Re-evaluating Viking Motherhood: Myth vs. Reality

Popular culture frequently enough portrays Vikings as fierce warriors and seafarers, but a recent study published in the Archaeological Cambridge Journal sheds light on a previously neglected aspect of Viking life: pregnancy. Researchers from the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham have embarked on a pioneering investigation into the representation—or lack thereof—of pregnancy in Viking Age society.

The research team, employing linguistic, iconographic, and archaeological analyses, probes the conspicuous absence of pregnancy in Viking stories, artifacts, and burial practices, despite its essential role in the continuation of society. This absence prompts a re-evaluation of how we understand Viking culture and the experiences of women within it.

Linguistic Clues and Saga Narratives

dr. Katherine Marie Olley,a Viking studies expert at the University of Nottingham,examined Old Norse texts for insights into how pregnancy was perceived. While these texts were written after the Viking Age, they preserve echoes of earlier beliefs. Evocative terms like ‘bellyfull,’ ‘unlight,’ and ‘not to walk alone as a woman’ offer a glimpse into the conceptualization of pregnancy during that era, Dr. Olley noted.

Intriguingly, some sagas depict pregnant women in violent scenarios. One saga features a fetus seeking vengeance for its father’s death. In the Saga of Erik the Red (13th century), Freydís, a pregnant woman, confronts an attack by baring her chest and wielding a sword, defying the traditional image of maternal passivity. this challenges the notion of women as merely passive figures.

Archaeological Evidence: A Rare Glimpse

Supporting these textual findings is a unique archaeological discovery: a small silver figurine unearthed from a 10th-century tomb in Aska, Sweden. This figurine portrays a pregnant woman with a prominent belly, possibly wearing a helmet with a nose protector. It is a rare, if not unique, representation of pregnancy from the Viking Age.

Even though we avoid the simplistic accounts of warrior women, it must be recognized that at least in art and stories, ideas circulated on pregnant women equipped for fighting. They are not passive or pacified bodies.

Dr.Katherine Marie Olley

The Silence of the Tombs: An Intentional Omission?

Despite the significance of pregnancy, the study reveals a striking absence of related burials. A review of thousands of viking-era gravesites yielded only a handful that could be identified as mother-child burials. This is particularly notable considering the high rates of obstetric mortality likely prevalent during the period. Furthermore, some infants were found buried with men or elderly women, lacking any apparent biological connection.

Researchers argue that this absence is not accidental. They propose that the under-representation of pregnancy stems from a combination of factors: social practices that discouraged its depiction in art and differentiated burial rites,literary narratives that marginalized or silenced the topic,and historiographical biases within archaeology itself,which has historically overlooked pregnancy as a subject of study.

womb politics: Power, Reproduction, and Representation

The study emphasizes the concept of womb politics, highlighting that pregnancy, both in the Viking Age and today, is intrinsically linked to power dynamics. Dr. Marianne Hem Eriksen, an archaeology professor at the University of Leicester and the study’s director, asserts that [pregnancy] is an absolute necessity for any form of reproduction – demographic, social, economic, political. Without [the pregnant] body, we would not be hear.

Pregnancy determines lineage, inheritance, and social status, making it a subject of control and codification. Historical laws, such as those that considered pregnant enslaved women as “defective” due to the complications they posed for sale, illustrate this point.

This research underscores the need to re-evaluate historical narratives and challenge the silences surrounding pregnancy. It is part of a broader project, Body-Politics, which aims to broaden the scope of archaeological inquiry to include “ordinary” bodies, marginalized experiences, and vital processes like pregnancy in Iron Age and Viking-era Northern Europe.By examining these overlooked aspects of the past, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of Viking society and its complexities.