It Doesn’t Get Any More Badass Than This: Blenda, the Viking Heroine

Exactly like its name advertises, Badass of the Week is a website dedicated to spotlighting badasses and their associated badasseries. I’m particularly fond of this entry for Blenda (and the Women of Smaland).

The King of Sweden returned from his campaign to find that Blenda and her girlfriends triumphantly standing on top of a massive heaping pile of dead Vikings, and was so pumped up about the whole thing that he granted the women of Smaland a bunch of totally awesome political and social rights that had been previously unavailable to them. From that point on, all daughters had the right to inherit property, money and land equally with their brothers, and were allowed to wear military-style garments around town and at their weddings. They were also given the prestigious right to wear the Royal Coat of Arms on their clothing – a tradition that has lasted to this day. Blenda is still recognized as a national hero in Sweden.

And that, my friends, is a pretty badass way to fight for women’s rights.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s this: don’t ever mess with Viking women. Ever.

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