How did Vikings treat their female slaves?

Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, an Arab lawyer and diplomat from Baghdad who encountered the men of Scandinavia in his travels, wrote that Vikings treated their female chattel as sex slaves. If a slave died, he added, “they leave him there as food for the dogs and the birds.”

What did Vikings do to their slaves?

In one study, research Anna Kjellström of Stockholm University examined the skeletal remains of presumed Viking-era slaves found in graves in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and found that they showed signs of abuse and decapitation.

How were female slaves punished?

Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning, mutilation, branding, rape, and imprisonment.

What did Vikings call their wives?

Eiginmaður/eiginkona = Husband/wife. Often shortened to maður and kona, and in these short forms even couples that are only dating may sometimes use them.

How did Vikings deal with adultery?

A wife's adultery was a serious matter, and in some areas the husband had the right to kill both her and her lover if they were caught together. There was no penalty for a man if he kept a concubine or had children outside his marriage.

Viking Slavery, Life as a Viking Thrall

How did Vikings treat wives?

For this point in history, however, Viking women enjoyed a high degree of social freedom. They could own property, ask for a divorce if not treated properly, and they shared responsibility for running farms and homesteads with their menfolk. They were also protected by law from a range of unwanted male attention.

Did Vikings treat their wives good?

On the other hand, women were respected in Norse society and had great freedom, especially when compared to other European societies of that era. They managed the finances of the family. They ran the farm in their husband's absence. In widowhood, they could be rich and important landowners.

Could a Viking woman divorce her husband?

But women in Viking Age Scandinavia did enjoy an unusual degree of freedom for their day. They could own property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended.

Did Vikings share their wife?

There is no record of Vikings sharing their wives.

If anything, the available evidence suggests that Viking men of high status often had several female partners apart from their wives. This left low-ranking Viking men at a disadvantage when securing partners for themselves.

What age did Vikings marry?

Viking women married young—as early as 12 years old. By the age of 20, virtually all men and women were married.

What did slaves do with babies?

Mothers were taken from their own children to nurse the offspring of their masters. And slave children were torn from mothers and brought into the house to be raised alongside the master's sons and daughters.

What did female house slaves do?

House slaves performed largely the same duties as all domestic workers throughout history, such as cooking, cleaning, serving meals, and caring for children; however, their slave status could expose them to greater abuses, including physical punishments and use as a sexual slave.

What type of jobs did many female slaves do?

Enslaved women were counted on not only to do their house and fieldwork, but also to bear, nourish, and rear the children whom slaveholders sought to continually replenish their labor force. As house slaves, women were domestic servants: cooking, sewing, acting as maids, and rearing the planter's children.

Why were Viking so violent?

The purpose of the Vikings' violence was to acquire wealth, which fed into the political economy of northern Europe, notably in the form of gift-giving. Viking warriors were motivated by a warrior ideology of violence that praised bravery, toughness, and loyalty.

Did Vikings sacrifice slaves at funerals?

Slaves were sometimes sacrificed to be useful in the next life. A free man was usually given weapons and equipment for riding. An artisan, such as a blacksmith, could receive his entire set of tools. Women were provided with their jewelry and often with tools for female and household activities.

What did Vikings do to babies?

According to the book, Vikings participated in a bloody tradition of throwing babies into the air and "catching" them on the tips of their spears, but Olvir The Child Sparer refused to take part in the activity.

What was a female Viking called?

WOMEN AS VALKYRIES AND SHIELD-MAIDENS

Women that fought were in the Norse literature called vakyries or shield-maidens (skjoldsmøyer). There were several kinds of female warriors.

How many wives can a Viking have?

Some men would have two to three wives, but the Norse sagas say that some princes had limitless numbers. “So raiding was away to build up wealth and power. Men could gain a place in society, and the chance for wives if they took part in raids and proved their masculinity and came back wealthy.

Did Viking females fight?

There are historical attestations that Viking Age women took part in warfare. The Byzantine historian John Skylitzes records that women fought in battle when Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacked the Byzantines in Bulgaria in 971.

Why is there a black woman in Vikings?

The background behind the character is that her Viking grandfather fell in love with her royal African grandmother in Alexandria, Egypt and returned to Kattegat which Haakon rules over in the show.

How long did Vikings breastfeed?

After the child's birth, the mother typically returned to work with little delay. Evidence suggests that mothers nursed their children until the age of 2 years, which may have dictated the interval between the births of a couple's children. A typical couple probably had 2 or 3 living children at any one time.

Did Vikings care about hygiene?

Viking Facts

Vikings were extremely clean and regularly bathed and groomed themselves. They were known to bathe weekly, which was more frequently than most people, particularly Europeans, at the time. Their grooming tools were often made of animal bones and included items such as combs, razors, and ear cleaners.

Did Vikings love their children?

The Vikings loved their children, and when they weren't exploring, travelling, farming, raiding or invading faraway shores, they dedicated much of their lives to raising strong children who would do them proud.

Were Vikings dirty and smelly?

Vikings were known for their excellent hygiene.

Excavations of Viking sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from animal bones and antlers. Vikings also bathed at least once a week—much more frequently than other Europeans of their day—and enjoyed dips in natural hot springs.

What was life like for an enslaved woman?

Under bondage, enslaved women had to negotiate often difficult relationships with their enslavers. Matrifocal support networks and supportive spouses helped here, but women still had to cope with the mental, physical, and sexual violence inflicted by those who held them in bondage.