Mystic South

From pages of manuscripts, from oral traditions and graves, the images of powerful women are gradually re-emerging. The figures of goddesses, seidhrkonnur, royalty and warriors leap forward to challenge the stereotype of feeble and weak-minded woman perennially in need of a man's care.
Breaking free from the ideological vaults guarded by various religious and political powers, women's voices grow stronger. Hundreds of years passing and sustained efforts from monotheistic religions failed to erase them form living memory albeit reducing them to mere shadows of their former selves. But, through the work of historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and translators of old languages, new light is shed on the past. Recent translations and analysis of poems and saga material inform us that Valkyries' roles extended beyond that of carrying out Odin's orders on the battlefield, and historical records shows that women warriors were not mere myth. Archaeological findings back up the accounts given by many historians about women wielding great authority due to their competence as ritual specialists. The emerging image challenges assumptions, and women from the past stand so tall and proud that make the establishment squirm.
"Women, Politics and Power in Pre-Christian Scandinavia" offers a brief survey of women's relationship to power in Pagan Scandinavia from Bronze Age, approximately, until 1000CE. Based on saga material, academic studies, and work of scholars in the fields of anthropology, this paper highlights the roles and influence that women had in social, political, spiritual spheres as well as direct participation in trade and warfare. The paper invites modern audiences to connect intellectually with the political and spiritual landscape of Heathen times and derive ideas about reshaping the landscape of beliefs in our modern society.