Jarls
Jarls were nobles and powerful leaders. Land, wealth and followers gave them influence. Kings ruled above other leaders, although their authority depended on support.
TOUR STOP / 02
A world built
by many hands.
Life involved fields, families and skilled work. Your wealth, freedom and family connections shaped the choices you could make.
WORK & HOME
Inside the longhouse.
01
Wool & skilled hands
Spinning and weaving turned wool into useful textiles. The objects preserved at Oseberg reveal skilled craftwork and the material details of daily life.
WORK & HOME
Daily life
on the farm.
For many people, daily life centred on a farm. Households grew food, kept animals and worked together. Land, family connections and wealth shaped a person’s opportunities. Kings and chieftains stood above most householders, but even free families could differ greatly in wealth. Leaders depended on networks of supporters rather than a modern government.
Australian National Maritime Museum · Vikings and the Viking Age ↗ Cornell University Press · What happened inside Scandinavia during the Viking Age? ↗
Longhouses brought people and everyday tasks under one roof. Wooden buildings, cooking hearths, food production and textile work shaped domestic life. Archaeological evidence helps us reconstruct these settings, although homes varied by place and resources.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
An unequal society.
These three groups are a useful starting point. They were not fixed, identical categories across every Scandinavian community.
Karls
Karls were free people, including farmers, craftspeople and merchants. They could own property, but their wealth and influence varied. Freedom did not mean equality.
Thralls
People called thralls could be captured and sold. Their labour supported households and economies, while their voices rarely survive.
CULTURE & COMMUNITY
Work, identity
and a public voice.
Some women managed farms while household members travelled. Making textiles also took great skill and time. Status and circumstances affected what people could do. A thing was an assembly where disputes and laws were discussed, generally by free men. Wool and linen clothes, jewellery, combs and decorated objects show that practical work existed alongside skilled craft and personal style.
Cornell University Press · What happened inside Scandinavia during the Viking Age? ↗ Aarhus University · 4. Culture ↗ Viking Ship Museum · Viking Age People ↗ Museum of the Viking Age, University of Oslo · The Oseberg Textiles: Great Riches and Exquisite Craftsmanship ↗
The antler comb from Ribe offers a small but revealing example: an everyday personal object could carry writing. Jewellery and decorated tools also show that useful objects could express skill and style.
PAUSE & THINK
What can one rich burial tell us?
A ship burial contains costly objects. Which conclusion is most careful?