[MR] What DID viking ladies really wear? Forgive me, it this is offensive

[David Chessler]

At 03:16 PM 3/3/2008, Anne Ramey wrote:

>They were a slave-holding society. All the primary documentation,
>their own and descriptions of them by others, mention that. The
>descriptions also say that they treated the slaves well, but that's
>perhaps a related issue.
>
>Just because they had slaves doesn't mean they were detached from 
>their children and passed off all parental responsibilities to 
>others.  It would be an interesting point to research.

I think you're projecting modern attitudes and practices.

Most of what we now call "labor saving devices" do tasks that in 
former days (before WW I) were done by servants. There was a 
contemporary of Descartes who invented an adding machine. There was 
no need for it: clerks were cheap.  There were some 18th C mansions 
in England that were admired as particularly convenient and 
efficient. An architect I know looked at them and remarked that the 
kitchens were very far from the living quarters and dining rooms. 
Then he realized that what was inconvenient for the servants would be 
convenient for the homeowners, who would be spared the heat, smoke 
and smells of the kitchens.

As for parents loving children, they show this in a great variety of 
ways in various societies. In some societies children are "fostered" 
by relatives or even strangers (usually, there's an issue of fealty 
or alliance involved).

I certainly don't consider my self more than passingly knowledgeable 
about viking society (most of my readings of the primary and 
secondary sources were decades ago, and tended more to the literary 
than the anthropological). And I certainly don't consider myself an 
expert on slave society, though it may be well to recall that we had 
one in the US only 145 years ago. Think of relations with servants in 
Gone With the Wind, Pudd'nhead Wilson, or many other American classics.

The issue of the practicality of viking dress has been fully 
addressed by people who have made and worn it.

And the question of whether the 3-year average childspacing supports 
the hypothesis that wetnurses were or were not used would, I think, 
require a detailed model to address (and, of course, servants or 
slaves would not have used wetnurses, which would significantly 
affect the societal average).

'nuff said.

--

Davitt il Bigollo da Pisa
Goldsmith's Agent in Livorno
Factor in the lands of the Mughuls
Coral and Emeralds from Inde and Serendip

Checky argent and azure, two chess rooks or in chief, a chess knight 
or, a three-turret tower or in base