# Is It True That Women Were Held in Extremely High Regard in Viking Culture? Especially Compared to Other Cultures at the Time <cite>by u/Steelcan909 (flaired user)</cite> ## Metadata - Author: [[Steelcan909]] - Full Title: Is It True That Women Were Held in Extremely High Regard in Viking Culture? Especially Compared to Other Cultures at the Time - Link: https://reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/p4nt7l/is_it_true_that_women_were_held_in_extremely_high/h93etyn ###### Outline - [[Norse burials of high-status women included sacrificed humans]] - [[sacrifice in Norse burials was relatively rare]] ## Highlights ### q1 Norse burials of high-status women included sacrificed humans > For example, sacrifices, of both people and animals, are commonly found in Norse burials pre-conversion. However even in graves where the "primary" occupant is female there are attested human sacrifices, often theorized to be slaves that are killed to accompany their master. Other burials of high status women feature horse sacrifices, another extremely high status good. Useful for the [[2022.01.26a broken heart syndrome and human sacrifice customs]] article. #xref with [[child sacrifice in the Punic world]] - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fgey252mc3x9e9wbcad4had7) ### q2 sacrifice in Norse burials was relatively rare > The ubiquity of sacrifices in popular culture around the Norse might lead one you believe that at the end of a master's life the noose, knife, or sword awaited many of their former servants, however sacrifices are relatively rare in Norse burials when all is said and done. Judith Jesch posits that the "average" Norse woman would have no realistic expectation of ending her life as a sacrifice. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fgey54s1qknc3jdf2bykc136)