Dragon's Corner: Introducing Freya
Like many, I am completely enthralled with history. I find the tales of history to be filled with great examples of heroism as well as tragedy. The Viking mythology inspired A Dragon’s Destiny because of my interest in its intriguing history and culture, especially one of its goddesses, Freyja.
Freyja plays an important part in my Dragon series. She (also recognized under the name of Frigg) is the wife of Odin, and is celebrated as the goddess of „love, fertility, battle, and death.“ With such a strong goddess in their pantheon and a society that recognized women’s rights, I had to dive right in.
One thing that I found quite interesting is the role of women in that society. Unlike others at the time, the women of the society had certain rights, including the right to divorce a man if he mistreated her. That is shocking considering that even later on, for example in the middle ages, that of a gender equality was not so much recognized.
I believe that much of this equality stems from their pantheon, in that the society, although patriarchal, still possessed an understanding of the importance of women. Although much of what we read is based on the writings of those outside of the Viking way of life, and understood under as seen through their perception and religion, that women could be not only warriors, but also had legal rights — well, that is a background to set a great story in.
I can’t wait to share more tidbits from all that I learned in researching the Vikings and creating this wonderful tale.
