Vikings were cool conservatives..
If a Viking woman wasn't satisfied with her husband – sexually or otherwise – societal convention allowed her to leave him. The Vikings did have fairly stringent regulations surrounding gender roles however; a woman would have grounds for a divorce if her husband wore women’s clothing or preferred men. She would also be re-gifted her dowry and any inheritances she received throughout the duration of the marriage.
Speaking of magic – and in particular seidr, which was virtually synonymous with Norse magic as such – this was one social role outside of the home that was essentially reserved for women at the exclusion of men. There were men who practiced magic, but they were passionately despised by the wider society, and in some cases were even killed by their own families for the extreme dishonor their practices brought upon their families. This was because magic was seen as tantamount to homosexuality (for reasons that are too complex to go into in an article of this sort), and homosexuality was seen as tantamount to effeminacy and cowardice – traits that were scorned like few others by the macho warrior society of the Viking Age. But since women were already effeminate, and weren’t expected to be as brave as their men, there wasn’t any particular shame in a woman practicing magic.
the average Viking life span was only 40 years, on average.
Speaking of magic – and in particular seidr, which was virtually synonymous with Norse magic as such – this was one social role outside of the home that was essentially reserved for women at the exclusion of men. There were men who practiced magic, but they were passionately despised by the wider society, and in some cases were even killed by their own families for the extreme dishonor their practices brought upon their families. This was because magic was seen as tantamount to homosexuality (for reasons that are too complex to go into in an article of this sort), and homosexuality was seen as tantamount to effeminacy and cowardice – traits that were scorned like few others by the macho warrior society of the Viking Age. But since women were already effeminate, and weren’t expected to be as brave as their men, there wasn’t any particular shame in a woman practicing magic.
the average Viking life span was only 40 years, on average.
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