When you think --- VIKING! What comes to mind? Invaders, raiders, pillagers, covered
in face paint, tattoos, with reverse mullets and brandished weapons! What about the guy with the
grocery list getting yelled at for not picking up the milk? Didn’t think so. Today on Nutty
History -- Welcome! To the lives and marriages of real Vikings who farmed more than they fought.
Every marriage begins with a wedding, and Norse Weddings began with a contract.
Marriages among Vikings weren’t just about two love birds starting a new family,
but creating a lasting bond between two existing families. The alliance was built on a lot of
negotiations between the two families, and most marriages were arranged by the elders. Back then,
a suitable age for marriage was considered twelve to fifteen. So according to old Scandinavians,
these kids were good enough to marry, but not good enough to choose their partners themselves.
Representatives from both families would meet to talk bride price,
dowry, support in war and peace, and inheritance. Sometimes, these negotiations could take up
to a year or two. For raiders, the Norse had some pretty strict legal guidelines!
For the groom, the preparation came with a task. He was required to break into the
grave of an ancestor and retrieve their sword. This tradition marked the death of his boyhood,
and his rebirth as a man. Afterwards, he was taken to a bathhouse with the other men,
to the first bath with hot water where the goal was to sweat enough before diving into cold
water to get clean! After that, it doesn’t matter much what he wore for the wedding=
but his hair had to be decorated and carry a symbol of Thor, the god of lightning-- along
with his ancestor’s weapon. The bride followed the same bath ritual, but in a separate bathhouse
with married female family members. But before her bath, she was supposed to remove Kransen,
a circlet that symbolized her virginity among other marks of her maidenhood.
These belongings were then stored in a box so that she can hand them over to her daughter one day.
For brides again, the attire wasn’t too important-- but she HAD to wear the bridal
crown of the family, with flowers and crystals decorating her hair.
A wedding license and an ordained minister are hard to get even these days,
Vikings faced difficulties too in securing Gothi, the priest who would perform the wedding ceremony.
Before the wedding ceremony, Gothi would perform some pretty bloody rituals to appease the God.
Depending on which God the Gothi meant to appease, they’d sacrifice an animal in front of everybody.
They’d use the meat for a feast, and dribble the blood on the God’s statue on Gothi’s forehead.
The Gothi would take even MORE of that Blood, and spray the couple with it as a God’s blessing.
Which is… a lot to take in. But, Just like today, the viking wedding ceremony was mostly about
exchanging promises and vows among the new couple. Along with rings. But also-- family swords,
which they got to keep. Family and friends were also required to attend as witnesses.
And, after the feasting and drinking that followed the wedding,
witnesses were required to make sure that the bride and the groom consummate the marriage.
Y’know, to enforce the validity of their union. At least six people were required to supervise
the couple. Keep that in mind next time anybody complains about a lack of privacy for newlyweds.
Vikings had a male dominant society, but Viking women enjoyed more rights and freedom than the
rest of contemporary Europe. Most women were housewives in the Viking age, with only a small
percentage of the women accompanying Viking raids. The women’s life was centered around the home
and the farm. Preparing food, taking care of laundry, milking cows, sheep, and goats-- and
a myriad of other household tasks took up most of their day. They also made clothing! It could take
a Viking woman 35 hours to spin enough yarn for a day’s weaving, to give you some idea.
Having kids brought on a whole other set of challenges. There were no schools available
in the old Viking age, so it was the parents’ job to prepare and educate their kids for adult life.
Daughters were taught by their mothers, sisters, and aunts -- all household tasks. Everything from
sewing, weaving, to how to manage a household. Sons on the other hand followed their fathers,
brothers, and uncles to learn farming -- as well as the art of fighting like a Viking.
Kids of both genders were asked to take this training seriously, from a very young age,
and they were supposed to be proficient by the age of ten.
Women had the right to ask for divorce just like men, and they could also reclaim dowry
on successful divorces. However, viking men had free reign over adultery-- with the ability to
have multiple mistresses -- while women weren’t allowed to do anything behind their husbands back!
However, they could demand a divorce on the grounds of their husband not
being sexually satisfying -- but they were not allowed to get involved anywhere else
until the divorce was final. The punishment for adultery grew harsher with the introduction
of Christianity among Vikings, which included public thrashing as well as the death penalty.
A man was allowed to kill his wife and her lover on sight if he caught them red-handed.
That being said-- domestic violence was actually frowned upon amongst Vikings. In fact,
a man who raised his hand on his wife was shamed and humiliated in society. Women were allowed to
leave their husbands if the abuse happened three or more times. There was a sense of ownership over
each other in Viking marriages. The husband owned their wives, the wives equally owned husbands too.
That is why if a husband brought a mistress home, the mistress had to listen and obey the wife at
all costs. It was a different age, but some things about marriages never change. Vikings were made
of different ilk when it came from working from dawn to dusk to feed their families,
protecting the home from bandits and natural disasters, raising and educating their kids,
and at the same time enjoying marriages to the fullest in their own way. What do you
think? Would you ever marry a viking if you had the chance? Tell us in the comments and
be sure to subscribe, and let us know what crazy ancient customs you’d like to hear about next.