Keys were a powerful symbol of control over the household goods in Viking Scandinavia. The lady of the house, known as the "husfreyja," or "goddess of the house," would always wear the keys on her belt, even taking them with her to the grave. These keys date from c. 800-1000 CE and come from what is present-day Sweden.
Viking keys meant power
Married women had a very strong position in the Viking Era, and keys helped express this. When a couple was married, the wife was given a set of keys to symbolize her new status – “given to lock and key,” as it was called.
The Valknut is probably THE most powerful symbol in Norse Mythology and can be found in several locations or on Viking rings & bracelets even until this day.
Today, there are no pure Viking people in the sense of unbroken lineage or cultural practices that closely resemble those of the Viking Age. However, descendants of these Norse communities still exist in Scandinavia, and they carry forward certain cultural aspects influenced by their Viking heritage.
So in Viking tradition the bride to be would present the husband to be with a sword indicating that he was to be the protector of the household and he in turn would provide her with a set of keys to the household to indicate that she was now in charge of the house.
For this point in history, however, Viking women enjoyed a high degree of social freedom. They could own property, ask for a divorce if not treated properly, and they shared responsibility for running farms and homesteads with their menfolk. They were also protected by law from a range of unwanted male attention.
May this knot remain tied for as long as love shall last. May the vows you have spoken never grow bitter in your mouths. Hold tight to one another through good times and bad and watch as your strength grows.In the joining of hands and the fashion of a knot, so are your lives now bound, one to another.
Vikings as a group don't exist anymore. However, they have Viking descendants all over Europe and the Scandinavian countries. In many Scandinavian countries, many people dedicate their lives to living like the Vikings did long ago.
There are a few different ways that people today can test for their Viking heritage. One option is to research their family history and look for any ancestors who may have had Viking ancestry. Another option is to take a viking DNA test from a company that includes Viking ancestry in its analysis.
Though Vikings are no longer around, Viking culture, history and tradition is alive and well, and there are plenty of opportunities to explore Norway's strong Viking past today.
Even if we don't have any hard evidence that Vikings tattooed themselves, it's not far from the realm of possibility. Tattooing was practised in Northern Europe long before the Viking age and is known to have existed in Germanic and Slavic societies that the Vikings encountered.
Old Norse is the obvious answer for most Vikings.
The numbers three, nine, and other multiples of three are significant numbers in Germanic paganism. Both numbers (and multiples thereof) appear throughout surviving attestations of ancient Germanic folklore, in both mythology and Germanic paganism.
They believed that everyone should be treated with dignity and courtesy, which was further amplified by their belief that the gods would occasionally visit people in human form, so any stranger could potentially be a god visiting Earth. Therefore, mistreating a guest could potentially be a divine offense.
Keys were a powerful symbol of control over the household goods in Viking Scandinavia. The lady of the house, known as the "husfreyja," or "goddess of the house," would always wear the keys on her belt, even taking them with her to the grave. These keys date from c. 800-1000 CE and come from what is present-day Sweden.
VALKNUT - Viking Symbol Meaning "Slain warrior"
Known as Odin's Knot, Valknut is undoubtedly one of the most famous symbols in Norse mythology. The word "valknut" comes from the words valr (meaning slain warrior) and knut (meaning knot).
“The Vikings had a lot more genes from southern and eastern Europe than we anticipated,” said Willerslev. “They frequently had children with people from other parts of the world. In fact, they also tended to be dark-haired rather than blond, which is otherwise considered an established Viking trait.”
Archaeological evidence suggests that Vikings were generally robust and muscular due to their physically demanding lifestyle. They engaged in activities such as farming, fishing, crafting, and, of course, raiding, all of which contributed to their fitness.
Although the term 'Vikings' might be associated with the Scandinavian homelands from which these raiders and traders originated, after the first half of the ninth century it is likely that most of those who partook in Viking activity in the British Isles and Ireland were in fact permanent residents of those islands.
Slavic and Viking tribes were "closely linked, fighting one another, intermixing and trading". In the Middle Ages, goods were transferred from Slavic areas to Scandinavia, and Denmark could be considered "a melting pot of Slavic and Scandinavian elements".
The stereotype of Vikings as tall, jacked people with blonde or red hair and piercing blue eyes was probably true for many of them, but not true for all of them. Science (and common sense) tells us that Vikings came in a wide range of hair colors, eye colors, builds, complexions, and other physical characteristics.
Skin was also very similar to modern north/west Europeans. The main difference is that often (not always) the women had quite masculine faces with a pronounced brow ridge, large cheek bones and a wide jaw. Whereas the men had slimmer faces, and weaker features.
Other faith-based unity ceremonies include: Handfasting: In this unity ceremony, cords or strips of fabric are wrapped around a couples' joined hands in a literal tying of the knot. Handfasting began as a secular Celtic tradition but is increasingly being adapted for Christian ceremonies.
A Wiccan wedding is known as a Handfasting Ceremony. Handfasting is the ancient Scottish custom of tying a betrothed couple's hands together and keeping them that way for a year. If they were still together at the end of that year, they would then be officially married.
Today, the act of handfasting has no legal status, but its meaning remains firmly entrenched in modern vernacular.