True, that was reductionist of me. I remember reading about norse women being burried with weapons, but there was some debate as to whether it was the axes of their husbands when their bodies couldn’t be recovered, or their still-living husbands gave up a prized weapon when his wife died. It may even be that the various tribes of Vikingr had vastly diverse priorities and social stigmas. Of course, identifying cultural paradigms from the shadows of a dead or vastly evolved culture has always been difficult. I also imagine there would be records from more patriarchal European writers if warrior women were seen with any regularity. There are no shortage of documents detailing everything the Britons, Gauls, and Saxons hated about Vikingr.
I also imagine there would be records from more patriarchal European writers if warrior women were seen with any regularity.
The Byzantines of the period noted, with surprise, that many of the warriors were women after the Byzantines won a battle and began stripping the Norse dead of their armor.
It may even be that the various tribes of Vikingr had vastly diverse priorities and social stigmas.
I’m only the faintest bit knowledgeable about Vikingar, but that seems rather likely based on their diverse settlements spread over a wide area.
IIRC, few native documents have been discovered over the years likely because they valued storytelling and oral history more highly. I also seem to recall that the hierarchy of myths and deities we commonly attribute to all Vikingar (Odin, Friga, Thor, Heimdall et al) were in fact based on a very small sample size, and in fact may have been a belief system only for a relatively small group, not necessarily any wider-scale than that.
True, that was reductionist of me. I remember reading about norse women being burried with weapons, but there was some debate as to whether it was the axes of their husbands when their bodies couldn’t be recovered, or their still-living husbands gave up a prized weapon when his wife died. It may even be that the various tribes of Vikingr had vastly diverse priorities and social stigmas. Of course, identifying cultural paradigms from the shadows of a dead or vastly evolved culture has always been difficult. I also imagine there would be records from more patriarchal European writers if warrior women were seen with any regularity. There are no shortage of documents detailing everything the Britons, Gauls, and Saxons hated about Vikingr.
The Byzantines of the period noted, with surprise, that many of the warriors were women after the Byzantines won a battle and began stripping the Norse dead of their armor.
Interesting thoughts!
I’m only the faintest bit knowledgeable about Vikingar, but that seems rather likely based on their diverse settlements spread over a wide area.
IIRC, few native documents have been discovered over the years likely because they valued storytelling and oral history more highly. I also seem to recall that the hierarchy of myths and deities we commonly attribute to all Vikingar (Odin, Friga, Thor, Heimdall et al) were in fact based on a very small sample size, and in fact may have been a belief system only for a relatively small group, not necessarily any wider-scale than that.
This thread is why I’m on Lemmy. Love you both. 😍
Appreciate. :D
Btw, let this be a reminder to me to cover more Thorgal, in future, over at EGN. So far I think I only have this: https://piefed.social/post/739915