for their rights recently. And second, that they have more rights now than ever before.

The first one is patently untrue; the idea of a woman fighting for her rights the world over has been happening since the first time someone else decided to take them from her. The second one is a little trickier; we are taught in school that prior to the coming of civilization and the age of enlightenment, women were second class citizens. That only through the hard work and the eventual permittance from the men in power, women have gained rights in Europe and the US. The truth is that the rights of women were taken away during the 11c and 12c, and it took 600 years for women to start to get them back. In this blog post, I’ll go over women’s rights as they relate to 10c Norse women. For obvious reasons, we will be

Lagertha from Vikings
Vikings may get some things wrong, but Lagertha
was a badass in the show and in history.

speaking about free women and not thralls, although I may do an entire blog post on the life of a thrall in the future.

For the purposes of this blog we are going to focus on three main areas of women’s rights: Body Autonomy, Property Rights, and Life Choices. Body autonomy will include how the Old Norse handled rape, and women’s rights to choose what happened with their own bodies. Property rights will be about what women were allowed to own, and what status they could claim independent of a man. When we get to Life Choices, we’ll discuss how much control women had over their own destiny in life through marital and career choices.

Body Autonomy

Rape
     In Europe during my time period, rape was considered a property crime because a woman was considered the property of her husband or father, which meant that the penalty for rape was repayment for the damage. In some cases, the victim would be forced to marry her assailant, a horrific situation for the woman as she must now serve the person who violated her. However in Iceland, rape and even attempted rape were considered among the most severe crimes, and were punished by being declared an outlaw, which is similar to exile and removed all the rights and protections of the violator. Being an outlaw removed a person’s right to hospitality and even their protections by law, a very dangerous position to be in. Even unwanted advances carried stiff penalties. In Kormak’s Saga, he is fined two ounces of gold and is nearly attacked for kissing a woman four times without her consent. 

Abortion
     This is a modern hot-button issue. In ancient times in Europe, the fetus wasn’t considered a person until it was born, so abortion was treated as an issue only if the mother had the abortion without the father being told. In more rural cultures such as the ancient Norse, children weren’t typically considered people until they were claimed and named. The practice of infanticide for weak or deformed children was still practiced. This practice, while utterly barbaric, was important at a time when there was no way to care for the child, or for the child to help out. In the harsh times of the 10c, a child would be helping around the farmstead as soon as it was old enough to, and anyone that couldn’t was in a rough spot. We also know that the methods of abortion were well known and practiced throughout these times. It seems from my research that the life of the mother was the primary concern, and secondary was whether the household was capable of sustaining another child. 

Sexuality
     Norse women in the Viking age are portrayed as all different kinds of stereotypes, from the sexy seductresses to the badass female warrior to the domestic soft spoken housewife. None of these take into account who women actually were and how they handled their love lives. Information on this is a bit vague, as the Sagas tended to leave the home lives out a little bit. We do know that women were “allowed” to want sex and were not considered sinful or bad if they did. In Gisla’s Saga, we see Asgerdr being refused entry into her husband’s bed until she threatens him with divorce. He was upset with her for having an affair, which shows even more open sexuality, but that’s just more proof on the pile that women had sex and were allowed to enjoy it. The interesting side of this is that in some of my research, I’ve

Sigrid Storrada
A good example of a woman in control.
She denied many suitors including
Olaf Oathbreaker

come across the thought that women couldn’t become pregnant unless they orgasmed. This means that non-reproductive sex might have been unsatisfying, but it also means that when they wanted children (which was more common) the women were well taken care of.

Property Rights

Property rights for women in the Viking age were a little tricky; we know they were allowed to own business and inherit, but they were limited in their ability to claim titles and certain positions within a community. Women also weren’t allowed to vote or attend the Allthing.

So, what were women allowed to own? The quick answer to that is that women controlled nearly all major decisions in regards to the finances of the home. They were also able to inherit a husband’s wealth and title. This, compiled with the fact that there were fewer women than men, gave women a fair amount of behind-the-scenes power, something you see often in the Sagas: women using their positions as the keyholders of the house, or out and out threatening divorce to get their men to do what they felt was necessary. While this isn't direct power, it’s better than in many cultures where women are expected to be seen and not heard.

There’s also evidence of women in the Viking Age owning and running their own businesses. This would give the woman a fair bit of financial independence. These businesses were typically in what were considered womanly crafts: fiber arts, pottery, weaving, and the like. More “manly” trades such as blacksmithing lack any evidence of a woman owning a business, but I would argue that with the laws of an inheritance, we could see a widow taking over a husband's business and being a farris. 

Life Choices

Career
     It seems that in the Viking age, most people lacked any real choice in career: you were

A grave that has had much contention, but
is now accepted to be a female warrior of
renown.

born into something, and with few exceptions this remained the case. One could go and test their luck in raids and battle to earn fortune and glory, but the opportunities were limited. This applied to both genders. Freemen and women had the opportunity to become apprentices and learn a trade, provided their parents supported them and could convince a craftsperson to take the child on.

Romance
     We see over and over again how much free reign women were given in matters of marriage. The ease of divorce and the fact that women were in the minority usually meant that a prospective bride had several choices when it came to choosing a suitor. We also know that unwanted advances were punished. All of this leads me to believe that, while the final say of a union was probably the choice of the father so that he could pick what was best for the family, only a foolish man would lock his daughter into an unhappy marriage. 

Conclusion

Overall l, we see that in many ways women in Viking Age Nordic lands had more rights than women on the mainland of Europe. In fact, more rights than women would have for many years to come. It wasn't perfect, since they had no direct political power, but they were not passive observers in the world around them. This is probably why we have so many strong female characters in the sagas; even the historians knew that they were not to be trifled with. Now, let me be clear: this was not unique to the Norse. The Celts also had their fair share of badass women, as did the Egyptians and the Greeks. My honest opinion is that

Freya by Irenhorror on Deviantart
Freya is the perfect example of a
strong female goddes. Goddess
of Sex, Love, Magic, and War.

cultures that have many deities, and have strong female deities among the pantheon, tend to have better rights for women. They view women as just a part of the society, as opposed to being property or worse. 

I am grateful for all the progress we have made as a society to once again acknowledge the strength and virtues that women add to our lives. Hopefully our current attitudes will catch up and surpass the ideas of our ancestors, who knew that any strong arm could hold a shield regardless of gender.

As always, opinions and discussion are welcome. Do you have additional sources that add or subtract from this? And as always, follow to get notified every time I post!





Bibliography
Icelander in the Viking Age: People of the Sagas - William R Short
Viking Answer Lady
Heimskringla
Poetic Eddas

Norse Household in the SCA - Part 2- Traditions

The Norse people in the 10c had a rich culture based on community and interactions with those around them. This ranged from their in-depth law system to traditions of hospitality and gift giving. No good Norse household would be complete without their own traditions and ways of doing things. Welcome to the second part of my blog on a Norse household based on the 10c!

Before we dive fully into the specifics of what I would see as important things for a house to do together, let’s discuss things that were important for this culture during this time period. The first of these I’ll discuss is boasting. Throughout the Sagas and in Hollywood, you see the Norse portrayed as braggadocious, exaggerating their deeds. While this is mostly true, the difference is where it came from. The boast wasn't just a place for someone to say how amazing they were, it was a way to entertain the listeners and to tell the tale of who the speaker was. There was also a second kind of boasting, one where a speaker would say what they are going to do! Now this actually isn't unique to the Norse; we know that certain tribes of American Indians on the eve before battle would boast about what deeds they would accomplish the next day. The raucous boasts, both of past deeds and of future glories, are a way to bond with others. In a warriors group, or in a community that is self contained, that sort of bonding is crucial and forms a sense of common interest and connection to the others when things are tough. It is my opinion that these types of connections, as much as the laws, is what made communities function as well as they did.

When connection and laws weren't enough to keep the wheels of a community turning smoothly, there were meetings which were called Things. Every year, there was an Allthing where all important matters were discussed. The Allthing was also important because it was a place for grievances to be aired and addressed before they got out of hand. This open

Curedale Hoard in the British Museum. Contains examples
of gifts and armbands.

handling of grievances between parties helped keep issues from escalating. It wasn't always successful, as blood feuds and vengeance were not uncommon during the Viking Age. Beyond all these gubernatorial functions of the Allthing, it was also where people swore their oaths to the Jarl or Hersir that presided over the Allthing. It was a time to renew the bonds of fealty that kept all the separate families together. Typically, these oaths were met with gifts from the person receiving the oath to show their appreciation, and to give the person making the oath something of tangible value for their service. This brings us into the tradition of gift giving, Norse culture, from what I have been able to read, was very much into gift giving. This played into the idea of hospitality, but it was also a subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) way to show off how much a person had. If they could afford a gift, they obviously had plenty. This sort of ties into the boasting attitude that the Norse were known for. It gives them a chance to show off, but also put their money where their mouth is, which are the greatest boasts.

Now, how does this all translate into an SCA household? We clearly aren't Northmen and women living in the wilds of Scandinavia without modern conveniences. We all have lives to go on about, and things that we need to do when not at events and interacting with our households. These traditions would be built into an SCA household in the way events are handled, practices are held, and new members are chosen. Things like hospitality and largess would be integral to the behavior of this kind of household at events. Members would be sworn in at Allthings, and grievances and decisions made clear at the same meetings.

Sjorup Runestone in Scania, Sweden
it is often associated with the Jomsvikings

First, I’ll discuss new member joinings and oaths of fealty. One of the very first pieces of advice that I was given when I first became active in the SCA was “Don't join a house until you have been active at least a year, this way you have the chance to meet several and see which one fits.” It was always followed by “If someone doesn't want to train you or teach you something until you are in their household, it probably isn't a great household.” I personally believe that we are an educational society, and as such we should teach everyone regardless of fealty. That being said, if a person came and wanted to join this household before they had been in a year, they would be given the same advice with the added statement: “You are welcome to train with us and camp with us as you get a feel for the SCA.” Once they’ve passed their year within the SCA, they would be free to petition to join the house proper. The first step would be a probationary period: during this time, they haven’t yet sworn fealty to the house, but they are being taught what it means to be a house member in full, the traditions of the house, and what is expected of its members. In this, I would take a lesson from the Jomsvikings, a group of near legendary mercenaries during the 10th and 11th centuries. They had a clear code of behavior that laid out what was expected of applicants, new recruits, and members. For added flavour, I would wrap the expectations in the Nine Noble Virtues.

Courage- Courage is as much steel in one’s heart during battle as it is speaking out for what is right. We can not allow fear to keep us from doing what is right.

Truth- A person is only as good as his word. When we speak to deceive, we lessen ourselves and make ourselves unreliable to others.

Honour- We fight and live with honour, or not at all. Better to lose a battle or tourney than cheat, better always to be known for being honourable than any other skill.

Fidelity- The household is our chosen family, protect the family and it will protect you. 

Discipline- Only through discipline can we reach our goals. Practice what you wish to master often and the path moves quickly.

Hospitality- Our camp is open to others, welcome them in, offer a drink, make sure that they have what they need.

Self Reliance- A person who can't swim on their own drowns those who try to save them. Carry your own weight so that all can be stronger.

Industriousness- We are a Society that thrives on the service of others. If no one volunteers, then we have no events, no battles, and nowhere to have fun. Service brings us all together.

Perseverance- Regardless of your path, you will fail more times than you succeed. Overcoming failures gives us the strength to succeed and teaches us the path forward.

Now these are nice and poetic, but vague. The concrete requirements would be somewhat more simple. Fighters of the house would be required to be in armour at least once a month (with understanding that life finds a way to mess things up), and fight at any event that they attend where they can. Artisans of the house would be required to actively work on their art; this might be highly subjective depending on the area of study and complexity of projects, but to me two projects a year seems like a reasonable requirement. It would also be beneficial f they entered Art/Sci or sought out input from other Laurels to make sure their growth is well rounded. 

A petitioner to the house would be a probationary member for at least 6 months, more often a year. The period would be shorter for people who camped with the house during their first year. At the end of the probationary period, all full members of the house would be allowed to state their opinions of the candidate and vote. Any vote negative vote means the candidate can not end their probationary period at that time with full membership; depending on the reason for the no, the relationship ends or the probation continues. Once the petitioner has been approved they become either a Drengr or Ambatt, depending on their path. They would then swear their fealty to the house at the Allthing before all other members of the house. 

Once a person becomes a full member, they might want to gain rank within the house. This is not accomplished by a checklist, but rather a matter of the ranking members of the house seeing the growth of the member and deciding they are ready for more responsibility, and testing them as they grow. When it becomes clear they are have shown themselves capable of the new rank, they will be recognized with it at the next Allthing.  This could vary from being given an associate’s belt to being given the freedom to take on subordinates of their own. 

Armrings of this type could be used as more a period
 appropriate substitute for squire or knight chains.
This one is made by Grimfrost.com

All right, let's discuss my opinion of how an SCA Allthing would work. I would honestly split the two most important aspects of the Allthing into: the airing of grievances and handling of house issues, and the swearing of oaths. The reason for the split is that, for me, the oaths should be at an event where everyone is in garb and the mundane world has faded away. In a perfect world, I could see it done at war, followed by feasting and boasting on the first night of war so that everyone knows that the people there have once again reaffirmed the bonds of the household. It would also give the household something to celebrate in the feast, which would allow people to boast about what deeds they would accomplish during the rest of war. Honestly, what could be better than that? The airing of grievances and handling of house business could be conducted at a get-together that is not at an event. This would prevent souring an event with such heaviness, and keep it a private thing for members of the house.

Now obviously, traditions within a household grow organically, and would be added to with time. They would depend on the personalities of the house leaders, the people who join, and what’s best for the house. These are just the ideas I’ve formulated as I read things. Thanks so much for reading, and if you have questions I might return to the topic and do sort of FAQ blog in a month or two when I have gathered enough to make it interesting. As always let me know what you thought of everything, follow, and subscribe so you don't miss out on future posts!

Norse Household in the SCA - Part 1: Organization

++Disclaimer++

This article is not telling anyone how to run their house. I am not claiming to be an expert on how things were done in period or how they are done in the SCA. I myself am not of sufficient rank to have a household of my own. This is an attempt by me to find a way to organize a household in a manner that would fit my persona, while interacting within the confines of the SCA. Some titles have been changed to fit within that framework. If you have ideas on how I can improve this layout, feel free to comment down below.

Introduction

One of the interesting aspects of the SCA in general, and Trimaris in specific, is the prevalence of unofficial groups called households. Oftentimes, these groups are banded together under a Peer of some nature and are comprised of their students and associates. There are an innumerable amount of ways that these households are organized and presented. We have everything from groups of friends who camp together to strict military units. Sometimes they have a joint theme, like a company of crusaders or actors, and sometimes they are just people who enjoy each other’s company. 

As you know, my persona is from the 10th C and is a Kievan Rus of Nordic descent. That being said, the hypothetical household that I am presenting here will be focused on a small clan led by a raider and his wife. To represent this, the house is split in half: the combatants and the non combatants. This is not to say that people can’t have interests that straddle the line, it's just easier to organize it in this fashion.

The Hersir

In the 10c

As the Viking age was starting to draw to a close, the freedom of individuals and minor landowners began to fade. Kings began to claim large areas of land and subjugate the people who had dwelled freely upon them. Those living in the Nordic lands at the time had two choices: join the king, or band together to fight the king. The Hersir on which I am basing my research and the SCA household would have been against the king.This sort of community in the 10c would have been comprised of a small town with some sort of minor fortifications, and then outlying family homes and compounds. We see here almost a sort of fealty in which minor landowners owe allegiance to a more powerful landowner. Unlike traditional fealty, I haven't found any evidence to say that the Thegns and Freemen of the area were beholden to the Hersir in anything except defense. 

Warriors during this time would often have two occupations: viking, and whatever they did during the non-raiding season. During the raiding season, this also meant that the township was run by those who stayed behind. This was not necessarily based on gender, as in recent years we have found more proof to show that women in the Viking Age were also formidable warriors. We also know that not every man was a member of the raiding teams. 

From my current understanding, position on the raiding teams was determined by favour with the Hersir and skill as a warrior. There were only so many spots on the vessels. 

Those that stayed behind had the twofold responsibility of maintaining the town as well as defending it in the event of any issues. This traveling is one of the reasons, I imagine, that

Living Viking Town at Fotevikens

Norse women has so much control over the house. They handled the finances and ran the day to day activity of the home. This was so much the case that one of the main symbols of the lady of the house, and Frigga goddess of the hearth, was a set of keys. 

As there was no true formal army until after the start of the 11c in the Nordic lands, ranking for the army is difficult to determine. My research has shown that more than anything, it was determined by the amount of warriors you could bring to a battle, and that was determined by your family and landholdings. A Hersir, in addition to being a landowner, could muster around 100 troops. 

Since the SCA functions as a much more formal —if voluntary— army, I have chosen to use ranks that are slightly out of period to represent the positions within the household. 

SCA Organization

Ranks 

Vikingar

Jarl or Hersir or Drott: Leader of the House (Knight and possibly Royal Peer)
Thegn: Squire to the Jarl who has been given permission to take his own Men at Arms
Huskarl: Men at Arms in the Ætt of the Thegn 
Lindmaer: Shield Maidens, Female Men at arms of the Thegn
Heimþegar: Squire to the Jarl who has not yet been given permission to take their own Men at Arms. Non-Gender Specific
Drengir (sg Drengr): Men at Arms to the Jarl, Non-Gender Specific

Innangardar

Greifynja or Forstander: Leader of the House (Peer and possibly Royal Peer)
Husfreya: Associate of the Greifynja, who is allowed to take their own students; male equivalent: Husfreyr. 
Nemandi: Student of the Husfreya, Non-Gender Specific
Nemi: Associate of the Greifynja who has not been given the right to take their own students. Non-Gender Specific.
Ambatt: Handmaiden of the Greifynja; male equivalent: Skossveinn. 

Other

Karl, Maer: Someone who is petitioning the house but has not yet sworn in.
Husmadr, Huskona: Someone who is associated with the house through a serious relationship with a house member.

Concept

In general, both branches of the house are organized in a similar fashion: the Peer and their associates laid out in a pyramid structure, with senior associates having students of their own. This structure allows associates to showcase their Peer Like Qualities (PLQs), which lets the leaders of the house get a better idea of how ready they are to be Peers in their own right. 

I’ll not get into tactics and whatnot for the viking side of the house, as that will be a future post for when my ideas are actually being put to the test! For now, here’s an idea as to how the house would interact and do things at events.

Vikingar

The viking side of the house would be laid out in a military fashion. The Drengir would be the footsoldiers of the house, with Heimþegar leading them in the Jarl’s name. The Thegns would lead their Huskarls and Lindmaer all under the leadership of the Jarl directly. This setup would also allow training to be more localized in the event that the household is spread across the Kingdom. 

Innangardr

For this side of the house, since it is based on the other peerages, it is best that relationships are mostly one-on-one or small groups. The pyramid structure allows for few students learning from a master of a given craft. It also allows the group to split large household projects up easily, for example improving the period presence of the household, or perhaps running an event as a household.


I hope you have found this exercise in research and hypothetical useful. This will be the first part of a series of posts on the topic. The next one will cover traditions like the Allthing and handling of disputes. If you already have a Norse household, or have ideas on how to do it let us know down in the comments. We would love to hear other ways to get it done and how it works for others. 

Dictionary

Jarl: In period, this was the rank below the King. In countries such as Norway, there was typically only one Jarl. The earliest use I could find was the 10c, but the etymology of the word seems to date to Roman times. In the SCA, Jarl is the equivalent of a Count.
Hersir: In period, Hersir were landowners and raid leaders that would normally command around 100 warriors. In the SCA this is the equivalent of a Baron or Baroness.
Drott: In period, the leader of a Drottin (warband) of no more than 35 warriors. In the SCA, there is no direct equivalent, but this is the title I feel is closest to Knight. The SCA list of alternate titles has a version of this to be used for Lord, but it seems that a Drott was a commander and leader, whereas an SCA lord is only beginning on his path.
Thegn: Thegn was a title used to distinguish the highest-ranking servants of the Jarl. The word itself means literally “one who serves”. For the purposes of this organization, I think thegn is the perfect title for those squires in the household who have proven themselves worthy of having their own Men at Arm, which we will call Hurkalrs.
Huskarl: Huskarl, or Houseman, is one of the terms most commonly associated with Norse ranks, used to describe the closest servants to the Drott. The Huskarls were freemen who served under a commander willingly. In this house, they are the men who swear loyalty to the house and serve under a thegn.
Heimþegar: In period, heimþegar seems to be a title very close to huskarl. It means “those who receive gifts”. Norse lords were well known for their generosity with the men that serve them, and so those who were known for receiving gifts were their men. In this house, the heimþegar would be the squires who have not yet earned the right to have their own men. Respected men in their own right, but not yet leaders.
Drengir (sg Drengr): Drengr was a term used in period to signify warrior, or member of a ship's crew. It is the lowest rank within a Drottin. It means literally warrior
Greifynja: Many of the SCA alternate titles involve calling a woman “wife of”, “daughter of”, or similar. I decided to go with Greifynja because it’s a title that means Countess, but doesn’t automatically mean Wife of a Count. I am looking for better options, ideally something that shows that the Lady of the House is a force in her own right.
Forstander: I find this title to be close to Mistress or Master. It means principle, as in of first standing.
Husfreya: Husfreya literally translates to Housewoman. I liked the inclusion of the goddess Freya in the title to show that it is a woman of esteem. 
Nemandi: word meaning “Student” from modern Icelandic
Nemi: word meaning “Trainee” from modern Icelandic
Ambatt: This is a term that is used for either a female thrall or a handmaid in period. I am using the context of handmaiden as in lady in waiting.
Maer, Karl: Maiden or Man
Husmadr, Huskona: Literally househusband or housewife. 
Aett: Family or household
Innangardr: Often, this term is used in period and among Asatruar to mean people within your circle. It literally translates to “person within the town” or townsfolk.