this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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While that is true to an extent, women had more rights and freedoms in Viking culture. While it wasn't close today's standards. It was far exceeded what other cultures were doing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings
Viking culture also had social mobility, some political rights to the lower classes, and had the Things (local assemblies).
Fair enough, they seem to have less of a deeply entrenched patriarchal hierarchy than in the south. Pretty nice for the free people who were the majority.
We can't forget though that these rights only extended to freemen/women and that the slaves/thrall had no rights. The highest women did enjoy more rights then in the south, but the lowest women were treated as sex slaves who would be expected to be (TW: SA) >!gangraped!< and die when there master did. Granted the Europeans in the south probably weren't treating there serfs with much respect but I don't think they were treated that poorly.
Slavery was large part of the Viking economy. However, combating Nazi cultural appropriation of Viking culture does mean pointing out that Vikings were not just warriors however had complex social communities, adept traders, and explorers.
In a weird way, Vikings may have embraced a type of multiculturalism.
https://theconversation.com/vikings-were-never-the-pure-bred-master-race-white-supremacists-like-to-portray-84455