Snow and Sex - how Vikings do that
The ancient world was a wild place to live. Much of the world was completely untamed, and forests, beaches, and deserts Were the homes of not only barbarians but bandits, thieves, warring tribes, and traveling soldiers who were no longer under the watchful eye of their commanders. There is a multitude of television shows and movies about life before the invention of electricity and the modern industrial age, and all of them show that it was an absolute shit time to be a woman, especially a poor one, a poor man, a parentless child, someone who lived under a feudal society, a farmer, or a person who was enslaved, etc.
Unless you were a rich noble or a king, life was hard. But each culture survived and thrived in the wrong way, and the Vikings certainly made their own mark on history. But there are a few cultural features that people get wrong about Vikings. Yes, they were extremely strong, and I laid the foundation for the idea of masculinity today, but they also have their own rules and treated many types of people with respect. Many of these rules pertained to the treatment of women, their rights, and sexuality.
Most of the ancient world, and even some countries today, thought of women who took part in premarital sex as evil and corrupt. Many religious texts condemn both genders to a life of abstinence until marriage, but the men never had to follow such rules while the women were if they even looked at another man. But the Vikings did not think this way at all.
It was quite normal for liking women to engage in premarital sex. Historians even found evidence that women had the power to call for a mock marriage so she could test if their future husbands could pleasure them sexually. If he could not do so or if his genitalia were inadequate, she did not have to marry him. Another belief that the Vikings had that was ahead of its time is their belief in the female orgasm. Vikings believed that both the man and a woman had to have an orgasm for the woman to get pregnant. Therefore women were allowed to do mock marriages. If a man could not please her in a mock marriage, she could leave him and not have to waste her childbearing years trying to get pregnant by a man who did not know what he was doing. Plus, spending your life with a man who did not know how to make you orgasm sounds like a nightmare. Unfortunately, many women are partnered with this type of man today.
The power to divorce was revolutionary, and it was even more impressive that women were able to invoke divorce if they were unhappy in the marriage. Many other cultures and civilizations around them, especially those that follow the Catholic Church, did not allow for divorce. The woman was also allowed to divorce her husband if he was abusive to her. She also had the power to beat her husband if, and only if, he laid hands on her. But that does not mean that every single abuse case ended in divorce. The woman still had to convince the elders to grant her the power of divorce. In some cases, the elders did not think that the situation was bad enough, so they had to remain married. When a woman divorced her husband, either for poor sexual performance or cowardice, the ex-husband and his family had to return the dowry to her.
However, it wasn’t all great for Viking women. Although there were very few consequences for a man who engaged in an extramarital affair if a woman was caught cheating on her Viking husband, he had the power to sell her as a slave, or the elders could have her killed.
If a Viking’s wife caught him cheating on her, she was not able to divorce him. The husband had permission to keep concubines and sexual slaves. His wife was expected to tolerate their presence in her home. But the husband was not allowed to have sex with another Viking’s wife. He was only allowed to have sex with unmarried women or his sex slaves. If a man was caught having sex with a wife, he could be castrated.
One of the most defining aspects between the Vikings and the medieval society that surrounded them was their tolerance of gay men. The Vikings did not adhere to a traditional male-female standard of love and marriage. It was more of a dominance and submission hierarchy. So, two men could be in a homosexual relationship without being killed or thrown in jail. However, that does not mean that both men were treated as equal loving partners like a husband and his wife. The Viking male who had sex with another man and penetrated them was a masculine one, and he was worthy of respect. However, the one who received the penetration was viewed as a lower person and would be subject to ridicule by his family and superiors.
Because of the social stigma for submissive gay men, the masculine Vikings usually had sex with sex slaves and male concubines who were captured during wars and battles. The slaves and concubines were not of Viking Blood and were lesser than, so there was no Stigma for them because they were not viewed as equals.
Conclusion
Even though the Vikings existed from the 11th to the 13th century, many of their practices and beliefs were surprisingly modern. So, as long as you were not a slave, a man, or a woman’s existence in Viking culture was treated with respect and dignity. But they were obviously rules and limits to sexual tolerance. So, if you hear a man talk about how mighty Vikings were back in the day and how women don’t know their place in society, show them this article and show them that cultures in world history view women as autonomous beings. Then buy them a sex doll, so they never have to plague a real human woman with their terrible attitude and beliefs.
