They ran the farm, could inherit and divorce – and yet the truth about the Viking woman is more nuanced than modern myths suggest.
By European standards of the time, women in the Viking Age held a remarkably strong position – though not an equal one in today’s sense.
When the men were at sea or in the field, the lady of the house ran the farm. The mark of her standing was the key to the store-chest, often worn at the belt. Women could inherit, own their own property and, under certain conditions, divorce – rights that elsewhere were long unthinkable.
Weaving was women’s work and of great economic importance: from wool came the cloth for the sails, without which no ship sailed. At markets such as Birka, women are also attested as traders.
A richly armed warrior grave at Birka became famous when DNA analysis showed it to be that of a woman. Whether she was actually a warrior, or the weapons indicated symbolic rank, is still debated today – a good example of how carefully finds must be interpreted.
Stories of shield-maidens and valkyries belong to the world of legend; the everyday life of most women was shaped by hard, respected work. Both belong to the truth of this age.