What Do We REALLY Know About Viking Women?
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Happy International Women's Day!
Viking Women and the way the Vikings treated their women is always a hot topic, so this is a little video sharing some of the runestones and archaeology that shows us the ways Norse women were viewed and placed in society.
Did they have more rights than we think? Could they fight in medieval battles, were the Vikings feminist? Could they own property, could they buy and sell as they wanted as traders, and did they have a role in Norse religion? Let's find out together!
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Some reading:
skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/m.php?p=sk...
www.nordiska.uu.se/forskn/sam...
boydellandbrewer.com/97808511...
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I would just like to say your language is fantastic in relation to 'womens work'. A lot of male historians refer to womens work dismissively, patronisingly etc. I like that you said 'in charge of weaving' rather than 'delegated the task of weaving' which 'ive heard often. Thank you for acknowledging the vital roles women have and not dismissing them - the language people choose is often subtle but it matters!
Women were delegated those tasks though. The issue is far to many people fail to understand why these gender roles exist in the first place. People try and chalk it up so some patriarchy nonsense. The reality is that it was a fundamental aspect of survival for the species. A society that actively sends its females to do dangerous task like hunting or wage war is a society that will soon no longer exist. Not because women cannot do these tasks but because women are the great bottleneck of reproduction. If you do not keep women safe you will find yourself without enough offspring to continue your civilization.
Women were not made home makers because of some patriarchy BS it was done because it was necessary. We live at a point in time where we are to removed from nature and the natural world for most people to consider these things.
@@Maibuwolf The implication of the term delegation is that the women were essentially managed and dictated roles by men. The language is what I am commenting on. For example, a better choice of words would be 'entrusted' with the industry or that they 'assumed the role', because it better suggests the women were willing and autonomous participants in society, rather than subjects - as they are often described as by historians. I am aware that women are and were essential to civilisation and thus less expendable than men, my comment is about his respectful language. Women WERE in charge of weaving, they weren't being assigned 'lowly, menial jobs', which is how men often phrase womens work. This video is a wonderful representation of respect for the vital roles women play and played on society. That is what my original commeis about. Historians never phrase men as being 'delegated' the task of fighting in wars or hunting for food or defending their land. It's phrased as honourable and autonomous, a natural and necessary choice. Which is how womens work would be seen too, if it wasnt for misogyny.
@@nshvh Getting so bent out of shape over people not using the specific language you desire them to use does not help to make women look strong. It makes you look weak and pathetic. Like everyone else needs to cater to you. What you are doing right now does absolutely nothing to stop misogyny. Stop it. The world is not fair. Nature is not fair. Stop trying to force everyone else to live in some fantasy world where we pretend it is. Those task WERE DELEGATED to women. That is literally what happened. It does not reduce the significance of said tasks or their value but it is what happened. How you feel about that is 100% irrelevant to the matter and crying about does not make you look like a strong autonomous woman. It only makes you look like a weak minded individual that cannot handle reality.
@@Maibuwolf well said... people want to live in a Hollywood version of reality and not a evolutionary biology version sadly..
@@Sams911 troll
Watching this right after your holywood vikings costume review, it occurs to me that dressing your fictional vikings largely in leather and animal skins, rather than woven wool cloth and piled wool, avoids showing the work women did in real viking society. I'm sure it's because they seem more "cool" and "manly" and "war-like" when they're wearing metal-plated leather instead of cosy wool and metallic brocade, but not showing the skilled work of women is a side effect.
On The Last Kingdom and on Vikings, they're depicted as wearing cozy wool and fine brocade UNDER their manly leathers.
That is a really great point.
Lots of womens lives are downplayed because most archeologists are men
@@sarahgray430 The Las Kingdom has so much wildly anachronistic knitted stuff, including capelets straight out of the Drops pattern booklets for 2012. Remember a nun in some kind of ridiculous bulky cabled shrug.
@@rickshaw1971 Well, given that knitting goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt and wool is warm and durable and would have been fairly widely available in Britain ever since sheep were introduced there by the Romans, I think people would have worn knitted clothing in Saxon times, though perhaps more like traditional Icelandic or Irish knitting than what you see on TLK. Granted, the thought of Uhtred son of Uhtred wearing Argyle socks is a little bit ridiculous, but not half as ridiculous as picturing him in a Wagnerian style winged helmet and furry boots, as is often the case in Hollywood depictions of the time period.
Becoming important enough to be buried with a sword is my new life goal
Just need some cash now, not importance. Local law often prohibits burying goods with the dead, so be sure to die somewhere the law doesn't foil your plan.
Sir Terry Pratchett actually got a blacksmith to teach him to smith his own sword when he was knighted, because he figured that as a knight, he should have his own sword. It contains metal from a metiorite and at his funeral, his daughter carried it when she walked in front of his coffin. I don't think he was buried with it, though, but still...
@@999Giustina Alternatively you could fund a religion and make it part of your religious attire, I'm sure they couldn't object to it then.
You already are! 😀
@@gozerthegozarian9500 Pterry... I need to take a moment...
I miss him so much.
Props to Ingrid for erecting a stone for herself. You go girl!
This is an old comment of course, but now I want a Beyonce-esque bardcore cover about a woman buying her own runestone.
So many people want "women's work" to be different from what it was. It's such a double-edged sword. I am a Homesteader. The work division that is typically gendered is only hurtful to me when one of those skills/labors is seen as "lesser than" especially as a modern feminist woman I have struggled with my own identity and interests because I was taught by society to not value fiber arts, running a household, or organizing a family. It's a FUCKING HUGE amount of work. One of my dear friends heard about my daily workload and said "wow you sound like an engineer!". I was so thrilled by that and then immediately sad because that comment made me feel more proud than my actual work. I think many women struggle with this and finding joy in what we do because in a typical human fashion we look for approval and acceptance in others far too much. Now I take a lot of pride in my work be it feeding the chickens, butchering a pig, shearing my Alpaca, spinning on my drop spindle, or teaching my children. Just as another woman should feel proud running a restaurant, running electrical in a new home build, or rushing to a medical emergency as an EMT.
Turned into a tedtalk lol. Thank for the lovely video!
Homesteading, homeschooling mum of 6, almost 7 here. I completely agree with what your saying, its a huge amount of work requiring discipline and stamina!!
As a man, I appreciate you for existing in another man's life.
A very welcome TED talk. Thank you for sharing. 🦋
I think the inverse is also true, as a man I do a lot of ”manly work" (and alot of it is actually very easy and simple) and when I tell people about the things i do they are always like oh wow that sounds so complicated you must be so smart! Then I actually feel very bad because I'm not even perticularly skilled at what i do or do them at high levels. Underserved praise is almost as bad as unrecieved deserved praise.
I have tried some "woman's" work such as sowing, and i can tell you you need a mega brain in order to be able to design a pattern for a thing so that all the seems end up inside and the thing is the same shape as the thing it's supposed to be and does the function of the thing it's supposed to do ect.
Its one of the hardest things ive done!
It's ingrained to appreciate male effort and take for granted that of women. (I was married to a man who had 3 kids. They would praise him for driving them places from time to rime, but not me who cooked their meals every day. )@@grimreapybones2875
It’s really interesting that what is considered “women’s work” hasn’t really changed in 1000 years, but the way society looks at it and respects it really has. As someone who works in the fashion industry developing clothing fits, and knew what I wanted to do since being at school it’s amazing how many times some of the teachers or other students would say what I was wanting to do, and what I was learning wasn’t important, I wish I had the courage to say back then that if it wasn’t for people like me working with fabric, that they would all have to be wondering around naked with out any of the home luxuries of curtains or cushions or bedding ect.
A teacher said that what you wanted to become professionally wasn't important?! Not great teaching skills, even more so that you picked a profession in a field which is essential to *ANYONE* !
Never mind - you *ALWAYS* knew better even when you couldn't speak up back then!
I guess the industrialization (which also caused a lot of good things) destroyed a lot of formerly highly respected jobs. Like in medieval times there were all the guilds and people became highly skilled craftsmen and -women (outside of Norse societies weaving was sometimes done by men and sometimes by women, I think there were regional variations. But there were certainly independent weaver craftswomen and some were even accepted in guilds). And then industrialization came and their skills became less valued, because factories became a thing and suddenly you could mass produce - but in worse quality. Yeah, rich people would still buy their stuff from skilled craftsmen, but there wasn't work for all of them anymore and many had to become simple workers. And many important tasks - and some were usually done by women - became factory work mostly for men (and children I guess). But it also had the good outcome that many things were produced far cheaper, so many things became affordable for more people. And later there were actually a lot of women who worked in factories, because many families needed that money. But they were paid less.
I feel like women no longer making clothing in north America is disempowering, especially because people don't see the hard work that goes into making the clothes they wear. I find some people think that their clothes are made by machines, which is very untrue. That labor just gets pushed on other women from other countries. I hate seeing the work of these women being devalued.
@@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei - Very true! The industrialisation sure had a MASSIVE impact on people's lives, both good and bad. And it brought a change as well as an end to a lot of things!
PS: Dein Avatarname ist wirklich cool 🤣👍🏻😂!
And thanks for the like, Viking! I just needed to let the oc know!
If I could choose people in a village, I would prefer someone that could spin and weave over someone going out on a raid that may, or may not bring home anything useful.
Or may or may not return at all and be a net loss for the community
I find your approach very sensible. There is a way greater chance for a somebody not to die tragically and never return alive from a spinning session, right?
@@OstblockLatina forgive me, I'm not sure I understood your question ^^"
Yeah, except you live in medieval times, you don't choose people, you get what you get.
And if half the people are drunkard raging beasts then you better get them something to do outside your village than keep them in.
So you give them a boat, fill their heads with tales of beautiful slaves, riches and plunder, and see that they get in that boat and start rowing.
Then you pray they never come back, and if they come you get them inside a pub, let them drink their minds, get their plunder trough gambling and prostitution, then tell them more stories and send them back.
One way or another you will be rich and they will be out there not in your village. Is a win-win strategy.
@@skinnahxx You could take an eye out with a turtle brooch. 👀🐢😉
In examining my own desire to have women proven vikings, I think I've had to dismantle some of my own internalized misogyny. "Women's work" is so devalued culturally, and I know that, but I didn't fully realize how much I personally devalued it until I caught myself being so surprised at you reiterating how vital and valuable it was! Do I want proof of these historical women being badass fighters and such because I believe fighting to be more inherently worthy than weaving and spinning and running households? I think so. And that's such a shame since I myself am a woman who actively engages in "woman's work". Thanks for this food for thought, I'll definitely be working on it.
It's easy to be drawn into misogynies, whether you're male or female, our society drums it into our heads nonstop. Much of it is subtle, but it is ever present and we all must resist it.
You recognise it and strive to be better, which is super important, as it poisons how you place value on yourself and other women, and is used as a tool to drag you into accepting a preassigned place or going to such extremes that you become an example for them to show of someone who has unrealistic expectations, therefore the whole women's empowerment thing must be just women who want to be men, which repulses the less aggressive women into accepting their oppressed places decided for them by the bigger misogynists.
We must all recognise this issue and strive to overcome it, to assign value to women who wish to be more feminine, and to stop undermining the grand accomplishments of women in history.
Women who wove textiles shaped these societies as much as the men who stuck spears into their enemies, yet history is always written with a focus on the more brutish men's side. You ask someone to picture say the Byzantines, and they will immediately begin describing their armour and weapons, which, while interesting, misses the more spectacular things like their tapestries and fine silk wares that made them just as famous as their conquests. We like to remember the Norse by their axes and shields, but no one seems to mention their exquisite glass and amber beadwork, and the exceptional craftsmanship of their clothing, which one can see even in fragments, with the wonderful weaves and stitch work.
It's such a shame, because this emphasis on women only being valued when they act like men overlooks the most stunning works they have done over history, much of which contributes far more to society than any amount of bloodshed ever can.
Glad to see you can see the implanted corruption and can strive to overcome it, because really, women doing women's things have much to be proud of.
One nice parallel to what you posted is Tolkien's character of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings. While the movies made her arc about proving herself as a warrior and showing she's as brave as any man the original story is a little different, she still desires to be seen as a warrior, but that's shown as a misguided notion brought by her misinterpretation of the worth of a woman's duties in her society, becoming jealous of the praise men received for their martial accomplishments, thinking then war and violence to be the only measure of a person's worth. What Tolkien defends, however, is that men are praised for being good fighters in that society because being a soldier is a hard, demanding, dangerous and otherwise undesirable occupational, but entirely necessary for the safety and well-being of the land.
The accolades (at least they must, under ideal moral circumstances, which he constructs as one of the failings of that society) come from the willingness to perform an undesirable task they are best suited for, the sacrifice you make for the greater good, NOT the intrinsic value being a good killer brings, which to the author would be quite low, if there even was any to begin with.
Eowyn's character arc concludes with her abandoning the dreams of being a warrior and taking up activities more related to her station as a princess, but not because Tolkien is saying women should be kept down or something similar (which is all too often the interpretation many come out of), instead he's saying her ideal path would be by doing the things she'll be best suited and needed for, and that, objectively speaking, even the most humble of house chores or crafts brings more intrinsic value than being a good fighter, i. e. being someone who's talents at the end of the day all revolve around being good at bringing misery and death to others.
@@leonardomarquesbellini Not to mention that is Faramir himself, the man she finally falls in love with, who once said that he didn't "love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" and who wants to "dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden" with her. Faramir was a valiant warrior, but only because it was a time of need for his country: in fact, he is a man who loves "all things that grow and are not barren". That's why he can revive Eowyn's will to live.
Yea for fighting with ideas and beliefs. Yes conflicting ideas can lead us to new perspectives! Well done. This is why historians need to focus on material culture and everyday people, rather than exclusively on political / war. When women analyze archaeological artifacts new understanding of everyday objects come to light.
Keep wrestling with ideas- it keeps us fit!
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm thinking we need to see some of Barbara's tablet weaving, it sounds pretty amazing.
I second.
Third!
Fourth
Emphatic fifth!!
Sixth!
As a spinner, who is currently working on knitting up my homespun yarn, I appreciate being told that I am working magic. :)
I have seen the state of sheep before shearing and am still baffled we figured out the process of cleaning, carding and spinning that, only to, as the popular saying goes, turn it into a knot so complicated you can wear it.
I am a paga and my local moot generally agreed that knitting, crochet and similar are in fact forms of knot magic.
The people who invented the spinning jenny were accused of witchcraft because they were producing yarn so much faster than everyone else so
@@lunarose9 I've heard that sentiment among other pagans, and I tend to agree!
I'm pretty decent with sewing and embroidery, but for some reason I've never been able to get the knack of either knitting or crochet! Nevertheless, I am collecting my cat's hair from her brush, in order to spin it into the softest dark grey yarn ever...
Wizard!
"We don't know" is a phrase that needs to be used more often when talking about the past. Not enough has survived, and in my opinion, enough evidence exists that if my Norse feminine persona wants to strap on the sword and shield and go fight with the men, there's nothing to stop me. Then I can head back to camp, and get back to the weaving that was so rudely interrupted.
Ancient people DID have more free time than us. We have hobbies... why cant they? Weaver by family tradition but a shield naiden by choice.
Exactly! Heck, with the card weaving, it wouldn't even be that hard to have a small time hobby that was portable!
@@Evaleastaristev exactly. A skilled card weaver could make a belt in 15 minutes. While selling them to afford gear for mercenary work. Tgey did teach it to kids afterall.
No women would be sent out to fight if there where men to do the job, that’s just silly
@@admiralkipper4540 How is it silly? And while the men are out fighting, who's protecting the homestead? There are many and varied reasons for women to have both known how to fight and have been proud of their skills.
As an archaeologist I completely understand the urge to bury yourself in the most confusing way possible to mess with future osteologists (don't forget to pick the place of burial carefully for the best pH of the soil for preservation)
Encase yourself in slightly alkaline clay?
Long long time ago I was at a small festival where they had a Scottish weaver talking while doing demos, one thing I remember him saying was that in the olden times, if your house caught fire, you'd save the cloth, clothing and wool because it was a lot cheaper and much easier to rebuild a house then get more wool and weave more cloth.
Yep, I've definitely heard similar stories associated with the Fire of London & similar... When you consider the amount of work that goes into handmade textiles, it's cool such value was so recognized in the era...? That respect's definitely been a major casuality of the fast fashion movement, but I'm thrilled to see so many people of all (& no!) gender orientations online who're taking mending and other textile skills back up around the world now. Often in explicit protest against throw-away culture etc. Yay!! 😁🧵🧶👘👕
There is also a runestone (from where I dont remember), wich was raised by her brothers in sympathy for a woman who lost two or three husbands and (I believe) all her children. All she had left was her inheritance, wich could not fill the void of the dead.
I am always fascinated by these little glimpses into a very human past.
Thank you for acknowledging depression for all of us in Covid quarantine! I'm bipolar and medicated but this has been hard. You are one of my heroes just for your delightful posts. And yes, spinning is Magic!
Same :/ Thank god for meds, hey- preferable to the lunatic asylums a couple of my ancestors ended up in :'( That was a "check your privilege" moment.
Jimmy is one of my heroes too, & I heartily agree spinning is magic :)
You'll get through it! Keep on spinning your magic yarn!
Thank you for making this post. I've been diagnosed with depression fo a long time now and when the pandemic hit, I thought: "I trained for this. I can do this!" Nope, nope, nope. Total shit show. It turned out to be a miserable waiting game. Cling to what is left if your sanity, do you can rebuilt it when it gets better.
Jimmy: people lied, bud
Me: *shocked Pikachu face*
For real though, thank you for emphatically pointing out we have to have a keen BS filter even when looking at original, period sources.
Pliny the Elder is a perfect example of historical people making shit up.
I was like... PRESTER JOHN. So much stuff written in the medieval period (or any time! maybe that guy Ea-nasir actually made great copper ingots!) was utter BS.
I am so shocked too
Although some less than you'd think... they did just find evidence that Geoffrey of Monmouth's "obviously made up tall tale" about Merlin and some mates going and knicking Stone Henge from some giants in Ireland and rebuilding it in England is actually probably the closest account to what actually happened!
But yeah. You know how people click share on dubious inflammatory facebook memes without taking 30 seconds to fact check and realise it's completely wrong? Imagine if the inconvenience was a 6-18 monthone way journey to double check.
@@bonelace111 I mean, the stone is mostly from Wales so we'll be having that back now ta! XD
Thank you for being able to say "I don't know." It is so much better to leave the gates open to further study, learning, discovery, and joy. :)
And then, they found a single skull and a hipbone buried together and they asked themselves... what kind of creature was this with no spine, no legs and arms?
Excellent video. You might like to read the chapter on Viking age sail production (women's work) in Fabric of Civilization by Virginia Postrel, published in 2020. If it wasn't for women spining, weaving and sewing sails, the Vikings would have stayed in Scandinavia.
I forgot to mention sails! GAH! Thanks Cindy
Not to mention it would be impossible to sail or raid anywhere (or to live) without any clothing, especially in such a cold, wet environment. Also, taking care of "the home" (not just your own household, but the entire village/town) while the men are off sailing or raiding is an extremely important job, not least because you are (1) literally raising the next generation of sailors and raiders and (2) keeping the domestic economic sector functioning well enough to support these voyages. Finally, I highly doubt that every single Viking man spent all of his life as a raider/warrior; even the mighty Roman Empire could only keep a small fraction of its population (perhaps as low as 1%) militarized.
@@TheWelshVikingAs a spinner and a weaver, it is the thought of the work put into making sails (in addition to all of the household fiber goods) that truly flabbergasts me. I'm guessing that those slaves were kept very busy spinning from dawn to dusk. Another interesting book on this subject is 'The Valkyries' Loom, The Archchaeology of Cloth Production and Female Power in the North Atlantic', by Michele Hayeur Smith.
We could have waited honestly - we do understand feeling down and awful - take care of you, please
Diolch Jan :)
@@TheWelshViking Croeso
Remember the Norse noun "kona" for "Woman" is a cognate with English "Queen", so when you say "Þér eruð konur" you're technically saying "You're all Queens"
I love this! 🖤 Do you have the citation for this or are you a linguist (so explaining this would just go over my covid brain head?)
Sort of, but unfortunately not quite! 'kona' comes from PGmc *kwenǭ (woman) whereas 'queen' comes from *kweniz (wife).
Kona is most cognate with English 'quean', which isn't really used anymore outside of Scotland, and can mean young woman, daughter, or maid.
In modern Danish ‘kvinde’ means woman, and ‘kone’ means wife.
@@girv98 quine/kwine/queynie in Scots Leid rather than quean, and it still has a thriving usage amongst Doric speakers; there's a lot of Norse and Danish words still present there in general, especially with the herring trade between Shetland and Aberdeen for so long. Though quean/queen (both spellings) is still in modern English usage for female cats.
@@bonelace111 Thank you all! And how 'internet' that it all comes around to cats 🐱
Thanks for this interesting and balanced overview, Jimmy! While the idea of shield maidens is super intriguing, I do think it reflects our society's obsession with thinking women are only important if they're doing the exact same thing as men. We downplay traditional "women's work" as unimportant because our modern society says that only "men's work" is valuable.
To me it's fascinating to explore the status and power women of this era obviously had, even if most of them "only" participated in predominantly female fields of work. Society is about collaboration and cooperation, it needs a variety of people with different skills to function, but all are important.
I so agree ☺ as a girl I found the shieldmaiden myth (or the grain of truth that lies in it) extremely intriguing. I disregarded and completely forgot that without spinning, weaving, and sewing, certain great fighters would have been naked 😜 and lot's of the work women did, basically kept the life of their village together. Thank you for pointing out that their "women's work" was more important than it is appreciated.
ABSOLUTELY agree with you both, & very well put- I have nothing to add :)
I have often made this argument myself. It’s nice to hear it from someone else! Women don’t have to be doing the same things as men to be valuable or important. Rather than feminism encouraging women to be more like men to gain prestige, perhaps we should bring more value to roles that have traditionally belonged to women.
@@grimesdaughter9042 Not to mention that women made SAILS. How would they even have raided and travelled far without those?
@@merindymorgenson3184 but that's feminism, it's about doing whatever the fuck interests you, no matter where in the gender spectrum people deem this activities to be.
I’ve been spinning for a couple years and I’m *just* starting to get my yarns to what i consider useable (I’ve been knitting for 20ish years at this point, for context). I’m also learning to weave, and *oh goodness* it gives me a bigger appreciation for what people have done in the past
do you mean spinning yarn?
Yeah, I meant spinning 😂 I’ve gone back and edited it so it actually says what I want it to
So this! I've been spinning for over 15 years, knitting for 10, weaving for over 10... and goodness. I haven't even tried tablet/card weaving. I'm so intimidated by it!
@@laurahill9643 I am a less experienced fiber artist than you... knitting for maybe 15 years and a beginner spinner at best... and getting my hands on an inkle loom for tablet weaving recently made it much less intimidating to me! There are some easily findable historical tablet weaving groups on Facebook with lots of info and advice. I've been soaking it all up before warping my 3rd tablet woven band. Come to the tablet side! We have... bands!
I spin. It's always mouse guts! You are a wizard
The first three seconds of this are everything. I love, love your sly activist/advocate/truth telling ways. Just... thank you. 😘
Gotta be stealthy. Gotta be sly ;)
You rock for taking your meds on camera. Thank you!! (A Prozac and Wellbutrin person here)
Jimmy rocks SO hard!
@@beth7935 you win a very very tight hug from me (if you want to)!
@@sisuguillam5109 Thankyou, kind person! Hug received & appreciated! Just gallows humour & reverse one-upmanship tho, & only cos they're in the meds gang too & wouldn't think it was a sympathy bid, but I'm a bit daft :D I have a much easier time than some people, but thankyou, & you also win internet hugs if you want! :)
@@beth7935 😘
Came to say the same thing. Thanks Jimmy for helping to normalise help for mental health. 😀
I'm glad I'm not the only one who considers messing with future archeologists!
😄
Nope! It's a huge source of lols for history nerds, at least! Planning weird-ass grave goods- I mean, how can that not be fun?
It's what they're there for.
I used to live on a ship that was moored on a river delta and I used to throw all my broken crookery, glassware, etc , into the water with 1 piece missing. It gives those future archeologists something to do, looking for that missing piece. *)
@@l.m.2404 Look out; they might notice that there's one piece missing from lots of items, & decide it was for ritual purposes ;)
Whenever people assume that burial items had to have literal meanings towards a person's life (ie. only warriors have swords) I like to bring up my Dad's burial items. Among other things he was buried with a little plastic toy poop, like one a little kid might try to prank someone with. If you tried to apply some literal meaning to it you'd think that maybe someone didn't like him and thought him comparable to poop or maybe he had a very trickster like personality or maybe he had a job related to poop. But none of that is true. The little toy poop was my nephew, his grandson's favorite toy to play with him with. My nephew was 5 when my Dad passed and his favorite game with him was to try to surprise him by tossing the toy at him and yelling "poo on you" and then try to run away to which my dad would try to toss it back at him before he could get away and yell the same thing back. While it didn't have any literal meaning the little toy poop meant my Dad was loved.
Love the story about your dad and his grandson - "Poop On You!" Children love it when we act silly. 😉
I was just thinking that you looked tired and like you could use a hug but that maybe I was projecting my own state, but then you actually said you had a bad week and were really tired😅 so here's a digi hug if you want it, I hope things get better for you soon🤗 and ofc thanks for the great video again, especially for taking the time for it when you felt crappy😊
Digi hugs always welcome! Thanks :)
Thank you for making this enlightening video even though you're obviously in a bad place. Please don't feel that you have a responsibility to release videos according to a strict schedule no matter what. Your health and well-being should always come first! A healthy Jimmy is a Jimmy who can make awesome videos in the future, too, so please take good care of yourself. :)
SECONDED A LOT
If a mans grave had a sword in it, wouldn’t it just be assumed that he was a warrior?
That's a good point. I would want to consider the possibility that women had swords for other reasons, but it should be the same standard of proof for men.
Thank you!
Also depends on the sword, many cerimonial swords were not practical as fighting weapons, symbolic props where there was a priority other than fighting. So looking closer at the sword, and if it's preserved enough the kind of wear can gives clues :)
The work of a skilled person, e g. a warrior affects the bones, so it is possible to tell by a grave.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI
I guess the standard is not the same because there is kind of a very strong and well documented case of men being warriors in cultures around the world.
Don't care about first, just care about learning about women in the Viking age!
I highly suggest Carol Clover's essay "Regardless of Sex: Men, Women, and Power in Early Northern Europe." It leans most heavily on the sagas, but also goes into legal documents. It is less about the daily roles of women, and more about the overall conception of gender. It is very interesting, given that gender paradigms change over time, to get an idea of what the words man and woman might have meant to Early Medieval people.
They change but not greatly throughout history. It’s fascinating how stable gender roles have been not just in the west but all around the world (until recently in the west). That suggests that it is nature’s most efficient design. In environments that are difficult to survive people and cultures greatly apart came to view gender roles similarly throughout history. I guess it’s just the same in the animal world.
Actually, if yoy're talking about recent human history, then yeah, gender roles are similar - genders throughout all of human history though are vastly differing in number, role, expectation, performance - and of course, with advancements in science we can all come closer and understand each other better in the realisation that sex itself is so complex that gender really means nothing, and we can study how people have navigated restrictive societies that restrain people within gender expectations and roles while free to just be people ourselves. I always suggest evolutionary biologist Forrest Valkai's video "Sex and Sensibility" and PhilosophyTube's "Social Constructs" for those who want a sort of beginner's academic/scientific understanding of this sort of thing
can you find a primitive tribe in todays world, were the women hunt , or do any of the traditional masculine roles ?@@that0nerandomperson374 Men are just usually pound for pound better at anything physical, it is the way of nature, sorry if that offends you.
Oh man, someone should write a story about the woman who traveled to Jerusalem, I feel like there is such a good story there.
"....maybe I'll just remove my skull and pelvis out of the grave...." I feel sorry for the executor of Jimmy's will and the lawyer that oversaw this stoke of comic genius.. Good luck with that. lmao!
My poor sister, all the nonsense she'll have to deal with executing my will
Solidarity for the androgenously boned among us! Here's to confusing the archaeologists of the future haha
@@bonelace111 its just that momento mori are nice, and while you can't legally ASK for a friends skull after their death, it's not technically illegal for said friend to BEQUEATH you their skull
DNA testing: "Ima completely destroy this man's last will."
@@johannageisel5390 DNA decays, give it 2000 years in the ground and you won't get much with testing.
Thank you fellow human. May your body and your meds work together, as best they can, to enable you to focus on the things that matter. And know, that your effort to put a video out this week is appreciated. Thank you for being my favorite kind of evidence-driven history geek, and making it accessible.
Must to get all those bags of sheep's wool in my basement cleaned, carded, spun, and woven, then I too can be an important part of society. Thanks for all the stories, Jimmy. The runestones are lovely. Take care.
I have to say that his videos are pushing me to remember that I have WAAAAAY too much wool waiting for me (in an attic in my case) and another shearing for four coming up in about 6 weeks. Fortunately spring shearing is meh for spinning - maybe we'll just mulch it this time.
*Looks at wool stash* I... have a lot of processing to do :/ Thanks for being great as ever, Nancy :)
You can also felt the wool, if you feel like carding it is too much.
Btw. I have started to collect the snippets (tail ends) of all the 100% wool yarn from my crocheting (or whatever) so that I can felt them when I have enough.
@@johannageisel5390 Great idea. All the bits make great felted projects. Unfortunately, either combing or carding is needed so I can spin it. So I should get to it!
Again, a fabulous video. I appreciate you, Jimmy! I live in the Borderlands of New Mexico. I don't weave, but I sew, fix and build things. I own weapons that I am proficient with. As a woman, I want to protect myself and my elder mother in any way I need to. I suppose that hasn't changed in millennia. Men aren't always around to spear a maurader. And, they don't have to be. 🗡
This was a delightful stroll through history and the importance of woman in the viking culture. I loved the varying stories carved into the runes. What a great video for the day.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 By the way, burial keys are absolutely gorgeous!😲
First of all, thank you for this video, it's lovely and informative. But secondly, as an archaeologist myself, I've always wondered why everytime when male's remains are found with a sword next to them, he is immediately proclaimed a warrior, but when it's a sword in a grave of a woman, it's always "questionable" and there is a lot of "we don't know how the sword got there" thrown around. I mean, if you can automatically pronounce a man with a sword to be a warrior, why not do the same for a female grave? It seems, there is still a double standard here 🤷♀️
We don't usually bury people in their t-shirts and jeans or other everyday clothing, so why would a Norse person do that? Grave goods are very interesting but there seems to be a tendency to generalize old grave goods and items from the "special" to the every day. I agree that there's a lot we don't know, but like to imagine.
Heh... I'm spinning some wool while watching this. Good timing!
I demand to be buried with one of those fake cans of peanuts that has a spring loaded snake inside, so in 1000 years when they dig my bones, some archeologist is going to have a heart attack ! (A merry prankster to the end!)
and I insist on being buried with my beautiful loom and a spindle!!!
I mean there is a high chance that the spring will not move anymore in 1000 years. But you can try.
There was a (probably apocryphal) story going around the field archaeology circuit when I was still digging about pressurised roman lead coffins....the effect was reputed to rather like the cans you describe!
@@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei you know what they'll say about it, "it's obviously ceremonial" because they won't be able to figure out what it really is
@@73North265 leave it to Romans to beat me to it
@@Bluebelle51 to be fair to you: your approach would be more intentional and far better received (not to mention more hygenic than the infamous ‘meat and potatoes’) ;-)
Funny to hear about the history and importance of women's work and how "women's work" is now seen as lesser on International Women's Day, which oddly enough used to be known as International Working Women's Day.
thank you for your transparency and vulnerability with the historical
I needed this soooo badly not just the video because its awesome but the opening few seconds because suffering as I do with anxiety and depression and having just had my first massive panic attack im feeling pretty low but if you can achieve all that you do then I guess I can keep going
Sending hugs if wanted. You rock for keeping going when things are tough!
Ugh! Those suuuuck so much! 😫
Sending love. Panic attacks are the friggin' worst.
Talking about violins: Could you make a video about music in the viking age sometime? I study music and the middle ages always get skipped in music history classes. (We learn about the origins of music theory in ancient Greece and then continue with Renaissance). What kind of instruments have been found and are there any signs that music was written down somehow? And maybe how the neopagan folkmusic of today ties in with that?
Why would music in the Middle Ages be skipped in music class? Middle Ages is the origin of classical music (specifically from catholic monks), not Ancient Greece.
@@joellaz9836 Because most music in the middle ages has not been written down. The mensural notation (with four lines) was only developed in the 12th to the 13th century. Before that, every church or monastery pretty much had their own system.
But what I'm most interested is the worldly music. There are almost no sources because people learned by listening to others play. Since there is no way of knowing what that sounded like, it's skipped in music history class.
Brave to show you taking your daily antidepressant. Hello, fellow person who needs chemicals to function. Thanks for going over the work of women in viking society, for international women's day. We count too, we make things, we do stuff! I had the same thoughts about my grave being discovered centuries later. Especially I decided my last wishes were to bury in my best Tudor kit, the future archaeologists would have fun trying to figure it all out.
Your video made me think of one of my ancestors. Anna Karlsdotter Vinstorpaatten. She was the grandmother in law and general pain in the rear of Gustav I of Sweden. I know its a little after the viking era.
That's really cool! When you start to learn more about the political history of the world, it's amazing how much sway women have actually had on all eras of history - especially the mums (or sometimes the mistresses) of various rulers! I really like how some of these narratives are being retold now, after having been rather submerged by prevailing academic attitudes during the Victorian age & subsequent decades? (When not elided or hyper-romanticised, they tended to be characterized as "meddling women" rather than as political power figures most of the time...)
I got downvoted to hell in Reddit mentioning how little reliable written sources we have. "yEaH bUt sAgAs !!"
It was actually about Kalevala too which was written in 1800's but people in that conversation tended to take it literally as if it would be reliable.
According to Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, who worked on the Birka woman warrior burial dna project, in an excellent lecture that I was lucky enough to attend, the skeleton in that particular famous grave was undoubtedly biologically female.
I mean having read lots of articles it does seem pretty definitively biologically female and the only debate is that it was first examined by Victorians. Seems like some hefty evidence that would be great to be explored in a video like this. *Sigh*
@@Littlebeth5657 Fortunately it sounds like he will be doing more videos on this topic so hopefully will go more in depth on this in future :)
Yeah, I also thought there had been a DNA test wich confirmed it's a female person.
@@johannageisel5390 yea... I don't know if I'm confusing it with scythian finds but I once heard about another find of a female buried with weapons that had (healed) marks on her bones that indicated participation in combat especially since they were of different age and her being just a victim of some kind of attack was deemed unlikely and they supposedly determined that parts of her bones had grown that are only likely to grow with martial training/activities... As I said, I definitely heard about such finds from scythia but I think there was a recent update on one of the norse finds that had such results.
The thing is... I heard it in a documentary... I'm probably going to have to re-watch to figure out with find it was in order to look into the details of the particular sight.
I'd like to throw a bit of theory in here concerning the magic part. From experience, working as a seamstress, the depth of trances you can come to while doing textile work, which is repetitive and rythmic while keeping you stationary is considerable. Also, certain skills of concentration, memorization and data organization really do match up with these textile producing skills, so if you want an in-depth analysis of a situation with a good prognosis, the person who has these skills is the one you want to ask. Brewing is another thing that at a time without tons of measuring instruments required a huge amount of perceptiveness and a darn good memory of which conditions influence your result in which way. Cheesemaking, food preserving, it's always a matter of loads of factual and methodical knowledge (which might well be the coffers that the keys in the graves used to go to). Once you can use these skills in the abstract, you're most of the way to being a seer, really. Just a theory, of course (this is a bit tricky to prove beyond these tricks improving my own decision-making very much, which I am aware of), but, I believe, not without a point.
This was a wonderful video for an important day. I didn't know about the runestones and it's great knowing that women had them errected. I also appreciate that you're admitting without any talk around that we know almost nothing. It's something a lot of people forget to mention or they throw theories around.
having done weaving (mostly on looms though) the beating is super important to get a tight weave. like if you don't do it you will have massive holes in the weave. Depending on the width of the fabric/weave beating of the weave can take quite a bit of upper body strength too.
It's lovely hearing you talk about runestones as I live close to a lot of runestones.
Some of them have sadly "had" to be moved to be preserved. some years back there was a big discussion if they were to let a runhäll (like when it's inscribed into the bedrock) keep having moss grow on it or if it was to kept clear. They ended up letting the moss grow since they realised it actually helped preserve some of the pigments so it's mostly covered in moss now.
Wonderful video. Thank you so much for all the information and validation of women's work. I can do, drop spinning, Luceting , Nalbinding, and tablet weaving. I make all my costumes by hand. And decorate them with own work. I have never thought of it as being something special. It's just women's work. Thank you so much for pointing out how important it really was for the families of the Viking period. Hwyl
Oh my gosh! I'm sitting at your textile-artist feet in awe right now - you definitely didn't choose the easy ones to become expert in! 😃 That's super impressive, and if you ever make anything for sale or gift to fellow re-enactors, I bet they're thrilled....? I'm SO glad you've been able to see your skills & artistry in a different light following this vid! Personally, I'm fascinated by anybody who creates things. I also adore the empowerment, ethical relief & creative outlet I find in making my own clothes... even though it can be super-frustrating when skill-level doesn't yet match project's requirements! 🤪 Happy creating! 🧡
I'm not knowledgeable of history by any means, but I reckon women have always been doing important jobs.
Thank you for this. You have done a great job here. I usually don't look at storyes about the Vikings or people living at the Viking age, they are usually wrong. The reason I stopped at yours was the little Valkyrie found in Haarby. I know the man who found her and she is so lovely.
There is a very new story from our Danish National Museum about clothes found in the same burial as the Mammen Axe. Thank you for a job very well done.
What a good video. I've always been curious about grave goods and what they actually revealed in terms of women's lives. Also those little keys were rad as hell. Stay strong Jimmy!
I remember a lecture my local SCA did with a doctorate who studied spinning stones. Depending on the weight of the stone you would be able to get finer or coarser wool fabric. The finer was for clothing and the coarser for blankets and sails. When she was doing archeological digs in southern Sweden she was able to find a couple ofcenters of manufacturing for wool fabric. Depending on the amounts of certain weights she could deduce if the site was producing clothing or sail. She had also done some calculations regarding the time it took to make a full set of clothes to a man and a woman. About one years effort. The Danish ships at the time required about a million square metres of sail yearly. So being able to make good sails must have been a very respected profession.
Sail weaving was largely done by enslaved women. So, skilled, yes, necessary, yes, highly respected...maybe.
Don't apologize for giving an amazing overview! I thoroughly enjoyed this video
Sorry to hear that you had a ruff week. I would rather that you take care of yourself than push yourself to put out a video. Most people will understand and still be here if you need a break. Take care of yourself!!
That said I really enjoyed this video and look forward to seeing more. The ruins were amazing
Omgosh!! Thank you so much for this video!
Absolutely fascinating! Hope you get to do a part 2, I'd love to see it
This is so awesome ^^ and something I've wanted for a while. Thank you for giving this to us ^^
Thank you for putting out a video! It's tough doing something like this after a rough week, but I really enjoyed it!
Thank you for this and your pointers to more, it was really interesting! Hope you feel better soon.
A very interesting video as usual, and a particularly good phrase of the week too. Thank you for all the work you put into this channel, it’s so informative and entertaining, and I love it.
Thank you for an amazing video and for your fantastic research. I hope you get some rest and have a nice week!
Thanks for this. Excellent introduction to women in the Viking Age. When you have some time and energy, would love to see you expand on this more. Great video!
Thank you for posting this great video even though you feel tired. 💖 Your effort is appreciated beyond measure!
Thank you for all your amazing videos, hope you have a better week!
I'm learning to weave so I can recreate textiles from the viking and early medieval periods, and love tablet weaving.
Been watching since you only had a few videos up, but only just worked up the courage to comment.
Keep doing amazing things!
Thank you for this video! I'm actually getting a lecture from Judith Jetsch on this later this week
I am currently finishing the 2nd garment I’ve ever made, and it is in fact wearable! I’m watching your videos as i get through some hand sewing. Thank you for sharing! Also, love the phrase of the week as an addition.
I appreciate that you always take upp all the things that we simply don't know. This is some critical thinking content I want!
Just found your channel by chance. Excellent way to kill a bit of free time. Really great quality content, keep it up :)
Lets goo! first in, 33 seconds after upload BOOM! Very interesting video indeed, cheers Jimmy
Thanks! Looking forward to the sequel!
thank you so much for the awesome video! remember to take care of yourself and absolutely take breaks from video making if you need, we are more than capable of waiting, and your health/well-being come first. hope you feel better soon!! :D
Love your videos. Informative and humorous. It is nice to hear someone admit that they do not have all the answers!
One thing we tend to overlook is the logistics of warfare
I know loads of other people said it too but damn it so lifting to see you take your meds. Makes me feel less like a nutcase 😂 sending cwtch as thank you
Diolch am y cwtch, Ylena! :) Nutters gotta stick together, y'know ;)
Only just got around to watching it but what a great video! Also, THANK YOU for that little moment at the beginning where you took your meds. There is so much stigma around psychiatric medication, and so many people who need those sorts of meds have to deal with shame or fear of being judged. Things like that go a long way to normalising the concept and breaking down the stigma, and I am truly grateful.
An excellent video as always! It's always fascinating trying to figure out what people are buried with and why.
My fruit flies like drowning themselves in my tea, so hopefully your winged friend you saved from your mead didn't come back again! Keep plugging away at that fiddle :)
Lots of things to love about this video.
Thank you.
Thank you for another super educational video! I hope you have better days ahead
This video provided the best of both worlds--funny Jimmy needing his meds (relate!) And great grave evidence and artifacts. Loved it. And, as an aside, I truly envy your eyebrows. So low maintenance, yet perfect. So thanks for 25 minutes of pure entertainment and education!
Thank you for the educational but also funny content, what I find most interesting is the "cut the bs"approach, where you mention what we have evidence of and what we simply don't know. I wish more history channels were like this.
I absolutely love listening to you speak Welsh. And that is an excellent phrase of the week. Keep well, lovely Jimmy :)
Very informative video and wonderful little-known facts about Norse women! Nice job!
Thank you for highlighting the importance of clothmaking! It's easy to forget how labour-intensive clothmaking and sewing used to be, now that we have automated looms, sweatshops and ASOS. If you make another video on viking women, could you maybe be open to include queen Tyra (or Thorvi) Dannebod? While there's great debate about where she was from and the exact events of her life, she's mentioned on both of the Jelling rune stones, and she might (MIGHT) also be the "Thyre" that is mentioned on the three rune stones commissioned by Ravnunge-Tue (Tue, son of Ravn) that are placed south and south-west of Jelling.
You really inspire me to take up Welsh again. I did learnt for two years but I had no one to talk to. I went to the lakes mid wales on a motorbike. I tried to order a meal ‘yn Gymraeg’ (mutation? It sounded like it needed a mutation!) the response as ‘ we’re all from brum around here love! Finally, 2 hours a week got tiring.
Just discovered your channel and I have to say it's as addictive as a drug. I'm an archaeologist as well and I find your videos amazing, keep up the good work!
I'm glad you said you're getting a buried with a sword as I intend to do the same, I'm going to look cool when I'm dead!
Another great video, thank you for taking the time to make it I hope the next week ahead is better, do take care of yourself mate!
This video is fascinating! My favourite bit was learning just how significant the fabrics industry was. It’s also good to get away from always seeing women in a negative light during the Middle Ages. While oppression did sadly happen (particularly is upper classes) it’s good to see how women were also integral to society and proved themselves equal to men in their value and status. I’m not sure if I’m wrong, but I have read that women enjoyed a better social status in the Celtic countries and the Nordic countries compared to other places in Europe- correct me if I’m miss informed pls. 😀 great video as ever! Diolch 🏴
Your channel is awesome and super informative!
This is so fascinating, thank you 😁
that don't give up advice really hit me right now. thanks for giving us a realistic portrayal of what we know about women during the viking period. New life goal is to get a burial ship and a sword
Fantastic video.
As a women wanting to learn about Viking Age women this is awesome. Many things I already knew & a bit of clarity on others.
I love looking at the Volva sticks, they do look like a distaff. in some mythology there are Goddesses who’s magic is linked to spinning & weaving so it *might* be both a practical (distaff) & a magic item.
Lol, the grave/burial idea is awesome.
I love the time & effort that is put into all your videos.
I've heard of 3 Norse goddesses called the Norns who determine everyone's fate by weaving- I can't remember where I read it, except it wasn't an academic text, but I love them anyway! The idea of magic linked to spinning & weaving makes sense though, & sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't think where from.
Jimmy, thank you for the video and your effort to provide us with good information on the topic, despite feeling low! And thank you for being so open about struggling. And big Yay for confusing future archeologists 😈 Love your content and your style!
Great video, very informative, loved it 😃 Thank you 😊
Hey Welshie, great vid mate. Really enjoying your content. I always learn something.