When people think of medieval Scandinavia, they usually think of a cold northern region inhabited by a warlike people who spent all their time sailing on warships Vikings and pillage each other or go to war against their neighbors. Although our archaeological evidence from this period is rather sparse, many cite pagan Scandinavian religions as evidence of this warrior society, as men were encouraged to fight in order to be chosen by the gods to live in Valhalla, the region pagan. equivalent, vaguely equivalent, of the sky. However, this only concerns the men of society, and no society can survive if it is only made up of men. Were women as concerned about the war as their male comrades? Recent research on Scandinavian women suggests that they were a far more powerful force in medieval Scandinavia than the previously voiceless spectators they were believed to be. Due to the high rates of infanticide - particularly female infanticide, the role of women in creating the kingdom's currency and even the pagan religion that so many people cite as evidence of a war-centered society men give us proof that many women were able to achieve both societal and familial power in Scandinavia. Female infanticide was a common practice throughout the medieval world, and while this is evidence of misogyny, on the other hand, it empowers those women who manage to reach adulthood. The commonality of infanticide created a shortage of women in Scandinavia and allowed these women to move through social and economic ranks. Women were also the primary weavers of homemade fabrics which, before the use of fish in the 14th century, were the common currency of the Scandinavian kingdom. This...... middle of paper ......niversity Press, 1990.Dahmus, Joseph. Seven medieval queens. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, INC., 1972. Damsholt, Nanna. “The role of Icelandic women in the sagas and in the production of homemade fabrics.” Scandinavian Journal of History 9, no. 2 (1984): 75-90. Hill, Mary. Margaret of Denmark. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1898. Jochens, Jenny. Women in Old Norse Society. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1995. Sawyer, Birgit and Peter. Medieval Scandinavia: from conversion to reformation, circa 800-1500. The Nordic series. Flight. 17. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992. Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology. Translated by Jesse L. Byock. Penguin Books, 2005. Sturluson, Snorri. The Saga of King Harald: Harald Hardradi of Norway. Translated by Magnusson, Magnus and Palsson, Hermann. England: Penguin Books, 1966.