My Norwegian mother, from western coastal Norway, maintained that Norwegian women were strong and independent. She sure was! That during Viking times, while the men were gone for long periods of time, that the women had to take care of family, farm, and rules to live by. I'm sure that in defending life, children, and property that it made the women confident and strong, and also gave them an admiration for tools to do so. If I lived in those times, I sure as heck would be interested in tools to help defend life and property. Living like that, I'd take my arms to the grave too. I don't see that as any different (post Christianity) as burying someone holding a cross.
We know that sume "valkyries" were real women. They are referred to as reincrnated spirits popping up n successive generations. They are not unique in this. The reality is that these women were probably priestesses. A lot of what was written about them fits into that catagory.
My Norwegian mother, from western coastal Norway, maintained that Norwegian women were strong and independent. She sure was! That during Viking times, while the men were gone for long periods of time, that the women had to take care of family, farm, and rules to live by. I'm sure that in defending life, children, and property that it made the women confident and strong, and also gave them an admiration for tools to do so. If I lived in those times, I sure as heck would be interested in tools to help defend life and property. Living like that, I'd take my arms to the grave too. I don't see that as any different (post Christianity) as burying someone holding a cross.
We know that sume "valkyries" were real women. They are referred to as reincrnated spirits popping up n successive generations. They are not unique in this. The reality is that these women were probably priestesses. A lot of what was written about them fits into that catagory.