While most Viking costumes and ensembles focus on wealthy Viking men and women, there is often little attention given to the poorer Vikings who made up the majority of the population. The Viking woman in this ensemble is named Gunnhild.
Viking society had three classes, which can be categorized as 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 legal personality and could accumulate wealth. However, most of the free class were not nearly as rich as what we find in Viking graves.
Slaves (Thralls)
During their raids through Europe, the Vikings captured prisoners, who were then enslaved and assigned various tasks on farms, ranging from grinding grain to herding livestock to gathering firewood. Although they had almost no rights, slaves were generally treated fairly. It is estimated that about a quarter of the population in the Viking world was unfree. While the majority of slaves were captured on foreign shores, some people could also be sentenced to slavery for committing crimes, or they chose to sell themselves into slavery to repay debts. Dublin in Ireland served as a transit camp for slaves from England, Wales, and Scotland, after which prisoners were traded on markets like Hedeby.
Free farmers (Karls)
The "karl" was a free farmer in Viking society, a member of the free farmer class that played a significant role in the agricultural economy. These free farmers owned their own land and resources, granting them a certain degree of independence. They cultivated crops and raised livestock. Many Karls used slaves to ensure sufficient labor on the farm. Churls and huskarls were comparable 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 obligated 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.
Nobles (jarls)
The jarls constituted the aristocracy of Viking society. They were wealthy and owned vast estates with enormous longhouses, horses, and many thralls. Thralls performed most of the daily tasks, while jarls 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 next to him, as many excavations have revealed.
In practice, there seems to have been some social mobility, and there were various intermediary forms. The details are unclear, but titles and positions like hauldr, thegn, and landmand indicate mobility between the karls and the jarls.
Other social structures included félag communities in both the civil and military domains, to which members (félage) were obligated. A félag could focus on specific professions, the communal ownership of a sea vessel, or a military obligation under a specific leader. Members of the latter were referred to as drenge, one of the words for warriors. There were also official communities within towns and villages, focusing on overall defense, religion, the legal system, and the thing (parliament).
Viking society
Daily life largely revolved around the clan or family group, with individuals subordinate to the group. When arranging marriages, the emphasis was on the relationship between the two 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 dwelling, stable, meeting place, and workshop. The main space served as a living, working, and sleeping area for the entire family, with a central hearth in the middle. During the winter, it was cozy with fixed benches along the walls covered with warm animal hides and blankets. Oil lamps, filled with fish oil and whale fat, hung from the ceiling, and loose furniture was scarce.
Cooking took place above the central hearth, with a large cooking pot on an iron chain. Various meals were prepared, including stewed beef and lamb 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.
Rights of Viking women
Women in the northern society enjoyed a comparable status to men in various respects, which was considerably more favorable than the position of women elsewhere in Europe. This is described in sources such as 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 the "húsfreyja" (lady of the house), she could consider herself a lawful wife. Although Scandinavian women could hold a prominent position, the introduction of Christianity brought ideas of female inferiority, resulting in the loss of their favorable social status and freedoms.
In Viking society, 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 case of 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 managed the household, raised children, and worked daily with her husband on the farm.
In this composition, Gunnhild wears various layers of clothing. Noticeably, she wears more natural colors that were cheaper than the blue, red, and even purple that the aristocrats could afford.
Viking dress & underdress
Gunnhild wears a practical underdress, which she also sleeps in at night. During hot summer days on the farm, she may wear only her underdress while working.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/medieval-dress-elisa-white.html
Over de onderjurk draagt een natuurlijk groene jurk, deze jurken zijn haar standaard kledij. Waarschijnlijk bezat Gunnhild maar één of twee verschillende sets van deze jurken.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/underdress-freya-light-green.html
Viking shoes
Gunnhild wears shoes, but she likely walked barefoot often. Shoes were relatively expensive and required constant repairs. It's probable that very few people had brand new shoes.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shoes-thor.html
Hangerok
Gunnhild's brown apron dress is embroidered with brown thread and woven in a herringbone pattern. The apron dress was a crucial garment for Viking women, as it conveyed status, a highly significant aspect in the clan-based society in which the Vikings lived. Gunnhild, like many others of her time, may not have had much time to spend on decorating clothing due to her busy life.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/hangeroc-alva-herringbone-motif-brown.html
Viking scarf
Gunnhild wears a scarf over her clothing, providing warmth during work and serving as a neat "jacket" when she walks in the village. When winter arrives, she exchanges her scarf for a heavy woolen mantle.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/roman-paenula-uller.html
Viking belt & fibula
Gunnhild wears a leather belt, and her buckle indicates that she does not belong to the poorest classes, much like the fibula she wears to fasten her scarf.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/9th-century-viking-belt.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-brooch-stora-ryk.html
Viking axe
Both men and women used axes daily. Axes were the primary tool in and around the house. Vikings crafted nearly everything from wood, allowing them to likely repair almost anything themselves, such as parts of ships, houses, fences, and tools.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-axe-hand-forged-steel-type-f.html
Viking keys
A crucial item for Viking women was their keys. This symbolized power over the household. Hence, women could derive marital rights from the fact that they had worn the house keys for several years.