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Viking children were primarily raised by their mothers, although sometimes Viking boys lived with another family for a period of time as a foster child. This was meant to forge bonds between the two families and entitled the boy to help from his foster family, as well as his birth family.
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.
Vikings didn't have family names. Instead, boys and girls usually took their father's, or sometimes mother's, first name as a surname and added “son” or “dottir” (daughter).
The whole family tended the farm and the entire household ate and slept together. Large estates included outbuildings for cooking, brewing, and craftwork. It was later in the Viking age that towns developed. The greatest divide was between those who were free and those who were not free.
In the Viking Age children's lives were not differentiated from those of adults like they are today. Children were also put to work from a young age. They were part of the family and had to help with the daily tasks. Children helped their parents with indoor tasks, such as looking after the fireplace or making food.
Viking women married young—as early as 12 years old. By the age of 20, virtually all men and women were married.
Vikings ate fruit and vegetables and kept animals for meat, milk, cheese and eggs. They had plenty of fish as they lived near the sea. Bread was made using quern stones, stone tools for hand grinding grain.
A woman's work duties were, by all accounts, housekeeping and making food. A large part of her time was also taken up working wool, spinning yarn, sewing and weaving for the family's own consumption. Pregnancy and breastfeeding also took up time in a woman's life.
A typical couple probably had 2 or 3 living children at any one time. Few parents lived to see their children marry. And fewer lived to see their first grandchild. Three generation families were rare.
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.
Fidelity. This belief in fidelity extended far beyond the modern understanding of it, which is to remain monogamous with your life partner. They also applied this belief in fidelity to friends and family as well, which meant that Vikings had to be unequivocally loyal to those that were close to them.
The idea that Vikings commonly shared their wives with their guests is a myth that has been perpetuated by popular culture. In reality, Vikings valued women and treated them with respect. Women of status, such as the wives of chieftains, were highly regarded and would not have been treated as property to be shared.
Women tended to marry between the ages of 12 and 15, and families negotiated to arrange those marriages, but the woman usually had a say in the arrangement. If a woman wanted a divorce, she had to call witnesses to her home and marriage bed and declare in front of them that she had divorced her husband.
On either side of the fire there were wide, built-in wooden benches. During the day people sat on them, and at night they slept on them. There are sheepskins on the benches to make them more comfortable. The children's mother and father often sat in the 'high-seat'.
Like Ancient Europe, they're punishment was mainly by fire, carrying one piece of iron from boiling water and walking 9 footsteps. In Viking society, there were frequent disputes between rival chieftains or other leaders.
Play is not a recent development in history in fact from grave goods and the sagas, we learn that Vikings played board games avidly, they carved dolls and toys for their children, played dice and gambled as well as partaking in boisterous sports at their feasts and gatherings.
Many believe that the Viking Age was dominated by men and that they held a stronger social position with more freedom, whilst women were at their mercy in terms of their agency and choice.
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.
Vikings used to brew both strong and weak beer and mead for different occasions. Weak beer was used as a water replacement to quench thirst and was deemed suitable for children, whereas the stronger brewed beverages were held in an adult-only space on the proverbial top shelf, reserved for special occasions.
The Vikings were fierce warriors from Scandinavia, an area in Northern Europe. They were most powerful in the years 790–1100 CE. The Vikings were champion ship-builders, and their longboats voyaged all around the coasts of Europe and even to the Americas.
Dagmal was the morning meal in which the adults would eat leftover stew from the night before with bread and fruit. The children would usually have porridge and dried fruit or, on occasion, buttermilk and bread.
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.
Cnut, the famed Danish king of England from 1016-1035, enacted a grim law that died with him. It stipulated that a woman committing adultery must lose her nose and ears, while men were merely chastised.
The male would contact the family of the girl they wished to marry, and arrange a time to discuss terms. The groom would promise to pay the bride fee for his wife, and the bride's family would ask their daughter whether they wanted to take part in the courtship.