What was life like for women in Viking society?

Viking society followed a clear division of roles between men and women, based on expectations of gender rather than strict legal mandates.

Men were usually responsible for warfare and long-distance raiding. They also defended the homestead.

They dominated military expeditions and held most formal political power in assemblies known as things, which were governing councils of free men.

However, home duties, farm work and household management were not considered inferior.

Women were expected to oversee all aspects of the home, which included not only food preparation and textile production but also the organisation of farm work during the male head’s absence. 

A woman’s authority within the household was socially respected. The Old Norse term husfreya means “lady of the house,” and it referred to the woman in charge of both its physical maintenance and the people within it.

Her authority extended to slaves, children, and younger family members. Keys to storage rooms and treasure chests were often worn on a woman’s belt as symbols of this control, and in some cases, were buried with her as signs of her status.

Discoveries, such as the richly equipped grave at Fyrkat in Denmark, show women were buried with keys and ritual items.

This burial suggested both symbolic and practical power. Women were also involved in negotiations.

They hosted guests and sometimes managed the estate when they inherited property or were widowed.

This control over domestic and economic functions provided them with a firm role in the community, even if they lacked formal political representation. 

Giving birth was one of the most important and dangerous duties for women in Viking society.

Fertility was highly valued in both myth and daily life. A woman’s status could improve significantly through successful childbirth, especially when she bore sons.

Mothers were responsible for the care of their children. They taught basic skills and passed on cultural values.

This included stories, religious customs, and the oral transmission of history.

Women were expected to manage the physical and moral upbringing of their children, which required affection and discipline. 

However, childbirth carried high risks. Many women died in childbirth because of limited medical knowledge and unclean conditions; complications from birth were one of the main causes of death for women of childbearing age.

Discoveries have revealed burial items such as birth tools and fertility symbols for women.

These items suggest the cultural importance of motherhood. Finds near fortified sites such as Trelleborg have yielded such items, though their clear link to childbirth remains uncertain.

Infants who died young were often buried with their mothers. This practice indicated both the frequency of deaths and the strong emotional bond between mother and child.

Despite these dangers, women’s childbearing role gave them a degree of societal importance, as the survival and continuity of families depended upon it. 

Compared to other medieval societies, Viking women had an unexpected number of rights. They could own land, inherit property, and start a divorce.

Widows could manage properties and act as heads of households. Daughters could inherit a portion of their father’s estate if no sons were present, though sons usually received a larger share.

Some sagas describe women who managed farms, who hired workers, and who protected property in legal disputes.

This access to legal help provided them with opportunities to act independently in ways not permitted to women in many other parts of Europe at the time. 

Marriage was often mutually agreed upon, but women kept the right to divorce their husbands.

Grounds for divorce included physical abuse, neglect, or ongoing cheating. In cases of divorce, women could get back their dowry and sometimes retain custody of the children.

Law codes such as the Grágás from Iceland, though written later, show the continuation of these rights into the Christian period.

Regional assemblies like the Gulating and Frostating in Norway preserved many traditional laws from the pre-Christian period.

Sagas such as those of Aud the Deep-Minded, a legendary figure from the Laxdæla Saga, further illustrate that women led migrations and held land in their own name.

These laws and stories point to a culture in which legal protections for women existed within a male-dominated system.

Viking women were still considered lower in rank officially, but the structure allowed them room for bargaining and decision-making in everyday life. 

Women held important religious roles in Viking society, both in life and in myth.

Seeresses known as völur or spákonur acted as prophets, healers, and ritual specialists.

These women were believed to communicate with the gods and spirits through trance-like rituals known as seðr. Their abilities were both feared and respected.

Archaeologists dated the burial of one such woman at Oseberg in Norway to the early 9th century.

It revealed a detailed ship burial filled with valuable goods. This finding indicated elite status and a possible religious function, though experts disagree about its purpose.

Seðr rituals sometimes involved chanting, staffs, and symbolic clothing, and were so strongly associated with women that male practitioners, like Odin himself, could be made fun of if they engaged in the rituals. 

In Norse mythology, female figures often possessed strength and wisdom. They also wielded influence.

The goddess Freyja was associated with fertility and love. She also practised sorcery, while Frigg, wife of Odin, was linked to fate and domestic order.

Valkyries, supernatural female beings, chose which warriors would die in battle and escorted them to Valhalla.

These mythological roles showed and reinforced cultural ideas about femininity and power.

Female deities and spiritual figures were not marginal; they were central to Norse cosmology.

Their presence in myth likely helped real-life religious roles for women become accepted. 

Viking women took part in trade and often travelled with their families or on their own.

Archaeological digs at trading towns like Birka and Hedeby have uncovered female graves that contained scales, weights, and foreign jewellery.

These discoveries demonstrate the women’s role in trade. Some women likely worked as traders or market sellers.

Textiles, a key Viking export, were often produced under female oversight.

Woollen goods from Scandinavia appear to have reached distant markets. They may have reached the Abbasid Caliphate.

Wool sails and fine clothing were among the most valued exports. Skilled female craftspeople produced these items.

Runestones such as the Södermanland Inscription 174 honour women as travellers and property-holders, and they show their role in economic life. 

In addition to local markets, women sometimes joined journeys abroad. Historical accounts and grave finds show that Viking women moved to new areas such as Iceland, Greenland, and parts of the British Isles.

The Icelandic sagas describe women who sailed across the North Atlantic to start new farms and raise families. Their presence in these colonies was important to Norse expansion.

These movements were not limited to passive roles. Some women managed estates, and they negotiated disputes and maintained Norse culture in foreign lands. 

There is limited evidence of female Viking warriors, but scholars disagree about it.

The most famous case comes from a 10th-century grave in Birka, Sweden, which was long assumed to contain a male warrior because weapons were buried alongside the body.

A 2017 DNA analysis revealed the individual was female. The grave included a full set of weapons, gaming pieces, and two horses.

This combination strongly suggests she was a high-ranking warrior. However, some scholars, such as Judith Jesch, have questioned whether this proves she fought in battle or whether the weapons showed status symbolically.

Written accounts, such as the sagas, do mention women who took up arms, like Lagertha and Hervor, but these figures often exist between history and legend. 

Nevertheless, archaeological finds and written clues suggest that some women may have fought in battles or at least trained for fighting.

Shieldmaidens appear in Norse poetry and heroic tales, where they show courage and fighting skill.

Their presence in army camps or among raiding groups is hard to confirm, but not impossible.

Their roles may have varied widely. Some may have defended settlements in times of crisis, and others could have joined expeditions.

Viking society valued strength and honour, and in rare times women may have stepped into martial roles when the situation required it.