Get the look: Farmer Viking Woman

While most Viking costumes and compositions focus on wealthy Viking men and women, there is often little attention to the poorer Vikings, who made up the majority of the population. The Viking woman in this composition we name Gunnhild

The Viking society had three classes, which can be divided into slaves, free farmers, and aristocrats. This is vividly described in the Edda poem Rígsþula, which also explains that it was the god Ríg - father of humanity, also known as Heimdallr - who created the three classes. Archaeology has confirmed this social structure. Gunnhild was part of the lower end of the free class. As a result, she had her own legal personality and could accumulate wealth. However, most of the free class were nowhere near as wealthy as we find in the Viking graves.

During their raids across Europe, the Vikings took prisoners. These were made into slaves and tasked with various duties on farms, ranging from grinding grain to herding cattle to gathering firewood. Although they had almost no rights, slaves were generally treated reasonably. Probably a quarter of the population of the Viking World was unfree. While the majority of slaves were captured on foreign shores, some people could also be sentenced to slavery for committed crimes, or chose to sell themselves to pay off debts. Dublin in Ireland served as a transit camp for slaves from England, Wales, and Scotland, after which prisoners were traded in markets such as Hedeby. 

The "karl" was a free farmer in Viking society, a member of the free farmer class that played an important role in the agrarian economy. These free farmers owned their own land and resources, allowing them a certain degree of independence. They cultivated crops and kept livestock. Many Karls used slaves to provide sufficient labor on the farm. Churls and huskarls were similar to these classes. 

The karl enjoyed certain rights, such as the right to own land and participate in local decision-making within the community. He was obliged to pay taxes, and in times of war, he could be called upon to defend his community. Despite their freedom, the karls did not have the same social status as the nobility, but they were also not unfree serfs or slaves.

The jarls formed the aristocracy of Viking society. They were wealthy and owned large estates with enormous longhouses, horses, and many thralls. The thralls performed most of the daily tasks, while the jarls were engaged in administration, politics, hunting, and sports. They also visited other jarls or went on expeditions abroad. When a jarl died and was buried, his household thralls were sometimes ritually killed and buried alongside him, as many excavations have revealed.

In practice, it appears that there was some social mobility possible, and there were various intermediate forms. The details are unclear, but titles and positions such as hauldr, thegn, and landmand indicate mobility between the karls and the jarls.

Other social structures included the communities of félag in both the civil and military domains, to which the members (félage) were obligated. A félag could focus on specific professions, the communal ownership of a seafaring ship, or a military obligation under a specific leader. Members of the latter were referred to as drenge, one of the words for warrior. There were also official communities within towns and villages, focused on overall defense, religion, the legal system, and the thing (the parliament).

Daily life largely revolved around the clan or family group, with individuals subordinate to the group. In arranging marriages, the emphasis was on the relationship between both clans, which was essential for the approval of the marriage.

The living conditions of the clans were reflected in the construction and layout of their homes. Often the same building served as the residence, stable, meeting place, and workshop. The main room served as living, working, and sleeping space for the entire family, with a central hearth in the middle. During winter, it was pleasant here, with fixed benches along the walls covered with warm animal skins and blankets. Oil lamps, filled with fish oil and whale fat, hung from the ceiling, and loose furniture was scarce.

Cooking was done above the central hearth, with a large cooking pot on an iron chain. Various meals were prepared, including stewed beef and mutton seasoned with mustard and garlic. Sheep and cattle served not only as a source of meat but also for milk production, from which cheese and butter were made.

Women in northern society enjoyed a status in various respects comparable to that of men, which was significantly more favorable than the position of women elsewhere in Europe. This is described, among other things, in the Icelandic Grágás and the Norwegian laws of Frostating and Gulating. They could inherit and divorce their husbands. At the wedding feast, the woman received a set of keys, and after wearing the keys for three years as húsfreyja (lady of the house), she could consider herself a legal spouse. Although Scandinavian women could hold a prominent position, Christianity introduced ideas of female inferiority, resulting in the loss of their favorable social status and freedoms.

Among the Vikings, the groom and his family paid the bride price, also known as "mundr," as part of the marriage ritual. This symbolic payment compensated for the loss of the bride's labor, who often moved to the groom's community after marriage. In the event of a divorce, the bride retained the bride price, serving as a guarantee for a good partnership. Viking laws recognized that some marriages were irreparable, making divorce the only option.

As a member of the free class, Gunnhild had a busy life. She took care of the household, raised the children, and also worked daily with her husband on the farm.

In this composition, Gunnhild wears several layers of clothing. Notable are the more natural colors she wears, which were cheaper than the blue, red, and even purple that the aristocrats could afford. 

Gunnhild wears a practical underdress in which she also sleeps at night. When it is warm on the farm in summer, she wears only her underdress while working. 

Over the underdress, she wears a naturally green dress, these dresses are her standard attire. Gunnhild likely owned only one or two different sets of these dresses. 

Gunnhild wears shoes. But often she would have walked barefoot. Shoes are relatively expensive and were constantly altered. Probably only a few people had brand new shoes. 

The hangerok was a very important garment for Viking women. It was the hangerok that conveyed status. Status was very important for the Vikings who lived in a clan system. Gunnhild has embroidered her brown hangerok with brown thread. The hangerok itself is woven in a herringbone pattern. Gunnhild does not have much time to decorate clothing.

The hangeroc was fastened with tortoise brooches.

Over her clothing, Gunnhild wears a shawl. This shawl keeps her warm during work and also serves as a neat 'jacket' for when she walks in the village. When winter comes, she swaps her shawl for a heavy woolen cloak.

Gunnhild wears a leather belt. Her buckle shows that she does not belong to the poorest classes, just like the fibula she wears to keep her shawl together. 

Both men and women used axes daily. Axes were the tool in and around the house. Vikings made almost everything from wood and could therefore probably repair almost everything themselves, such as parts of ships, houses, fences, and tools.

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A very important object for the Viking woman was her keys. This was the symbol of power over the house. Hence, women could even derive marital rights from the fact that they had carried the house keys for several years.