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.
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Cat Bobble Head Ring Holder |
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