So you’re a married Viking – Now what?
Even if they were not in love before the wedding, the couple would try and cultivate it afterward. Husbands would seat their wives next to them if they wanted to show affection. Couples could also express their closeness by sharing the same drinking horn. If a husband were feeling very affectionate, he would ‘put her on his lap’ where he and his wife could indulge in “kyssir hana’ – a kiss and a cuddle. Or he would put his head on her lap, and she would stroke his hair. Men did the hunting, fighting, trading and farming, while women’s lives centered around cooking, caring for the home and raising children. Viking burials reflected these roles in society; men were typically buried with weapons, while women were buried with domestic tools.
Women tended to marry between the ages of 12 and 15. True to these times, women typically played a subservient role in the marriage. Though the man was the “ruler” of the house, the woman played an active role in managing her husband, as well as the household. Norse women had full authority in the domestic sphere, especially when their husbands were absent. If something happened to the man of the household, his wife would adopt his role on a permanent basis, singlehandedly running the family farm or trading business. Many women in Viking Age Scandinavia were buried with rings of keys, which symbolized their roles and power as household managers. Some women even were allowed to own property and there are some records of female Viking warriors in 971 AD.