Back In The Good Old Days: The Vikings

When Men Were Strong and Women Subservient

Viking symbolism has long been a favorite of right wing men. They tend to get it wrong though, like the horned Viking who became the symbol of the United States capitol attack. (Viking warriors likely never wore horns. Those were added by an 1876 costume designer and then swept into the historical record.) The Nazis also used Viking culture in Germanic propaganda. Around the same time Britain used Viking symbolism as a display of power and sea conquest. Across all of Scandinavia, Viking culture has been claimed as a symbol of pride.

The modern nationalist view is of the strong warrior Viking man protecting their innocent women and children, but is it correct?

The history of the Vikings was written first through the lense of other societies they fought with, who were more likely to point out or exaggerate their negative, violent flaws. Later history was written by Victorian men who inserted their own values into the history. Curiously in really almost all portrayals of strong Vikings, the women are rarely present. If they are shown, they are shown as patriarchal subordinates.

I set off to interview someone who lived during the Viking Period, but I couldn’t find one, so I talked to Dan instead.

(As a reminder I do not know these men. They are messaging a satirical Facebook profile of me as a conservative.)

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