Bronze Key with Decorated Handle
The handle of this key is intentionally decorated in a very large and noticeable fashion. These keys would have been worn visibly, likely hung on a belt, by upper-class women who were married to the head of household. While men were away, these women were the mistress of the farm and handled financial and managerial decisions. These keys opened chests where valuable items were stored and were meant to display the wealth and power that their wearer had. They served a very functional but also representational role.
Keys are physical reminders of the power that women in Norse societies had in the absence of men. While their husbands were raiding, trading, or otherwise away from home, these women would have completely taken over their duties on the farm. They quite literally held the keys to the farm and all its riches, even when men had returned from business away from the home. The decoration that covers the handles is meant to be viewed and meant to remind viewers of the wearer’s class and rank. The decoration is as much a necessary social function as the key’s unique design is a physical one. The role of women was perhaps not equal in Norse societies in a modern sense, but high class women did carry power comparable to their male counterparts, though exercised in different ways. A high class woman had more agency and power than men, especially in domestic manners.
This find is significant because the key is the physical manifestation and reminder of a woman’s role in Norse society – just as it was designed to be centuries ago.
