The purpose of a woman to the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia was seen in the main thing - procreation. The Viking sagas give us a clear picture of this. It is not without reason that according to ancient tradition, priests chose brides for the warriors of the North. They also made the laws. family life, which delimited the functions of women in housekeeping, participation in military campaigns, as well as in hunting and fishing.

The young bride (married at the age of 12) gave new family her husband not only clothes made of linen and woolen fabrics, the necessary spinning wheel passed down from generation to generation, other weaving tools, primitive furniture, ancestral jewelry made of precious metals. The wife could give her husband her father’s battle armor and his sword. Unless, of course, there were other heirs, and the former owner himself died in a battle somewhere on the coast among the rocks of the cold fjords.
Viking women were reliable support for their husbands. Often it was they who bore full responsibility for the clan and for obtaining their livelihood. And even for the success of military enterprises, raids that the Vikings carried out in the lands of the West and East.

In the monuments of ancient Scandinavian literature we will find mention of the term skjaldmoir, which means “shield maiden”, “shield bearer”, tremin is found in many sagas. Suffice it to recall the names of the Swedish princess Thornbjörg from the Saga of Hrolf son of Gautrek, the woman Hervör from the Saga of Hervör, Brunhild from the Saga of the Volsungs and the Saga of Bosi and Herraud. Saxo Grammaticus (a writer of the 12th century) left us a mention of female warriors of the North. Similar information is found in the Byzantine John Skilitsa (11th century), who describes the squad of the Rus of Prince Svyatoslav in the 10th century. A frequent character in Scandinavian traditions and legends is the Valkyrie, a female warrior rushing into battle.

The remains of female warriors are often found in the burials of ancient Scandinavians. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, two skeletons of warriors were found in a Norwegian burial ground, as indicated by buried military items and swords. After studying the skeletons, the researchers came to the conclusion that the skeletons belonged to women.
In general, there are many archaeological finds of weapons in women’s burials in Scandinavia: axes have been excavated (Bogovay, Denmark, and Marem, Norway), arrowheads (Nennesmo and Klinta, Sweden), fighting and hunting spears (Gerdrup, Denmark).

A very recent discovery by archaeologists also confirms the version that Viking troops included female warriors. A DNA analysis was carried out on the skeleton found in the burial ground on Bjorke Island. The very first capital of the Vikings was once located on Lake Mälaren. It was found back in the century before last. The results of the analysis showed that a woman who had a high position in the Scandinavian military hierarchy was buried in the grave. This was indicated by the fact that two war horses, weapons, and also were buried with the corpse. board game. The Vikings loved to indulge in games that simulated tactical situations. Such experience was later in demand in military affairs.

Harsh living conditions gave no choice to the ancient inhabitants of modern Norway and Sweden. When it came to the survival of the clan, strong individuals, regardless of gender, were promoted to leadership positions in the military hierarchy, capable of leading warriors on dangerous raids. The robbery of neighboring lands was a vital necessity for the inhabitants of the rocky fjords.

In addition, the participation of women in military campaigns was sanctified by the ancient tradition of the Celts. The legendary Boudicca, ruler of the British Icenae tribe, led her army against Roman settlements. She managed to defeat three entire Roman cities, slaughtering the local population without any pity.

It happened that in war a woman turned out to be much more dangerous than a man. The warriors' brute strength was contrasted with cunning and calculation. The sagas preserved news of the incident in the lands of Småland. The Danes attacked the Verend Herad when the local king went on a raid. The women did not run away into the forests and rocks, but warmly received the newly-minted conquerors, gave them beer and a nice treat. And then they slaughtered the drunken Danes. Few of the intruders survived the massacre; the Danes were pursued and killed. It was not for nothing that the warriors of Småland subsequently enjoyed the privileges associated with the ancient feat. The Vikings provided military honors to the bride upon marriage.

DNA analysis confirmed that the mysterious master the viking war was actually a woman

The Tomb of Birka, Sweden, is the final resting place of the mysterious Viking war master. Nobody knows his name, but the things placed in the tomb leave no doubt. This was a high-ranking warrior.
Now DNA tests leave no doubt about another fact: it was a woman. The burial dates back to the tenth century AD, but was discovered in 1889. This is a very, very unique find, because few Vikings have earned such an honor.

Geographically, Sweden is a small country, and everything has been dug up by archaeologists, so there really are few such tombs. The harsh Vikings sent only outstanding warriors to the next world with honors.
Excavators initially discovered the warrior's body among several thousand Viking graves near the Swedish town of Birka, but for 130 years most researchers believed it was a man.

A few female soldiers were found, but none had the high-ranking attributes of Birka's burial, not just weapons and armor, but game pieces and a board used for planning tactics.

However, a thorough analysis conducted by researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden led to a surprising conclusion. Bj 581, the mysterious warrior, was a woman about 30 years old at the time of her death. The bone and DNA analysis proved it.

Popular culture and centuries of epic fantasy stories have led us to believe that the myth of the Valkyries is true. However, until now there has been no evidence of the existence of these warriors.

It has previously been suggested that Viking society was more egalitarian than officially believed, and that half of the Viking warriors who raided Europe were probably women. This is, however, the first tangible evidence that women fought on equal terms and some became officers.

The amazing fact of gender balance in the rigid social order of the Vikings.

By the way, there was still controversy surrounding the participation of women in battles - it was difficult for gender-oriented scientists to agree with this possibility. They said that women simply accompanied them for the needs of the latter, that women did not fight - a girl with a battle ax and a heavy, crudely made sword - this cannot be. This DNA analysis closed the debate. I made a point.

Viking Age legends of fearless female warriors fighting alongside men have long raised suspicions that women might have dominated the battlefield at the time. Due to insufficient evidence, this idea remained controversial for a long time and was considered a figment of popular imagination. But now scientists have confirmed the existence of a Viking woman for the first time, using DNA extracted from a 10th-century skeleton buried in the Swedish Viking town of Birka.

Experts say the woman was a senior commander who led troops into battle. “This is the first official genetic confirmation of the existence of a female Viking,” said Professor Mattias Jakobsson from Uppsala University.

The remains were first discovered in the 1880s. Despite morphological features that suggested the skeleton was female, the grave itself led some experts to believe it was a man. Weapons were found in the grave, including a sword and arrows, two horses, and a board game, indicating that the late Viking was skilled in tactics and strategy, and was also a high-ranking person.

In a new study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, experts decided to confirm the gender of the Viking found. They analyzed a tooth root and a forearm bone. DNA analysis showed that this Viking had two X chromosomes and no Y chromosome, or, simply put, the warrior was a woman. " Game set is symbolic and indicates that she was a kind of officer, someone who could master tactics and strategy, and therefore control troops in battle, said Charlotte Hedenstjerna-Johnson, who led the study. “What we have before us is not a mythical Valkyrie, but a real military leader who turned out to be a woman.”

“In fact, she is a woman, over 30 years old and quite tall - about 170 centimeters,” added Hedenstjerna-Johnson. Despite its military role, no injuries were found on the skeleton.

According to experts, the new study will put an end to the long debate about the existence of Viking women. “Written sources sometimes mentioned female warriors,” said Neil Price, a professor at Uppsala University, “but there is now compelling evidence of their existence.”

Viking women

Leaving a farm or estate for any length of time, a free man, at a gathering of many people, solemnly handed over the keys to the house to his wife, thus showing everyone that she became the full mistress in his absence. These keys took place next to the others in a bunch that each married woman had with her and in which were also the most important keys that closed the locks of the chests with the most precious items that the family had.

In almost every respect, women in Viking society had a status equal to that of men. Even when the owner was at home, it was not in his power, but in the power of his wife, that all matters relating to the management of the household were in charge, it was she who looked after the slaves and free servants and maids who helped her in the daily work of spinning, weaving, sewing, preparing drinks and food.

One of the most important and time-consuming responsibilities was making clothes for the whole family. Most Viking Age clothing was made from broadcloth, which required a lengthy process of obtaining thread from sheep's wool and then dyeing it. Only then, with the help of a heavy and crude device like a primitive loom, was cloth produced. If there was flax, it was ruffled, wound on a spindle and woven, making linen fabric, which, as one should assume, was used for lower clothing.

Danish bracelet of the 10th century (National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen).

IN free time women must have been weaving ribbons that were used to decorate clothing. Among other typically female crafts were embroidery and the production of decorative fabrics, or tapestries, which were hung on the walls of the halls in the main rooms. If a family owned a ship or boat, the women, and probably the older members of the family, had to make the sails, a task that required enormous effort and many man-hours.

Archaeological finds allow us to conclude that Viking women (and even men) were neat, well-groomed and took care of their own appearance. At the dawn of the 10th century, Ibn Fadlan noticed that the Russians were “excellently built and strong” and that their women wore wonderful jewelry made of silver and gold, which spoke of the wealth and high social status of their husbands. Visited in 950 A.D. In the prosperous city of Hedeby, an Arab merchant named al-Tartushi also spoke enthusiastically about the Viking women he met. Speaking of their beauty, he was obviously dismayed by the degree of independence they enjoyed.

From an early age, Viking women learned to rely on themselves and not expect help from anyone. Icelandic law allowed girls to get married from the age of 12, and since farms and estates were sometimes many kilometers apart, relatives were in charge of choosing a future life partner for the girl. It happened, however, that women had to decide marriage issues on their own. They had the right to own property and inherit it.

If the need arose, a woman could demand a divorce, and when leaving, take back the dowry and share in joint property. If a woman became a widow, she had the honor of deciding whether to remarry or continue to be a widow. The fact that women were penetrated strong feeling their own importance and sometimes became wealthy and influential members of Viking society, is evident from the quality of the objects found in their graves and the honor with which the burials were performed. Praises were sung in their honor, praising the virtues of women as housewives, their skill in managing family household affairs, and especially the skill of seamstresses and embroiderers.

If you believe the writings of the skalds, some of the Viking women were distinguished by their authority and sometimes cruelty. In the sagas, the authors do not skimp on bright colors, telling about the deeds of women strong in mind and spirit in the style of a matriarchal community, leading the fight in bloody civil strife and captivating men with their own courage to battle. Stories about the exploits of one of these women, the daughter of Erik the Red, Freydis, have come to us thanks to the saga of "Gronlanding" (or "Greenlanders"). Freydis and her husband Torvar, together with two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, set out from Greenland on two ships to a joint expedition to Vinland (a forested region in North America. - Note lane.). Having arrived there safely, Freydis made a plan to get rid of the brothers and take possession of their ship, and persuaded her husband to kill them themselves and kill the entire crew.

Before us is a Danish amulet of the 10th century with the image of a Scandinavian woman; it is 4 cm in height and made of silver covered with gilding and enamel. The woman is wearing an embellished dress, apparently worn over a pleated shirt, left hand holds a shawl covering the figure's shoulders. Long hair combed and knotted at the back (State Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen).

Viking women in the 9th–10th centuries. The illustration shows Viking women doing their usual housework, dressed in clothing typical of the period.

When Torvar did not want to kill the five women who were traveling with Helgi and Finnbogi, Freydis took the ax and successfully completed the work for her husband. Although this story reflects an extreme case of the behavior of women among the Vikings, it gives us the opportunity to learn that, if we are talking about Scandinavian women, representatives of the fair half of humanity not only kept the family hearth, but also ventured into dangerous enterprises together with their husbands, and exercised the right for a share in production. The most curious thing, however, that we learn about the position of women in Viking society is the fact that, although they had access to the Thing, they were denied the right to vote.