Fascinating Viking Facts No One Ever Talks About

They Probably Smelled Better Than Anyone Else

Vikings were probably the cleanest people in Europe during the Middle Ages, wooing women at home and on their extensive travels with not only their extensive grooming, but frequent bathing. Bathing often was unheard of for most commoners in many countries at the time and in some places was even considered harmful or wasteful.

Viking Women Had Unprecedented Rights

Speaking of women, Viking females had quite a bit more choice than many women around the globe had at the time. While marriages were arranged and settled by the father and/or brothers of the woman, she had recourse to renegotiate the situation if she thought they had chosen badly or if something was wrong. Divorce was legal for Vikings and widows or divorced women could own property, unlike many places during the same era. In other countries orphaned, widowed, or separated women had to rely on charity to survive since they literally could own no property or money.

They Weren’t That Tall

Vikings weren’t Amazonian or anything of the sort. While they were certainly muscular from farming and battling, they were were about 4 inches shorter, on average, than their modern European counterparts, despite being depicted in modern times as being tall brutes.

The Viking Justice System

The Vikings had a justice system that, while not entirely fair by modern standards, did follow a procedure for determining wrong doing and punishment. The Vikings did not deliver punishments willy nilly as has sometimes been suggested. Their system of justice and government was known as Althing. Those found guilty could be fined or outlawed, the latter amounting to total shunning by their community for a period of years or an entire lifetime.