Kittens for brides a Viking wedding tradition?

As a cat owner, I read with interest that kittens were given to Viking brides by their husbands as a Viking wedding tradition. This tradition is thought to be rooted in Norse mythology and the goddess Freyja who, in the Norse mythos, rides in a chariot pulled by two cats. As a goddess she is associated with love, sex, beauty, and fertility as well as other things like war, death, and gold. I set out to find out if this kittens for Viking brides as a wedding gift is a fact, fiction, or somewhere in-between.

Giving of kittens Viking wedding tradition

I have found two variations of the giving of kittens as an ancient Viking wedding tradition. The thing both of these variations have in common is that the kittens were given to a new bride to help set up her new household. On the practical side, they helped take care of rats, and on the mythos side, cats were associated with the goddess of love, Freyja, who received two cats as a gift from Thor. These cats were blue or gray and pulled her chariot.

• Members of the community gave the bride a kitten or kittens.
• The groom gave the bride a kitten

Learning from Freyja’s cats

We are introduced to Freyja’s Cats in a description of Freyja found in Of Freyr and Freyja, “When she goes forth, she drives her cats and sits in a chariot.” While cats are found in prose like this, it turns out that cats were uncommon in Iceland even in medieval times. In the Norse world, the use of the cat, for the most part, has ritualistic connotations, so I looked into Freyja’s Cats to see if I could find a direct link to this goddess and any wedding tradition related to kittens or cats. 

 

 

As I searched through archaeological evidence, I didn’t find a picture stone, rune stone, or tapestry showing evidence of a Viking wedding related to a kitten or cat. In sagas, cats tended to be portrayed as harmful forces which wouldn’t make for a good wedding gift. On the other hand, in Brenda Prehal’s Freyja's Cats: Perspectives on Recent Viking Age Finds in Þegjandadalur North Iceland she points out that “Cats were rare, especially in Iceland, expensive, and connected with the most powerful Norse goddess, Freyja, as well as her magic.” That could make them a coveted wedding gift.

If you know of a source showing cats given as gifts to brides in the Viking culture, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you. 

Cat Bobble Head Ring Holder

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