In the last post, we saw how women were actively involved, and even a driving force, in the change of religion in the North. The question then, is why women were so strongly drawn to…
Varnhem, Sweden, ca 1030 The small child is carefully placed in the stone coffin. Kata shivers, and not only because of the cold spring wind. Almost everyone here knows what it feels like to bury…
As seen in the previous post, it is primarily men who have been credited with turning the Nordic people from the old Norse Gods to the new God and Christ. Kings, who with a mixture…
In this new theme; From Freyja to Mary, we’ll explore the Christianization of the North. It begins, as stories often do, with kings and men, but will evolve to focus on the roles of women…
In a previous post I wrote about the Danish presence in England, that began with the raid on Lindsifarne in 793. After establishing a kingdom around York/Jorvik, the English eventually drove out the Vikings from…
In my last post I wrote about the archaeological evidence of women Viking warriors, so called shield maidens. Around 30 graves containing women buried as warriors have been found in Scandinavia, so – even though…
“There were once women in Denmark who dressed themselves to look like men and spent almost every minute cultivating soldier’s skills; They put toughness before allure, aimed at conflicts instead of kisses, tasted blood, not…
Two of the most important military means of power for chieftains and kings during the Viking Age were the hird and the leidang. The hird consisted of a group of warriors very loyal to their…
Although I’ve been trying to make a point that the Viking Age people were not the bloody berserks they have been portrayed as – there is no denying that they DID do a lot of…
Research on women during Viking times has long been neglected. When the concept of the Viking Age and Vikings was coined in the 19th century, women were completely ignored, relegated to the home. The story…