Wonder Woman of the Week: Lagertha

This week’s Wonder Woman is right up there with Princess Ukok and the mummies of Peru in terms of how much historians really know about her life. She has become something of a legend because of her political affiliations, career paths, and personal victories. But within the context of her society, this week’s spotlight was far from an exception. This woman was a queen, a warrior, and one serious badass. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Queen Hladgerdr of Seeland; better known as Lagertha.

The Vikings had a unique way of writing historic texts by weaving their religious beliefs into historic events, creating a series of sagas that can be as difficult to separate truth from mythology as is for reading the Judeo-Christian Bible. There are a few bits of information about Lagertha from these primary documents that historians have been able to confirm however. Born in Gaula, Sor-Trondelag in modern-day Norway around 795 CE, Lagertha was the wife of famed Viking Ragnar Lodbrok and mother of three of his children. She was also a shield maiden (female warrior) and Queen of Seeland. [1]

Fortunately, historians and archaeologists are constantly uncovering more information about the role of women in Viking societies, giving us more context into what Lagertha’ life would have been like. As with many societies in Medieval Europe, Viking women were often housewives, but unlike the rest of the continent; they were so much more. Viking women had the sole ability in feudal Europe to file for divorce. She could file for divorce if her husband moved to another country or was physically violent. Women also served important roles in pre-Christian religious ceremonies, as politicians and monarchs, and (in Lagertha’s most famous case) as warriors. [2]

While women in the Viking Age were famous for having the right to serve as warriors and raiders alongside the men, it was still relatively rare. Lagertha’s battlefield exploits are unconfirmed and unspecific, but there were other shield maiden whose confirmed biographies give more insight into what life would have been like for a Viking shield maiden. Hervor- perhaps the most famous shield maiden in history- lived a life of brutal violence. She was the daughter of one warrior and the granddaughter of a berserker (elite warrior-priests), led her own raiding parties, wielded an almost mythically powerful sword, broke bread with Norse monarchs, and eventually settled down and raised a family. [3]

While historians are certain Lagertha was a warrior, a monarch, and a powerful Viking woman; they still known very little about the details of her life. Viking women however were some of the most liberated women in Medieval Europe with the right to file for divorce, start their own businesses, and even serve as warriors. As a shield maiden, Lagertha would have likely raided coastal villages in far off lands. As queen, she would have met with other faction leaders to discuss foreign and domestic politics. But even in her time, women as powerful as she was and as legendary as she was would have only existed if Lagertha lived up to the hype. (And if the History Channel show Vikings has any ounce of weight behind it, Lagertha would have been one serious badass.)

“Lagertha.” Geni.com. np, 24 March 2016. Web. 4 August 2016.

“Women in the Viking Age.” en.natmus.dk. National Museum of Denmark, nd. Web. 4 August 2016.

Thompson, Ben. “Hervor.” Badass of the Week. np, np. Web. 4 August 2016.