Vikingatidens kvinnor : En diskussion kring vikingakvinnans alternativa livsvärldar

The subject of this paper is to discuss the roles of women in the Viking Age society of Scandinavia. This is done using three different themes with positions that are usually addressed to men, Women as tradesmen, Women as seafarers and Women as magnate (women with a strong social position). Moreover, the question of why rich female graves often gets interpreted differently from rich male graves, will be discussed. The material used for this study is mainly literary source that focuses on women in the Viking Age society, this by e.g. examining graves, rune stones and settlements. This material will be studied, if it is not already, from a gender perspective with focus on women’s role in Viking Age Scandinavia, and how our modern society’s prejudices affects the image of the ancient women. The aim is to provide more and broader perspective of the Viking Age women.