Courtship in Normal Viking Culture
If you find yourself in a typical Viking situation, you may find yourself to be led more by building alliances than romance. So if this is your path, here’s what it looks like. Former writer for History Collection and historian, Natasha Sheldon, writes: “Courtship wasn’t strictly necessary in Norse culture as marriage was more about alliances than love. The prospective bride and groom’s families would command the negotiations, to create a match that would bind the two clans as allies – and sometimes end feuds. Many brides were promised as ‘peace pledges’ to smooth troubled waters between rival families. Although the couple in question could voice an opinion, it was fair to say they had little choice but to go ahead with the match.”
But don’t worry. That doesn’t mean that romance is a lost cause for a lonely Viking. But in this culture, one must adhere to specific ways of handling passion. Navigating between potential bride and family could be a very delicate matter. On one hand, you don’t want to be too hasty in advances on the bride, but if you wait too long, the bride-to-be’s family could become insulted. If this is the case during a drawn out courtship, the family could escalate the situation by seeking blood revenge on the groom dragging his feet. It seems as though this was probably inspired by longer courtships sometimes leading to illegitimate children.