Vikings and Cats

[Judi Lynn]

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/