The Role of Women in Viking Age Society: Previous Research Evaluated

Examinations of gender roles in Viking Age society are, despite much attention, problematic as normative and essentialist views of women and men are allowed to colour the interpretation of the primary evidence, be it archaeological or written. Despite recent developments in gender archaeology, critical approaches to gender are rarely applied, allowing old interpretations to go unchallenged. In this article, previous research, produced over a long period of time, is examined in order to highlight the preconceptions that have influenced research results. The focus of the analysis is placed on ‘housewives’ (ON húsfreyja/húsfrú) and their assigned roles at the farms, as well women with other roles - in modern research often labelled ‘norm breakers’ - such as ritual specialists, warriors, travellers and settlers. At the end of this article, new approaches to the study of women are proposed, stressing that all lives are worthy of examination, regardless of their ability to influence society. It is hoped that this article will encourage new research efforts focusing on the lives of various groups of women (and men) and examining the types of work that they carried out as part of their daily lives.