Vikings and Cats
In an article published in Current Swedish Archaeology, Matthias Toplak presents a re-evaluation of the roles of domestic cats in Viking Age Scandinavia. He challenges traditional interpretations shaped by medieval mythology and shows how archaeological evidence provides a more nuanced perspective on the significance of cats in Viking society.
If one looks only at written sources about cats among the Norse, there are only a few references, most of which are associated with negative forces, sorcery, and demonic attributes. In the Saga of Erik the Red (Eiríks saga rauða), for example, there is a Greenlandic sorceress who is described as wearing a black hat of lambskin lined with cat skin and cat skin gloves. Stories from Norse mythology also feature the goddess Freyja riding a chariot pulled by two cats. However, Toplak thinks this depiction is not what it seems:
This might indicate that the association of cats with Freyja does not originate in Viking Age mythology but could be interpreted as an interpolation from Christian or antique traditions. The chariot pulled by cats seems to be an adaption of the antique trope of female deities of fertility or mother goddesses with a wagon pulled by big cats such as lions or panthers, for example Cybele or Artemis.
Most of the sagas and other Norse literature were only written down in the thirteenth century, a time when Christianity was the dominant religion in Scandinavia while Viking-Age beliefs were increasingly shunned. Toplak believes that the negative association of cats in Norse literature might not “reflect Viking Age beliefs but may result from Christian influence.”
Instead of relying on literary sources, Toplak examines the evidence of cat fur being used for clothing and the absence of cat fur in certain archaeological sites, highlighting the potential significance of cats as companions and pets. While we do see archaeological remains of cats that were skinned for their furs, we also increasingly find the presence of cats buried with people. They can be found in the burials of men and women, and as time goes on with children as well, sometimes being the only grave good with them.
More:
https://www.medievalists.net/2024/02/vikings-cats/
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I study mythology, but I don't worship the ancient gods. However, last year, while looking for a female symbol of strength while fighting cancer, again, I came across Freyja and her cats. My two year old cats, long haired tabby cats, look almost exactly like the her cats in popular depictions. While I admire the Hindu goddess Durga, who rides a tiger, I can admit that it was Frejya and her cat chariot that almost tipped me into outright worship. Only a divinity could control cats! So I have a Frejya with cats t-shirt, a gold necklace (to mimic her magically wrought necklace), amber earrings (to mimic her golden tears shed for her wandering spouse),
and a pendant featuring her with her chariot. My cancer is gone now, but my admiration for Freyja remains.
That meme, with its photoshopped image, has been around for quite a while. Love the reference to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
Whoever decided to use the AI-generated Viking kitten image for that article did not label it as AI (shame on them), but it's obvious that it is, especially with two left hind feet.
Archeologists will unearth our Christmas decorations, and will publish papers about the role of reindeer in our religious beliefs. Did we worship the reindeer in the same way that we worshipped the red-suited Fat Man god?
