Viking warrior-women existed?

You may ask: Arith, why in the devil would you pose this question? Well, it might seem strange, but till now there were no physical evidences to support the existence of Viking warrior-women.

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Viking Cats - Onward to conquer!

We know that cats have already conquered the internet with their cuteness and silly behaviour, but in the past they have also conquered lands! Well . . . not likely, but the latest and largest genetic study of cats revealed how our fluffy friends spread across Europe, Asia, and Africa, and even sailed aboard Viking ships.

The world’s first large study into ancient cat DNA reveals that the earliest ancestors of these furry fellows reached Eurasia and Africa at the same time as early farmers (during the Neolithic), and were later helped by sailors, including the Vikings. It was already known that cats reached the shores of Europe through the mediterranian sea during the Bronze Age, but now this study shows that cats have landed in European soils in a much distant past.

Scientists sequenced the DNA from 290 cats from more than 30 archaeological excavations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including the remains of a cat in a Viking grave in northern Germany.

But why were the Vikings so important in spreading these feline conquerors? Well, cats have their importance in Norse mythology, and were often connected to specific deities. Of course I will mention the goddess Freyja, notoriously known as the goddess of love. In the Norse Mythology she has two cats that pull her carriage. And, of course, there is that one tale when Thor visited Utgard and he tried to lift the gigantic Utgard-Loki’s cat. It turned out to be a serpent, the Midgard Serpent, which not even Thor could lift; a spell was at work in this tale. Suffice to say, in this tale as well as Freyja's cats, there is a connection between cats and magic, because Freyja herself is also one of the few Norse goddesses to be closely connected to magic and Seiðr work - a type of sorcery which was practiced in Norse society, closely related to shamanic practices which I will not delve much into the subject because we are talking about cats dear friends.

There are other tales about cats in the Norse mythology, so it's safe to say Vikings cared about their cats because even the gods had them. When cultures include a certain animal in their mythologies, or in their cultural and traditional code which defines them as a people, it shows us that these animals where very important to these societies, which is why they gained a connection with the gods in the first place.

Anyhow, in this new study, samples were taken from the remains of cats dating to as recently as the 18th century and as far back as the early Stone Age. Around 8,900 to 3,900 years ago, when Europeans had not yet adopted farming and still led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

It seems that cats spread throughout the old world in two waves. The first wave arrived with the earliest farmers in the eastern Mediterranean, as indicated by the discovery of 9,500 years old graves in Cyprus. It contained the remains of a cat and suggests that the relationship between humans and cats dates all the way back to the early days of the Neolithic period. The second wave took place thousands of years later as cats from Egypt quickly spread to the rest of Africa and Asia. Their genetic markers were discovered in cats from Bulgaria, Turkey, and sub-Saharan Africa that also date to around the same time.

It is possible that the friendship between people and cats arose as early farmers began to store grain. The grain attracted rodents, which in turn attracted wild cats, and so began the mutually beneficial relationship with our feline friends. Yes, cats to care of rats and so the grain was safe. This is exactly like the relationship of humans with early dogs. The domestication of wolves and wild canine creatures created the best friend humans could ever have - a guardian to ward of dangerous animals and other predators. In a subtle way, cats also made their way towards humans, showing their abilities and their usefulness, thus becoming equally important. Cats also helped to keep down the numbers of rats and mice on ships, during long voyages at sea, so it's perfectly understand why cats were brought by sailors.

A Viking grave, discovered in northern Germany, is believed to date back to somewhere between the 8th to 11th century CE, and there was a cat in it which helped in the study. A search in the Natural History Museum of Denmark database of archaeological finds showned that there is no doubt that cats were commonplace inthe Iron Age and Viking Age of Denmark and that people commonly wore cat skins by the late Viking Age.

With certainty,  there were domestic cats back then, in the Viking society, because of their size which is related to the type of life of a household cat. Wild cats are larger and their bone-structure is much different, whilst dosmetic cats are smaller and are nowehre near the size of their wild cousins.

According to archaeological research there are also evidences that cats made it to Greenland, which points to the first Europeans to step into those lands - Vikings. Vikings carried cats in their longships probably for the same reason as everybody else, but maybe also because their connection to the goddess Freyja. Mayhaps it was easiler to bring domesticated creatures to a new land, rather than other animals more wild in nature and also connected to magic.

Thor's Hammer Unearthed

I don't think an explanation about what Thor's Hammer is, is needed. For those of you  who are interested in such matters, you probably already know what this deity's hammer is all about. Anyway, summarizing (a lot) it is a symbol of both protection and fertility.

Now, this post is about the archaeological findings on the matter, so lets get to it. There have been thousands of amulets found throughout the places where the Norsemen have been. Amulets such as Thor's Hammer - Mjölnir - which have intrigued archaeologists in why were those objects there and if these were in fact a representation of Thor's Hammer from mythology or something else?

Not long ago archaeologists have unearthed a 10th century Thor's Hammer (torshammere) in Købelev, on the Danish island of Lolland, that could gives us a hint on how Thor’s legendary weapon influenced the Viking Age jewellery.

The latest find was a little unusual, due to the fact that it has runes inscribed on it that one might read 'Hmar x is'  meaning 'This is a Hammer'. It seems it was the amulet’s protective power that counted, and often we see Thor's Hammer and Christian crosses appearing together, possibly providing double protection and during the process of christianization, because the old symbols of power and faith were not that easily discarted and kept by the recent converted populations.

The object is cast in bronze and has traces of silver or tin and gold plating. The fact that the person who made the hammer was literate is a source of fascination for archaeologists. There is a possible claim that the amulet could indicate that literacy was widespread among craftspeople. On the other hand, craftspeople could have simply copied the sketch of the person who ordered the work, obviously, but it's quite possible that the knowledge of the runes and their meanings was something much more important and people knew exactly what they meant. The runes were not just alphabetical symbols, but also a part of the sipirtual practices, culture and tradition, so it's very possible that the craftsman and other's from the Viking society knew how to write and read the runes.

Now, back to the subject and to this specific finding, the runes in it range in height from 3 to 7mm, so it required precision to inscribe them onto the amulet. Viking craftsmen and blacksmiths are known to have been brilliant and skillful people on whatever they did. As well as the Thor's Hammer that has been found, archaeologists also recovered fragments of silver needles and a mould for making brooches. These suggest that there may have been a workshop producing jewellery nearby.

This new discovery brings a new light into the knowledge we have about Viking Age society. It would seem that literacy could have been widespread throughout the Viking world, and craftsmen may have had an important role in it.

The Reindeer Antler Comb

The academically accepted date for the beginning of the Viking Age is around 793 A.D. with the sack of Lindisfarne, however, new researches suggest that the Viking age may have begun earlier. Archaeologists found deer antlers fashioned into various items, including a comb which dates to an earlier age (725 A.D.) The artefacts were uncovered in the town of Ribe in Denmark, which indicates trading connections between the Danes and the Norwegians in a period earlier than what was previously thought.

These amazing findings have certainly altered previous notions of the development of a seafaring culture in Scandinavia. Trade was an important factor to set the beginning of the Viking Age, and the attack on Lindisfarne marks the official start of that period, mainly because of the proximity to several concurring events. If we take other factors into account, the dates for the beginning of the Viking Age will differ a lot of course. However, the first attack on the christians by the Vikings was not Lindisfarne. Another raid tells us of an unfortunate encounter a few years prior to Lindisfarne in which a local official in Britain was murdered for insisting on imposing a tax on Scandinavian traders. Another example are the Raids in Frisia (modern day Netherlands) which had began as early as the 770’s.Now we have evidence that the Vikings had begun traveling for trade as early as the 720’s. What makes Lindisfarne the best candidate for the start of the Viking Age is that it was the singular most powerful event that brought the Scandinavian raids into the public consciousness of the world at that time.

The findings on Ribe raise a lot of questions, but at least we have now confirmed what scholars have theorized for several decades - the Vikings were traveling  merchants around Europe (and possibly other places of the known world at that time) long before they began raiding. There are several theories on why the Norse peoples started leaving their homeland to became merchants and raiders, such as climate changing and a great flow of populations and so on. However, the closing of ports to non-Christians by Charlemagne may have contributed to the increasing violence carried out by the Vikings, because they became so much dependent on foreign trade, and barring their way of making a living certainly brought an economic failure in the north and things got bad and the Vikings were forced to raid.

Ribe, the location where the comb made of reindeer antler was found, is one of the oldest towns in Europe, thought to have been founded in the early 9th Century. The finds indicate the town had its beginnings much earlier than previously thought. Thus, in truth, the Viking Age started with the trading of handcrafted items made out of reindeer antlers. The mercantile town of Ribe may have given the Vikings an economic incentive to sail south to Denmark. Coincidentally, these types of travels likely helped the Vikings refine and master boating and navigation skills that helped them explore the world. Merchants and other travelers from the north were visiting Ribe long before the start of the Viking Age.

Studying the items found in excavations, showed that reindeer (which isn't an animal native to Denmark), made up a number of the crafts. Reindeer did live in Norway during that time, and it's likely the Vikings brought the antlers to Denmark to trade with their neighbors. In fact, combs fashioned out of deer antlers were a sizable industry during the Viking Age, which lasted until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Other studies (not directly connected with the excavations and the findings in Ribe) have found that these type of items are commonly found in graves, which suggests that a considerable proportion of the Scandinavian population had reindeer antler combs, which served as a hygienic and aesthetic amenity.

Women of the Viking Age

Women during the Viking Age on Scandinavian soil, played very important roles in their society. We already know that there were some women who were warriors, they took up arms and went to battle, although, there is little evidence to support that fact as being something they would usually do. Its impossible to generalize that but of course some women would go to war. However, women in the scandinavian society during the Viking Age had important roles in the household and land ownership, that was their frequent power.

According to archaeological findings, women had defined roles in cooking, knitting, taking care of the house and the children, managing the slaves they owned and taking care of the farm as well as the land within their properties. During times of war and the absence of their husbands, they would take up arms to defend their land, their properties.

During times of war, women were frequently left alone with their children and became widows. All the possessions of a warrior, including is land and belongings, went to his wife. Viking Age women in the scandinavian society need not to be married to another man upon their previous husband's death, it wasn't an obligation, they were absolutely free to choose to be without a husband or to find a new one. As such, women would take the role of their deceased husbands as being the head of the household and also as being warriors, so in these cases it was frequent to see a woman fighting with, taking up shield and weapons. If a male warrior and his wife died, their land and property would be passed on to their eldest child, regardless of gender, if they had children of course.

The reason the Viking warriors gave their land to their wives ,upon their deaths, was because a marriage in Scandinavia was a contract in which both parties entered as equals. All material possessions were recognized as given to the newlywed wife for protection. Thus, we may rightly infer that Viking Age women had more rights than their christianized descendants, for that newly monotheistic religion brought much suffering to women because of the negative view around the female gender. We might even assume that during those times and in the scandinavian society, women had more rights than most women of our era. It seems that the Vikings were not the mindless, bloodthirsty barbarians the christians depicted.

The Oseberg Buddha

I have already written a post about the Oseberg ship and its finding during the early 90's of the XX century (1904) in a burial mound near Oseberg farm, in the Vestfold county in Norway.  One of the most well preserved findings of the Viking Age, unfortunately looted during the early Middle Ages, but even so what remained there was a really exciting and princeless findings for the archaeological studies.
Apart from the two female skeletons found there, which was the main subject of my previous writing about the Oseberg ship on another post, there were other burial goods, all the precious metals have been taken by the thieves, but what seemed to them to be worthless, is indeed a marvelous treasure the understand the lifes of these people during the Viking Ages. One of the most interesting Oseberg discoveries is the so called Buddha-bøtte or Buddha bucket.  It is a pail with two identical figures forming the joints of the pail handle. Both figures represent a man seated in the Lotus position. The head is flat and his face with the eyes closed has a very peaceful expression. The man’s breast is ornamented with red and yellow in the technique of champlevé enamel used in the decorative arts, as well as panels in the glass work technique of millefiori. Four swastikas on the enamel decoration have the common shape of those in the Buddhist tradition, in which this symbol represents auspiciousness and good fortune, which is indeed an universal symbol that dates from prehistoric times, very common in shamanic comunities and the Norse peoples also used it. But this artifact shows that the Vikings could in fact have met Buddhist missionaries during their expeditions.  It is also interesting to know about the Sixth-century Buddha statuette from northern India that was found on the island of Helgö, in Sweden, something that I have also written about and you can take a look at the lable of "Archaeology" which shows indeed the contact that the Nordic people had with other cultures, so far from their homeland, the trading routes that have been settled during this time, theexchange of culture, ideas, religion and the trade communities of other countries that have settled in the Norse lands and apparently they all got along pretty well, according to the archeolofical findings of Helgö. However, the Oseberg Buddha is different, it does not seem to have been imported from Asia. Researchers point to either Ireland or England as the possible places of origin. Hexham bucket decoration represents a flat human head with the same type of broad face and the same stress on the eyes. Among other parallels, the hanging bowl found at Löland, Norway, and the one found in the Maas, Holland, are similar examples. Both have human shaped handles with red and yellow enamel decoration. Perhaps the most striking parralel to Oseberg Buddha are the anthropomorphic escutcheons on the Myklebostad hanging bowl, which have similar elaborate champlevé in red, yellow and green, with panels of millefiori. However, the man is not seated, but standing.
Suffice to say that the identity of the man here represented remains a mystery. It could be Buddha himself, or a different type of foreign art that the Norse adopted and created the image of one of their leaders in this shape, or probably the representation of one of their gods? We might never know, but it is interesting to see how far people went and the many cutural diversity already existing in Europe in these ages.



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