Medieval Masculinities : The Viking Age

19th century Icelandic society is depicted by Kent as an oppressive patriarchy in which women are constrained by primitive, prejudiced female gender roles and evaluated on their ability to conform to these expectations. Kent demonstrates

The Vikings were Norse seafarers, who mainly spoke the Old Norse language. They raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across wide areas of northern, central and eastern Europe, during the 9th to 11th century. The Vikings originated from Scandinavia, and the beginning of the Vikings expansion often originates from the raid of the Lindisfarne Monetary on 8 June 793. The Vikings were the first Westerners to sail to Iceland, Greenland, and over to the New World. However, the story of the Vikings is also an important story for the development of the Christian world in the West. Throughout this essay, I will explain the importance of Viking religion, Viking trade, and how the Viking age had an impact on the way Western and

Beowulf and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are both narratives in which gender acts as an important theme within their individual communities; both have underlying meanings when it comes to defining what should be the role men and women in a good community. Or in other words, both paint a vivid picture of the role of women during the medieval time period, by suggesting that one gender had more power over another. However, these two narratives take alternative paths when expressing their views; Beowulf conveys its message through what is missing, while “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” incorporates satire and uses explicit narrative when telling the experience of a woman that is highly different from other women in her time. Furthermore, another difference

Did you know there is a great controversy with today’s society, putting men over women? It is sparking debates across the world on why men are thought to be stronger and be able to do more activities than women. There is an ongoing debate between men and women on equality. Beowulf and contemporary culture assert their masculinity through physical strength, financial wealth, honor, perseverance, reputation, and intelligence.

“Lanval” by Marie de France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer are both medieval romances that put a knight on trial by a queen’s court for his treatment of a lady. Throughout the course of this paper, readers will get the opportunity to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and that during the twelfth-century women were superior to men, specifically in their relationships and marriages; however, today men dominant individuals, especially in working world.

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

Women have had many different roles in the history of European literature but have generally been restricted to the roles assigned to them in a largely patriarchal society. As a result of this society, these roles have often been powerless ones. This calls into question the constitution of a powerful woman in literature: in Beowulf, being a powerful woman means becoming the bond between families and alliances; in Lanval, power comes from assertion and control-- a powerful woman is a woman in charge. The primary difference between the representation of women in Beowulf and Lanval is that the latter transcends overarching patriarchal boundaries, and the former does not; the reason for their respective representations lies in the literary time periods in which the stories were written. From this, one can see that the introduction of romance as a central theme gave way to new representations and roles of women in predominantly heteropatriarchal English literature and gives new meaning to the analysis of stories like these.

There are many known periods that we know lead to the development of the modern era and the Anglo-Saxon period is the oldest known period of time that had a complex culture with stable government, art and literature. This period is a time filled with great advancements and discoveries in government, religion, literature, and art. Cultures of Anglo-Saxon society and modern society have many similarities as well as differences. There are many differences between this period and the modern era we live in today in terms of politics, social climate, values, social hierarchy, the role of women, military, government and language. In this essay, I am going to focus on the differences of the two periods in terms of values, role of women and language in the society.

Beowulf and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are both narratives in which gender acts as an important theme within their individual communities; yet they use different tools to define the roles of men and women within a good community. Or, in other words, both stories paint a vivid picture of the role of women, by suggesting that one gender had more power over the other. However, these two narratives vary in their expression of such views; Beowulf conveys its message through what is missing, while “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” incorporates satire and uses explicit narrative when relaying the experience of a woman that is highly different from that of other women of her time. Furthermore, another difference that is apparent to the reader is that men become the heroes in Beowulf, while “the wife” becomes

If men had ever been found in society without women, or women without men, or if there had been a society of men and women in which the women were not under the control of the men, something might have been positively known about the mental and moral differences which may be inherent in the nature of each. (1160-1161)

Viking history and culture have been depicted in many movies, television series, and stories. Vikings are commonly known as barbarians that raid villages and intimidate others with huge ships with dragon heads, and horned helmets. This information is based on facts, but has been distorted and exaggerated over many years and tales. Viking history spans from the years 780 until 1100, which is the time span of the Viking raids. Not every Scandinavian was a Viking; Vikings were known as the men that conducted raids and bloody battles. The old definition of Viking was synonymous with the term pirate. The modern definition is relevant to the Scandinavian medieval culture, to include farming, crafting and trading.

Where there are hyper-masculine men, there are beards. Where there are beards, there are characters carrying masculine traits willing to demascluinize and as a result feminize men of whom they perceive to be superior to. In the realm of King Arthur and his court, King Arthur has to set the standard of masculinity. He must be the man that other men, under his rule, aspire to be. With that, there seems to exist a checks and balancing system where the demasculinization of other men results in keeping the realm at ease. I’d like to divert your attention to the beard cloak and, as an extension, also the first initial moment that the Green Knight rode into court. These moments seem to be the most important because of their connection to beards--seemingly a symbol of hyper-masculinity.

Norse women traveled alongside the men on the Viking long boats. They also played an active

When you think of the Vikings, chances are you think of horned helmets, raids, and bloody battles. But on the other side of the spectrum, there are the women of Nordic culture. Women are mostly thought of as looking like Viking warriors fighting alongside their men. But that was hardly the case. In reality, women were important in many other ways. They were treated very differently than other women in different European cultures at that time.

In the late Middle Ages, women were forced under many disabilities. Society viewed women as “physically, intellectually, and morally inferior to men” (Bornstein 1). In the 1300’s when Dante wrote the Divine Comedy women did not play a key role in society outside the home. This was not solely excluding a certain sex because of who they were, but because of how society in history has viewed women. Many believed that women could not do a man’s job or fit to be in charge of a certain group. In the 1300’s, women were to be in charge of the household, take care of the children, make the food for the day, and be a loyal wife to their husbands. Through the 1300’s women had a desire to voice what they could achieve, so they started to speak out their