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Idreamofknights t1_j4t4igv wrote

Reply to comment by Seeker2211 in World’s oldest rune stone found in Norway, archaeologists believe by danishistorian

More than that. To use magic of spells, concealment and visions was the domain of women, it was seidr. Men who did that were dishonorable. Male magic was of battle, to embody a warrior spirit like the ulfhednar or to craft enchanted weapons.

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Geiten t1_j4tv4ez wrote

I think that is too one-sided, and probably comes from the stereotype that viking society was mainly concerned with battle. Male magic was also communicating with dead relatives to keep them at peace and I believe controlling the weather.

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RE5TE t1_j4txav3 wrote

> stereotype that viking society was mainly concerned with battle.

Viking society was preoccupied with plunder, not battle. If I remember correctly, farms were given to the eldest son, so as not to split them up. Lots of small farms can't feed enough people.

If you're not an eldest son, you need money to buy land. Norway in particular does not have a lot of settled arable land. So you join a group heading south to plunder.

Battle is not necessary, especially when you reach countries full of unarmed farmers. Vikings sailed up the river to Paris and essentially demanded a ton of gold and silver. If you're a fat farmer it was just better to pay them to leave. They were usually pretty good at leaving so it worked out for everyone.

Do you want to fight Sven who literally rowed across the ocean to cleave in your skull, or just pay him some money? Also Sven is 6ft tall and ripped, you are 5ft 5 and armed with a pitchfork.

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Idreamofknights t1_j4txhbs wrote

I see the communion with relatives as more of a expression of religion, and I'm curious about the controlling weather part. But the part about spells and ritualized magic being the domain of women is true, both to heal and to curse. There were men who did magic, but they're shamed by their society as argr, dishonorable and unmanly, and even Odin himself is shamed like this because he uses it to see his visions, while his wife Freya is hailed for it. Magic is widely considered a very gendered concept in Norse society by many scholars.

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