His wife, the lady of the household, had to see to it that the food lasted during the long, dark winter. She made butter and cheese, dried and smoked meat and fish for storage and she was also expected to know about herbs for making medicine and care for the sick and wounded. The farm animals were also her responsibility and when her husband went trading, went Viking, or hunting she also ran the farm in his absence. In rich families she would have servants and slaves to help her. As a visible sign of her authority and power the lady of the household wore the keys to the food chests at her waist.

When the men travelled abroad raiding, trading, or had gone hunting or fishing, the women were in charge of the work on the farm. This lead to that the women played an important part in society.

Girls were married at the age of 12 -15. They were then expected to run a household. Let's hope they got some help from the older women in the family! The marriage w

A jury of 12, two times twelve or three times twelve, depending on the importance of the case, decided the question of guilt. The 'law-sayer' told the jury what the law said about the crime committed and the accused was either convicted or declared innocent by the jury.

Harald Gille, king of Norway from 1130 - 1136, "proved" his right to the throne walking on hot iron.

We can listen to their own description of the world they knew, by reading the sagas. This is a description of their world as put into writing by Snorri Sturluson.

To sacrifice a valuable animal (blota) to the gods put them in a good mood. To worship the gods was an important part of Viking life. Christianity changed the Vikings' religion, but many of the old customs continued unchanged for hundreds of years.

The 'ting' was the Viking word for a legislative assembly and a court. A criminal was brought here to stand trial. The presumed facts of the case were established by a panel (Old Norse "kvidr") of people stating what they THOUGHT was the truth.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Marriage Girls, Women Vikings, Legal System, Slaves Slaves, England Vikings, Water Apple, Viking WomenViking, Denmark Iceland, Religion Vikings', World Vikings, inheritance divorce, property owner, vikings law, law vikings, socks soft leather, child property owner, king norway, viking age, church introduced, soft leather, lady household, socks soft, soft leather shoes, christian church introduced, law vikings law,
Approximate Word count = 2269
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)